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Vol. 40 No. 1/2 (2017): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Front Matter for the Vol. 40, No 1/2-Apr/Aug 2017 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal.

Tāvani: Intertwining Tā And Vā In Tongan Reality And Philology, Tēvita O. KaʻIli

Pacific Studies

This analysis examines the foundational principles of the tā-vā theory of reality, a comprehensive philosophical framework that bridges ontological and epistemological understandings of existence within Tongan thought.

Samoan Tā-Vā (Time-Space) Concepts And Practices In Language, Society, And Architecture, Fepulea‘I Micah Van Der Ryn

Pacific Studies

This essay gives new insights into indigenous Samoan spatial, temporal, and social concepts as distinctive aspects of Samoan culture, expressed linguistically, socially, and architecturally in a changing contemporary Samoan context. Four Samoan concepts are examined: (1) mata (the eye and a point of convergence and emanation), (2) tā (strike and a point in time), (3) vā (the interval and relation between points in space or time and society), and (4) tuā‘oi (neighbor and boundary). The general tā-vā theory of reality (Māhina 2008a, 2008b; Ka‘ili 2008) informs the analysis augmented by the theory of point-field spatiality as discussed by Lehman and …

Geographies Of Textile Authenticity: Marking Tongan Temporal And Social Relationships In Diasporic Cultural Production, Ping-Ann Addo

Pacific Studies

This study examines the production of traditional ngatu (bark cloth) and synthetic ngatu pepa among Tongan women, focusing on how these textile practices mediate cultural identity across diasporic spaces.

How The Tā-Vā Theory Of Reality Constructs A Spatial Exposition Of Samoan Architecture, Albert L. Refiti

Pacific Studies

This essay deals with a spatial exposition of Hufanga ʻOkusitino Māhina theory of tā-vā in which I argue that traditional Pacific concepts are recharged and extended by Māhina to create a new branch in Pacific Thought. I show that there is a consistency in the tā-vā theory of reality if one were to diagram its main tenets and, by doing so, enables the exposition of parts that sketch-out an overall form of theory. I also argue that doing theory is important to Pacific Thought because it allows for traditions and customs to be coiled-up into concepts allowing them to be …

Introduction: Tā-Vā (Time-Space): The Birth Of An Indigenous Moana Theory, Maui-Tāvā-He-Ako, Tēvita O. Ka‘Ili, Hūfanga, ‘Ōkusitino Māhina, Kula-He-Fonua, Ping-Ann Addo

Pacific Studies

An introduction to the special issue of the Pacific Studies Journal themed, "TĀ-VĀ (TIME-SPACE): THEORY OF REALITY".

Time, Space, And Culture: A New Tā-Vā Theory Of Moana Anthropology, Hūfanga, ‘Ōkusitino Māhina

Pacific Studies

This paper is primarily concerned with the formulation of a tā-vā theory of Moana anthropology. It does so by investigating the narrower conflicting formal and substantial relationships between Moana cultures as a form of social activity and Moana anthropology as a type of disciplinary practice in the broader complex interplay of temporality and spatiality. As a way forward, the paper calls into question the Moana phenomenon, exploring the formality, substantiality, and functionality of things within and across nature, mind and society, in the wider context of the tā-vā theory of reality. On this philosophical basis, the formulation of a tā-vā …

Tā-Vā Kāinga, Time-Space Relationships Theory Of Reality And Tongan Students Journey To Academic Achievement In New Zealand Tertiary Education, Telesia Kalavite

Pacific Studies

Tongan students’ academic achievement results when the different contexts of kāinga tā-vā, time-space relationships intersect or interact disharmoniously or harmoniously within and between the Tongan and Western cultures, especially between the students and the bureaucracy (puleʻanga), their families (fāmili), church (siasi), and wider group (their fonua/kāinga). Furthermore, inflexibility or flexibility within the two cultural relationships in terms of tā (time) and vā (space) by all parties could release social tensions, which can, if left to their own devices, provide obstacles to critical learning, or by mediating them through sustained harmony, can consequently …

Takohi: Drawing In Tongan Thinking And Practice, Hūfanga, ‘Ōkusitino Māhina

Pacific Studies

This original essay critically examines takohi as drawing in Tongan thinking and practice, which is connected with the intersecting or connecting and separating kohi (lines) and va (spaces) across the three divisions of Tongan art, notably tufunga (material) and nimamea’a (fine) arts. The word kohi is the older form of tohi, both of which mean “line.” Kohi, like tohi, is an expression of ta (time). By virtue of the indivisibility of ta (time) and va (space) in reality, as in nature, mind, and society, takohi (drawing) is equal to ta-va (time-space), with ta (time) spatially-composed and va (space) as temporally-marked. …

Circles Of Self: Tā-Vā Expressed In Traditional Samoan Dance, Culture And Self, Dianna M. Georgina

Pacific Studies

This study examines the tā-vā (time-space) theory and its application to Samoan cultural expression, particularly through the lens of the traditional Samoan dance.

