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Show THE SAMPLER IFegattcflir ( Friday, May 1, 1981 El Asian Pacific Americans to be honored! May 1 0 4-- Military installations generally have peopi with a wide variety of cultural backgrounds and Dugway Proving Ground is no exception. Asian Pacific Americans- - now Dugwayites - have come from Korea, China, Vietnam, Samoa, Tonga, Hawaii, and by Connie L. Rupp bee drawing honey from many flowers, the wise man accepts the essence of different Like the scriptures. the Phillipines - to mention only a few of the The above oriental proverb promotes a tolerant attitude among man towards the spiritual beliefe and practices of other people - a trait which helps tie the diverse Asian Pacific ideologies together. President Ronald Reagan has proclaimed May 4-as National Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. Special commemorative weeks give Americans the opportunity to glimpse minority cultures in a society which is dominated by European Mediterranean influences and perhaps come away with a broader understanding of alternative lifestyles. The Pacific Ocean covers one third of the earth's surface and its islands contain peoples with many; different cultures, yet there are philosophical similarities in the Asian Pacific heritage. They tend to Ire a people with strong ties to nature and spiritual matters. Respect for family and elders is demanded and along with that there exists honor for the heritage and traditional ceremonies of the country. homelands. Mrs. Cho Weatherhead was bom and raised in South Vietnam and still has relatives in Vietnam. She said, My family was very close and as a child I re- member the emphasis on treating parents and 10 elders with respect. Whether you felt your parents were right or wrong, you were taught to listen to them. Later you could talk with them about your opinions, but at first you were expeetd to listen to what they had to say. Growing up in Samoa was hot much different as far as respect and discipline were concerned, according to E5 Itutaua (Tony) Fuimano and E4 Tuli Malaulu. Tuli recalled, No matter how old or how young we were, we listened to our elders, and Tony. added, Even our schooling was very strict and it was emphasized that we were in school to leam. Along with respect for elders, Asian Pacific countries have a more communal lifestyle in that families in a village or community help each other. Tuli explained, In Samoa, we have a High Chief who rules the village and that person allocates land for each family in the village. The families in turn are expect-- . ed to contribute food to the community if there are other families in need. The High Chief acts as a. supervisor of everyones welfare. self-disciplin- ed . CzzSj i P sar-s-- m 'V - ' Tuli experienced two different lifestyles in his youth. Until the age of nine, he lived with his mother in Samoa and then from nine to 16 he lived with his father in California. When he was .16, he decided to return to Samoa. He said,' I felt displaced in California and I missed our traditions and the closeness of our families. Money was not important in Samoa because there was plenty of food around and families helped each other out if there were any problems. Tony also experienced growing up in two cultures - in Samoa and Hawaii, He said, People outside of. Samoa seem to view us as. a violent people and it simply is not true. Our people at home are very peaceful and yet ever place Ive been- - in Hawaii and elsewhere - Samoans are considered violent. Gloria Rudie pointed out that her Korean dress given to her by her mother-in-lahas all flowers. In the background is a black lacquered Korean wardrobe which is inlaid with mother-of-pearw Jr . 5 Vs, ' Itutaua Fuimano donned the traditional Samoan costume, a laralnra. He explained that in Samoa the sun is always shining and since the island is dose to the equator, the costume is practical. Im still really close to my family and would like to return to Hawaii some day," Gloria said. Cho said she also misses her family and said, In Vietnam, a d l. with wife was responsible to help her mother-in-lahousework or cooking whenever she was needed, much like a daughter. We helped out our relatives and families depended on each other. In fact, at weddings and other ceremonies a lot of times it seemed like our whole community was related. w Another Dugwayite who was raised in Hawaii is Ms. Gloria Rudie. 1 was bom in the Phillipines, die explained, .but I spent 22 years of my life in Hawaii and both my parents and my husbands parents live in Hawaii. I miss the ocean, the food and my family - and not necessarily in that order, she said. Unfortunately, the Hawaii that I remember is swiftly disappearing. When I lived in Hawaii,1 it was peaceful and we never had to lock our doors at night. Oahu was mostly pineapple fields and sugar cane plantations. Now the fields are being replaced with developments, she said. hand-embroidere- Most Asian Pacific festivals are tied in with religious celebrations with music and dancing. Gloria recalled holidays in Hawaii with parades and Cho said that hi Vietnam, the Lunar New Year celebration lasted three days and everyone just ate, partied and had fun. . Tuli and Tony also recalled that in Samoa everyone went to church on Sunday and families empha- -' sized religion and spiritual matters. This seems to tie in with a closeness and respect felt among Asian Pacific peoples for nature and their myths of gpds and goddesses like this Fhillippine legend: Once all that existed in the world were the sea, the sky and a flying bird. Wearied by its constant flight and having no place to land, the bird cleverly provoked a quarrel between the sea and the sky. The sea threw huge, fbamihgwaves against the sky, which retaliated by. hurling massive boulders into the sea - ami these were the first islands on earth, the' Philippines. Asian Pacific Americans have managed to blend into our society and yet retain many of the traditions and customs of their homelands. v. A JrL- j Cho Weatherhead said, When I lived in Vietnam, the ao dai, our traditional costume was an anlde-lengt- h tunic of brocaded or solid color silk worn over black or white silk pants. Today the tunic is much shorter. FT ;V.r fa ' VsMOs-- t Seb dye. from thebranche. It I kxth b.. After tree which rc waxed to rapping are ckKh dried. printed Pattern and tape pn together pounded .f Tltlolhih made from branches of the mn.1 V'- V . , " l Delores Dalle spent six years in Japan and learned much about the customs of the country. Wearing a summer kimono called a yukata, she displays the traditional way Japanese eat sitting cm the floor around a table equipped with a burner which allows food to be prepared at the table. r v ,t?i |