ANTHROP 3PD3 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Ethnocentrism, Eurocentrism
8 Jan 2019
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Many individuals have travelled to, discussed, or have some knowledge of hawaii; however, more individuals have not dived into the abundance of historical information about it, and accept any unauthentic theory that is provided. James cook, on behalf of the english monarchy, was the first to explore hawaii in 1779, securing the british flag for it to be known to all that the english had claimed it (obeysekere 3). From there, he was greeted as the benevolent hawaiian god lono, showered with kindness, until they native people savagely murdered him. Obeysekere argues that captain cook is incorrectly glorified as a polite and friendly explorer with european mannerisms. This representation is ethnocentric, as it positions non-european communities (in this case, hawaiians), into the brutal, Savage, or animal-like category of the others (16). This ethnocentric imagery of cook is not uncharacteristic of past and present representations of indigenous culture, but rather a recurring phenomenon of distortion.