Tatau: Symmetry As Conflict Mediation Of Line– Space Intersection, Sēmisi F. Potauaine

Pacific Studies

From a Tongan context, tatau (symmetry) also means mirror image, image, copy, likeness, same, and equal, among other things. My theoretical inquiry into tatau revolves around the tā-vā (time-space) theory of reality, which basically recognizes the philosophical fact that all things in reality stand in eternal relations of exchange, giving rise to order or conflict. By extension, the theory also takes into account the historical fact that because of these never-ending exchange connections, order and conflict are of the same logical order in that order is a form of conflict.

Samoan Cultural Perceptions Of Tā-Vā, Unasa L. F. Va‘A

Pacific Studies

This study examines the historical development and cultural significance of tā (time) and vā (space) concepts across Polynesian societies, with particular emphasis on Samoan cultural frameworks.

Vol. 40 No. 1/2 (2017): Pacific Studies Full Issue, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US$40.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, and …

Concepts Of Tā-Vā (Time-Space) In The Art Practice Of Samoa-Aotearoa Artist Shigeyuki Kihara, Pamela Rosi

Pacific Studies

My paper considers concepts of tā-vā (time-space theory of reality) in the interdisciplinary art practice of Pacific Islander Shigeyuki Kihara, whose art is internationally acclaimed for its beauty, social criticism, and Moana identity linked to ties of community. With creative examples, I explore how Kihara’s constructions of tā-vā (a) reclaim Samoan histories and identities by subverting western fantasies of “dusky maidens” and a timeless South Seas Paradise; (b) challenge western binary norms of heterosexuality and gender from the traditional space (vā) she occupies as a fa‘afafine; and (c) embody Samoan deities to honor Moana spirituality and epistemologies. …

Tatau: Symmetry, Harmony, And Beauty In The Art Of Sēmisi Fetokai Potauaine, Kolokesa Uafā Māhina-Tuai

Pacific Studies

Tatau: Symmetry, Harmony, and Beauty in the Art of Sēmisi Fetokai Potauaine is generally informed by the tā-vā (time-space) theory of art and Tongan ethnography. This paper will look specifically at the body of works created by Potauaine for his exhibition Tatau: Fenāpasi ‘oe Fepaki / Tatau: Symmetry, Harmony, and Beauty held at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, from July to October 2010. This exhibition and its associated catalog of which I was cocurator and coeditor, respectively, included ten multimedia works ranging from tufunga tākupesi (graphic designing), tufunga tātongitongi (sculpture), and tufunga tākohikupesi (sculptural …

From The Fangs Of Monsters: Gender, Empire, And Civilization In The Pacific, 1800-1850, Michael David Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As the nineteenth century commenced, contact between Pacific Islanders and Anglo-Americans increased as did the concern for what resulted from those interactions. In the United States, antebellum restrained men––those who upheld their Protestant faith, self-reliance, and familial values––used ideals of gender to combat the perceived “savagery” of Pacific Islanders and the corruption of American sailors among them. In the mission field, restrained men consciously sought after Anglo-American women’s influence often believing them to be the moral authority of a softer form of empire. This particular form of empire was not government led; nor did it entail the immediate conquest of …

R. L. Stevenson’S Samoan Gothic: Representing Late Nineteenth-Century Plantations, Carla Manfredi

Pacific Studies

Sāmoa’s plantation landscape haunts Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1892 text, A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa. Stevenson represents the German-run plantations as sites of gothic terror, which are haunted by the ghosts of indentured laborers. In this essay, I examine Stevenson’s accounts of German plantation culture alongside corollary narratives from Sāmoa’s three commercial newspapers: the Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette (1877–81) the Samoa Times and South Sea Advertiser (1888–96), and the Samoa Weekly Herald (1892–1900). By juxtaposing some of Stevenson’s primary texts and local newspaper coverage, I not only identify the divergent discourses that shaped …

Book Review Forum: Glenn Wharton, The Painted King: Art, Activism, And Authenticity In Hawai‘I, Aaron Glass

Pacific Studies

Glenn Wharton. The Painted King: Art, Activism, and Authenticity in Hawai‘i. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2012. Pp. 216. ISBN 978-0-8248-3612-2. US$19.00 paperback.

Review: Aaron Glass, Bard Graduate Center

Book Review Forum: Glenn Wharton, The Painted King: Art, Activism, And Authenticity In Hawai‘I, Stacy L. Kamehiro, Maile Arvin

Pacific Studies

Glenn Wharton. The Painted King: Art, Activism, and Authenticity in Hawai‘i. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2012. Pp. 216. ISBN 978-0-8248-3612-2. US$19.00 paperback.

