Pacific Islands Languages and Societies Commons^™

Lin-Manuel Meets Moana, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

In this article originally published in Public Books, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner wonders whether a Disney musical and a Lin-Manuel Miranda musical want the same thing.

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, …

The Patriarch (Mahana), Ken Derry

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of The Patriarch (2016), directed by Lee Tamahori.

Religious Processions In Indonesia: Cultural Identity And Politics On Bali And Lombok, David Harnish

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

In Bali and Lombok in Indonesia, processions—like similar events in many other parts of the world—are ritualized events breaking the normal flow of time. They are always temporally marked, and can be characterized as either religious and temple- or mosque-sponsored, or secular and state-sponsored. This article discusses religious processions generally on the neighbor islands of Bali and Lombok, and focuses on the processions of the spectacular Lingsar temple festival on Lombok. The festival conjoins the migrant Hindu Balinese and the local Muslim Sasak (the majority ethnic group) in ritual participation, but that participation differs in significant ways that are represented …

War Of The Worlds: Music And Cosmological Battles In The Balinese Cremation Procession, Michael B. Bakan

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Abstract

This article explores processional action as a form of cosmological intervention in Hindu-Balinese cremation processions, focusing on the multiple and intersecting functions of a particular type of Balinese instrumental music ensemble: the gamelan beleganjur. It explores the alternately “enlivening and protective aspects” (DeVale 1990, 62) that underlie the use of beleganjur music in the ngaben, or cremation ritual, showing how beleganjur’s sonic power and rhythmic drive serve to combat malevolent spirit beings, strengthen and inspire processional participants in their efforts to meet challenging ritual obligations, and grant courage to the souls of deceased individuals embarking on their …

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 …

Reflections On Vivid Vagabondage: Ambrym, Thomas Dick

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

In the island nation of Vanuatu in the South West Pacific Ocean, the practice of sand drawing – creating patterns in the sand to record history, tell stories, and pass on intergenerational wisdom – has been recognised by UNESCO as a treasure of intangible cultural heritage. In 2007, the author spent several months traveling through the islands of Vanuatu on his way to the National Sand Drawing Festival. This piece of creative non-fiction distills the experience of living in Vanuatu for over five years with reflections on doctoral fieldwork in a transnational setting.

Names As A Means Of Inclusion And Transformation: Naming And Transcultural Kinship Among The Wampar, Papua New Guinea, Doris Bacalzo

Pacific Studies

This study examines how naming practices function as strategic tools for identity negotiation and social positioning among children of interethnic marriages in Dzifasing, a Wampar village in Papua New Guinea. Through analysis of transcultural kinship networks, the research investigates how names serve as resources in negotiating belonging, rights, and identities within an increasingly multiethnic environment.

Vol. 39 No. 1/2 (2016): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Front Matter for the Vol. 39, No 1/2-Apr/Aug 2016 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal.

Naming Relationship And Constructing Hierarchy: Names, Value, And Hierarchy Among The Austronesian Paiwan, Taiwan, Kun-Hui Ku

Pacific Studies

This paper explores the relationship between naming practices and social hierarchy among the Paiwan people of Piuma. It argues that names and the act of naming are central to the reproduction and negotiation of hierarchical relationships, functioning alongside heirlooms and other valuables. The study demonstrates how names serve as dynamic symbols of identity, rank, and political alliance. It underscores the importance of symbolic capital in shaping long-term social and historical trajectories within Paiwan society.

Names Redux: Person, Structure, Change, Lamont Lindstrom, Kun-Hui Ku

Pacific Studies

This study examines the anthropological significance of naming systems, focusing on their dual function in both individuating persons and connecting them to broader social structures.

Totemic Names On Aneityum, Vanuatu, Latham T. Wood

Pacific Studies

This study approaches the understanding of Aneityum social reproduction through acts of nomination. The research analyzes how totemic names function as dual mechanisms for social placement, simultaneously establishing relationships between individuals and physical locations (totemic districts) while embedding them within social groups and relationships.

Naming In Kanak Groups: Names, Relations, And Personal Identity Among The Paicî Kanak (Ponerihouen, New Caledonia), Isabelle Leblic

Pacific Studies

This study examines naming practices, particularly in Kanak groups. Understanding naming systems is important to understanding personal identity, social relations, and local history within a community.

Naming And Name Changing In Postcolonial Madagascar, Denis Regnier

Pacific Studies

This paper examines the cultural significance of name changing among the Betsileo of Madagascar, highlighting its dual role in shaping individual identity and reinforcing collective continuity. This practice fosters a dynamic interplay between memory and legacy, as names circulate between honoring ancestors and acknowledging descendants. Despite the fluidity of personal names over time, the group maintains a visible sense of continuity through this ritualized naming system. The study argues that name changing is a vital mechanism for the ongoing construction of personhood and the temporal cohesion of the descent group.

Nomination And Social Reproduction, Lamont Lindstrom

Pacific Studies

This study challenges traditional anthropological focus on kinship and descent as primary mechanisms for corporate group formation in Pacific Island societies. The research how mechanisms such as nomination, adoption, and name-sharing function as non-descent based methods for group membership, comparing these to corporate shareholding systems.

Namoluk Onomatology: Two Centuries Of Personal Naming Practices, Mac Marshall

Pacific Studies

This paper explores the personal naming practices on Namoluk Atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia, with a focus on how these practices reflect and shape individual identity and social change. The study confirms the singularity of personal names on Namoluk, contrasting this with name-recycling systems found in other Oceanic societies. The study highlights the adaptability of naming as a cultural practice and its role in mediating between tradition and modernity.

Naming And Social Life: The Case Of The Pinuyumayan (Puyuma) People In Eastern Taiwan, Wen-Te Chen

Pacific Studies

This study examines the complex relationship between personal names, personhood, and social life among the Pinuyumayan people of eastern Taiwan, contextualizing their practices within broader cross-cultural naming patterns. By examining naming practices throughout the life course, the research demonstrates how naming systems integrate various social domains including kinship, community organization, and gender relations. This analysis reveals how naming practices serve as critical indicators of social development and cultural values in Pinuyumayan society.

Entering God’S Family: The Adoption Of Christian Names In The Early Bunun Presbyterian Church, Eastern Taiwan, Chun-Wei Fang

Pacific Studies

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in eastern Taiwan, this paper reconsiders the Bunun naming system, exploring how the adoption of Christian names among the Bunun reflects not passive cultural assimilation but active engagement with social change. This case study contributes to broader discussions on indigenization, religious conversion, and the role of naming in mediating cultural continuity and change.