My Family Culture

My country is devastated and my family and I must be relocated to another country not of my choosing with just three items that I hold dear and that also represent my family culture.  I hope I am never faced with this or any other type of devastation.  First I have to say that I would have a tough time leaving and that I would probably have to be forced to evacuate if I thought there was any chance of survival at home.  Choosing things to take was quite difficult task for me.  Evaluating what objects represented my culture both personally and socially, defining who I am, where I come from, or what I have become was challenging.  Three things I would take with me are a set of hair sticks, my photo cache, and a shark-bone rope necklace.  

Hair sticks I wear often to keep my hair up, they are cultural and worn by many Pacific Island and Asian Peoples.  These particular hair sticks were given to me by father and have been hand lacquered over a thousand times, so they are exceptionally hard.  These hair sticks are special to me because I can use them to eat, hold my hair, and as weapons.  I have taken the time to learn how to use them to defend myself not to attack…a founding belief in Filipino martial arts and a part of my multi-cultural background that I identify with. 

My photos include my family tree and document generations and history of all parts of my family’s history, culture, and relatives.  I feel photographs are snapshots of time, telling stories, and very important in preserving cultural history in today’s world.  It will be difficult leaving the hard copies and scrapbooks of these photos behind.

The shark bone necklace is a representation of my island heritage and is provides protection in and near water.  It may be superstitious to some, but it is relevant to my culture and the cultures I have combined to accept.  

I am Scottish, Creole, Filipino, and Native American.  I do not practice many of the cultural beliefs these cultures represent, but those that my family has passed onto me influencing who I am today.  I believe if I was only allowed to keep one item upon arrival to my new destination I would keep my hair sticks, however I feel these are material things that represent culture I carry with me without their material representation.  Before these objects, relevant culture was passed down to new generations through language and stories, something that cannot be taken from me.  Wherever I am sent it is the beginning of new added culture and traditions that will inevitably become apart of who I am and what my family will adapt to and become.

This exercise got me thinking how much culture changes all the time.  Our own culture changes all the time.  The culture that remains true are the things we preserve and pass on to our children and how they will preserve, change, and pass this information on to their children.  I realized that culture is not set in stone, influenced by our surrounding environment, and chosen by individuals with this knowledge to continue passing it on or change it as they decide to.