Review: Stacy L. Kamehiro, University of California, Santa Cruz Maile Arvin, University of California, Riverside

Book Review Forum Response: Glenn Wharton, The Painted King: Art, Activism, And Authenticity In Hawai‘I, Glenn Wharton

Pacific Studies

Response: Glenn Wharton

New York University

Book Review Forum: Glenn Wharton, The Painted King: Art, Activism, And Authenticity In Hawai‘I, Karen Stevenson

Pacific Studies

Glenn Wharton. The Painted King: Art, Activism, and Authenticity in Hawai‘i. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2012. Pp. 216. ISBN 978-0-8248-3612-2. US$19.00 paperback.

Review: Karen Stevenson, University of Canterbury

The Melanesian Spearhead Group And Pacific Regional Cooperation, Gordon Leua Nanau

Pacific Studies

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is a subregional organization in Oceania where friendly diplomatic relations, free trade, and cultural and technical exchanges are encouraged. One of its founding principles is to promote the aspirations of Melanesians under colonial servitude to political autonomy. At the same time, it is a forum by member states to drive their national interests under the auspices of subregional resolutions. Recent developments and decisions by MSG leaders provided profound insights into the affairs of the organization and its member states. In 2010, the prime ministers of Fiji and Vanuatu were at loggerheads over whom to transfer …

Vol. 39 No. 3 (2016): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Front Matter for the Vol. 39, No 3-Dec 2016 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal.

Vol. 39 No. 3 (2016): Pacific Studies Full Issue, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US$40.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, and …

From Social Networking To Activism: The Role Of Social Media In The Free West Papua Campaign, Jason Titifanue, Jope Tarai, Romitesh Kant, Glen Finau

Pacific Studies

West Papua has one of the most repressive media environments in the world with a long history of media censorship and banning of foreign journalists, and only recently has this policy been somewhat relaxed. The tight media restrictions have led to the increasing use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, by West Papuan activists who broadcast the atrocities and human rights violations committed in West Papua. Driven by developments in information and communications technologies, Pacific Islanders are increasingly “switching on” and leveraging social media as a political tool. Digital tools such as hashtags are being used to organize, …

Review: A Kumulipo Of HawaiʻI, George Williams

Pacific Studies

A Kumulipo of Hawai‘i. John Charlot, Sankt Augustin, Germany: Academia Verlag, 2014. Pp. 173. ISBN 9783896656452.

Reviewed by George Williams, California State University, Chico

New Rituals For Old: Change And Competition In Samoa, Cluny Macpherson, La‘Avasa Macpherson

Pacific Studies

In precontact Samoa, extended families, āiga, and villages, nu‘u, demonstrated their social and political cohesion in periodic, competitive displays of conspicuous consumption, hospitality, and in warfare. Demonstrations of economic capacity and military superiority increased their sociopolitical capital and established, or maintained, their claims to social and political power. These competitive rituals were central features of precontact social organization: the fa‘asamoa.

Micronesia's Coming Of Age: The Mormon Role In Returning Micronesia To Self-Rule, Devan Jensen

Faculty Publications

Mormons, or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have a distinguished history of service in the U.S. government. During a forty-year period following World War II, Mormon politicians played vital roles in transitioning several islands in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from a quasi-colonial status into the self-governing Federated States of Micronesia. This article briefly traces the complicated transition through the public service of four key Mormon administrators: Elbert D. Thomas, John A. Carver Jr., Stewart L. Udall, and Morris K. Udall. They served respectively as first civilian high commissioner of the Trust Territory, …

World Churches Vertical File, Mcgarvey Ice

Center for Restoration Studies Vertical Files Finding Aids

This set of files is especially useful to scholars of the history missions, particularly among Churches of Christ in the twentieth century. Students and researchers interested in applied missiology among Restorationist traditions, Stone-Campbell movements, and Churches of Christ will also find them helpful. For assistance with specific files or items, contact Mac Ice - [email protected], or 325.674.2144.

Colonization To Construction: Bridging The Gap Between Ancient Chamorro, Spanish Colonial & Modern Architecture On Guam, Dominic J. Lizama

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Guam is an island in the Marianas that, over time, has experienced a rich cultural history brought about by its exposure to colonization, natural disasters, warfare and the continual influx of people and culture. Therefore, the architecture that exists on the island is one that divides itself into four distinct styles with each as a response to external forces that affected the island. By researching each of these styles, one is able to fully understand the holistic view of Guam’s history in order to design architecture that reflects the past with anticipation for the future. This thesis works to explore …