the kodak hula show
TRANSCRIPT
34 ANTHROPOLOGY & HUMANISM QUARTERLY 14(1)
POEMS
PERSPECTIVE(images following the 1987 annual meeting ofthe Society for Applied Anthropology.Oaxaca, Mexico, April 1987)
The winds of OaxacaBlow only at sunsetLaying a gentle shroudOver the daily struggle. . . .
Sunrise. Light rising fast.Warmth flooding in.Overlooking turquoise-orange sky,Blood magenta flowers.Desert dryness, awake with life.
Mist on the valley.Circle of mountains.Mixed sounds of city and country.Birds, and the ever-present bell,Calling the forever faithful to mass.
Strength moves thin bodies;Campesinos drive oxenThrough yesterday's soil.Women pass easily down sand streets,Baskets resting on a tightly wound cushion of tradition
Wood smoke settlesOn lengthening shadows.Lined hands work steadilyShaping corn into sustenance;Never breaking rhythm from time immemorial.
Night time. Darkness cloaks ruins.Full moon is rising.Mother of pearl light shinesChill, through ancient lintels.Adobe houses guard exhausted sleep.
The winds of OaxacaBlow steady at sunsetShedding a healing warmthOver my self-made struggle.
Jeanne M. SimonelliDepartment of Anthropology
State University of New YorkCollege at Oneonta
Oneonta, NY 13820-1370
THE KODAK HULA SHOWChiefs and chiefesses once
so proudClench pearl teeth against
camera shuttersAloha-shirted tourists miss
withering looks
Hula hips shake out rageMemories of illustrious, feathered
royaltyFlicker in deposed eyes
Mobs snap demonicallyKinder than their forebearsImporters of bibles and clap
Sun focuses on "Blue Hawaii"Saved from Madame Pele's taboosPiqued, she vents fiery belches
Dancers shed grass skirtsfor dungarees
Warriors trade spearsfor down payments
No longer innocent or fierce
The photo urge satisfiedSated with Polynesian soulsHordes hasten to ravish
the sand.
Barbara Foster62 Barrow St. No. 1
New York, NY 10014