Post #517549 by ikitnrev on Mon, Mar 15, 2010 2:18 PM

For me, 'Ohana' represents a loose, informal network of like-minded people who are into the tiki scene - for myself that is a group that focuses on cocktails, mid-century architecture, exotica music, Polynesian design, the historical 'myth' of Polynesia as utopia, and a few other things.

The word 'Ohana' also implies that there is a 'un-Ohana' out there. This might be best described as an average person, who if removed from the general population and inserted into a Hukilau-type event, would be confused, or 'not get it' or have the attitude of 'get me away from this crowd'

Someone with Ohana would have the attitude of 'I like this, I want more, I wish to return' Ohana doesn't distinguish between someone like me who was a subscriber of Tiki News way back in 1995, or the newly arrived fresh-faced teenager who shows much more enthusiasm that my middle-aged body can provide, or a person who mostly attends Group Tiki Activity A, or a person who attends Group Tiki Activity B, or a person who chooses to interact mainly via internet.

There are other communities that focus on other things - trains, sports cars, beanie babies, Star Trek, politics, fine food, world travel, theatre, and they might have there own definition of 'Ohana' that fits their own community, but for me Ohana refers to the tiki world.

My view of Ohana tends to have a global/Utopian sense about it, and it includes many people I haven't met, or may not even be aware of.

There are individuals within this scene I enjoy being with more than others - often a reflection of comfort gained from attending past tiki events, or a shared interest in some area outside the tiki world. And yes, there are some people who can be real jerks, but overall the collective good feeling of the global tiki community overshadows them.

Other people feel more comfortable with defining Ohana to be a smaller group of people - and the definitions of 'us' and 'them' then also change. The smaller group may simply be an acknowledgement of being among good trusted friends, or it may have the good aspects of a sports league, where a group works quietly together and strives to better themselves and the world for a common good. A step down, and you're doing your work simply for bragging rights - the 'We've done this, but you haven't' or even worse, the 'We are now better than you' attitudes.

At its worse, the 'us versus them' grows/de-evolves to the feel of a sterotypical urban street gang, where identity is gained mostly by what colors you wear, or how well you adhere to the gang's rules, or how many bare walls you tag (so you can expand your territory), or trashing (verbally or physically) those who are not part of your self-defined 'Homie' circle. It is entirely possible to end up with a Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde group personae, where one set of standards of how to behave is adapted for within the group, and a completely different set of behavior is adapted for outside appearances.

Community/group pride can be a good and very positive thing, but danger is approached when it overshadows and pushes away the more global form of unity that includes all others.

I tend to view myself as an individual, and de-emphasize any collective group identity for myself. I view the others in the tiki community as individuals too, and try to ignore the boundaries of the various smaller groups that have formed within the tiki community. For myself, the global definition of 'Ohana' spirit works well for me.

Vern

[ Edited by: ikitnrev 2010-03-15 16:02 ]