Hapa is a Hawaiian language term used to describe a person of mixed Asian or Pacific Islander racial or ethnic heritage.[1][2]
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Definition
ha • pa (ha’pa)
1. adj. slang. of mixed racial heritage with partial roots in asian and/or pacific islander ancestry.
2. n. slang. a person of such ancestry. [3]
Etymology
In the Hawaiian language, hapa is defined as: portion, fragment, part, fraction, installment; to be partial, less. It is a loan from the English word half. However, in Hawaiian Pidgin (the creole spoken by many Hawaii residents), hapa has an extended meaning of "half-caste" or "of mixed descent". Mary Pukui and Samuel Ebert's Hawaiian Dictionary define hapa as: "of mixed blood, person of mixed blood as in hapa hawaiʻi, part Hawaiian."[4] The word hapa has moved into mainland English.
Used without qualification, hapa is often taken to mean "part White", and is short hand for hapa haole. The term can be used in conjunction with other Hawaiian racial and ethnic descriptors to specify a particular racial or ethnic mixture. Examples of this include:
- hapa haole (part Caucasian/white).
- hapa kanaka (part Native Hawaiian).
- hapa ʻInikiki ʻAmelika (part Native American).
- hapa popolo (part African/black).
- hapa kepani (part Japanese); the term hapanese is also encountered.
- hapa pilipino (part Filipino).
- hapa pake (part Chinese).
- hapa kolea (part Korean).
- hapa kamoa (part Samoan).
- hapa (hi)sepania (part Spanish/white and Latino).
- hapa pukiki (part Portuguese/white).
Pukui states that the original meaning of the word haole was "foreigner". Therefore, all non-Hawaiians can be called haole.[5] In practical terms, however, the term is used as described here as a racial description with the specific exclusion of Portuguese. Portuguese were traditionally considered to be a separate "race" in Hawaii.[6]
Hapa-haole also is the name of a type of Hawaiian music in which the tune and styling are typically Hawaiian, but the lyrics are in English or mostly in English.[7]
Media
Celebrities
Hapa celebrities include but are not limited to:
- Keanu Reeves
- Tiger Woods
- Kimora Lee Simmons
- Daniel Henney
- Kirk Hammett
- Oliva Munn
- Dean Cain
- Mike Shinoda
- Apolo Anton Ohno
Books
Kip Fulbeck: Part Asian, 100% Hapa March 10–May 30, 2008
In 2003, Fullbeck began traveling the United States to find and interview ‘hapa’ participants to feature in his book Part Asian, 100% Hapa. The book consists of hundreds Americans who are of varying ages and genders and mixed races, presumably of Asian descent. The participants have similar mugshot or passport type pictures which are expressionless, without make-up, and showing only the face from the shoulders up. Under each photograph is a hand-written response which uniquely answers the question, “What are you?” [10] [11]
See also
References
- ^ Grant Barrett. "Dictionary definition of “hapa”". Double Tongued Dictionary. http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/hapa. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- ^ "What’s a "Hapa"...?". IMDiversity web site. http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/asian/reference/whats_a_hapa_happa.asp. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- ^ http://www.janm.org/exhibits/kipfulbeck/home/
- ^ Mary Kawena Pukui and Elbert (2003). "lookup of hapa". on Hawaiian dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii. http://wehewehe.org/cgi-bin/hdict?e=q&a=q&l=en&q=hapa&d=D3021. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- ^ Mary Kawena Pukui and Elbert (2003). "lookup of haole". on Hawaiian dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii. http://wehewehe.org/cgi-bin/hdict?e=q&a=q&l=en&q=haole. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- ^ Gerrit Parmele Judd IV (1961). Hawaii: an informal history. Collier Books. p. 136. http://books.google.com/books?id=zNBBAAAAYAAJ.
- ^ George S. Kanahele, ed. (October 1979). Hawaiian music and musicians: an illustrated history. University Press of Hawaii. ISBN 9780824805784. http://books.google.com/books?id=TTPaAAAAMAAJ.
- ^ http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/olivia-munn
- ^ http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19960315&slug=2319087
- ^ http://www.union.edu/Resources/Campus/mandeville/exhibits/past/Hapa-Project-08/index.php
- ^ http://www.janm.org/exhibits/kipfulbeck/home/
External links
- C.N. Le (2010). "Multiracial/Hapa Asian Americans". Asian-Nation web site. http://www.asian-nation.org/multiracial.shtml. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- Hapa Voice: A Celebration of Multiracial Identity
- Everything Hapa - The intersection of Eastern and Western Cultures
- Psychology Today: Mixed Race, Pretty Face? by William Lee Adams
- CNN's Betty Nguyen on Hapa Identity "Growing Up Hapa"
- Orange County Register: Hapa Nation by Valerie Takahama
- The Hapa Collection at Discover Nikkei
- Los Angeles Times: "Hapas" find a voice in emerging culture by Teresa Watanabe
- The Hapa Project: A Book Project on Multiracial Asian/Pacific Islander Americans
- MTV News: "Hapas Define Themselves"
- AsianWeek: "Hapa Issues move Into the Spotlight" by Stacy Lavilla
- Yes, We're Together: "OCD: Obsessed With Culture Disorder" by Atinuke Diver - 2011 Harvard Hapa "So What Are You Anyway?" Conference
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