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Vol. 30, No. 3/4 (Sept/Dec 2007): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies Brigham Young University–HawaiʻI

Pacific Studies

Front Matter for the Vol. 30, No 3/4-Sept/Dec 2007 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal.

'Johnny Lingo' Cast, Crew Hold Laie Reunion, Mike Foley

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

LAIE, Hawaii — Cast and crew members of the 1969 Latter-day Saint film "Johnny Lingo" reunited on July 29, 2010, in the BYU–Hawaii Cannon Activities Center to celebrate the cinematic Polynesian fable's perennial popularity over the past 40 years. At the same time, they heard from two of its main characters, Naomi Kaho'ilua Wilson, who acted in the role of Mahana, and Joseph Ah Quin, who played her father, Moki.

Closing The Church College Of New Zealand: A Case Study In International Church Education Policy, Scott C. Esplin

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

“It is the policy and practice of the Church,” observed the Church News, “to discontinue operation of such [Church] schools when local school systems are able to provide quality education.” Thus the difficult decision was announced on June 29, 2006, to close the Church College of New Zealand by November 2009. The pronouncement and even the very words chosen to convey it place the decision in the historical context of Latter-day Saint education. This policy regarding Church school closures was established over nine decades ago, and the practice has been consistently applied worldwide since. Church education in the Pacific, …

From Korongata To Tuhikaramea, Ken Baldridge

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

Sidney J, Ottley was a young carpenter in Murray, Utah, when he was called by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to service a mission in New Zealand. With three other missionaries he arrived in Auckland, December 2, 1912, and was immediately assigned to teach at a little mission primary school in Korongata, near Hastings, in Hawke's Bay. He had no previous teaching experience and later remembered that he had never planned on acquiring any. But the Mormon Church had been operating small schools such as this as early as 1886 and this is where mission president Orson …

Mphs Explores Old Laie Cemeteries

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

About three dozen people, including kupuna, gained new appreciation for the aloha of families and volunteers during the Mormon Pacific Historical Society‘s November 24 tour of five small and previously completely overgrown cemeteries in Laie. In fact, many community residents are still not aware of at least three of the five cemeteries, which have all been partially restored.

Mormon Pacific Historical Society 2008 Conference Schedule, March 21st And 22nd

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

No abstract provided.

Jerrold Ottley Interview With Mikaele Foley, 2005, Jerrold Ottley

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

Former Tabernacle Choir director Dr. Jerold Ottley, who some may remember served as a senior educational missionary at BYU-Hawaii with his wife, Sister JoAnn Ottley, about 15 years ago, passed away on Feb. 19, 2021, in Salt Lake City, Utah. While in Laie, he taught the University Chorale and choral techniques, and his wife, a well-known soprano, taught French diction for singers and private voice lessons.

Oru Commission On Holy Spirit Empowerment In The 21st Century, Holy Spirit Research Center Oru Library

Empowered21 Global Council

The Commission on Spirit-Empowered Living in the 21st Century was an initiative of the Oral Roberts University Board of Trustees. The University Board Chair appointed a small number of trustees for the commission to develop the parameters of the plan and work with University administration on future implications. The Board initiated this conversation to ascertain the macro-environment in which ORU presently exists. It also utilized this process to inform the University’s future environment in which the ‘whole person’ educational process will be experienced.

It was during this process that the idea for a Global Congress on Spirit-Empowered Christianity was birthed …

Introduction: Special Issue–Women Writing Oceania: Weaving The Sails Of Vaka, Caroline Sinavaiana, J. Ke ̄Haulani Kauanui

Pacific Studies

This introduction to the special issue Women Writing Oceania: Weaving the Sails of Vaka presents a dynamic and wide-ranging collection of creative and scholarly work by indigenous Pacific Islander women. Framing women’s cultural production through the powerful symbolism of the vaka (ocean-going canoe), the coeditors invoke ancestral legacies of female mobility, artistry, and leadership. The issue explores themes of gender, identity, sexuality, colonial legacy, and the politics of representation across diverse forms—essays, poetry, art, and academic analysis. While contributions on sexuality remain limited, the volume challenges silences shaped by cultural protocols and colonial exotification. The editors highlight the limitations of …

Sleep, Jewel Castro

Pacific Studies

Image of a sleeping woman.

Ka Lawai‘A, Ku‘Ualoha Ho‘Omanawanui

Pacific Studies

This poem uses the extended metaphor of traditional Hawaiian fishing to portray emotional manipulation and betrayal. The speaker likens their relationship to being hunted—baited with false promises and pierced by deception. Imagery of kukui nuts, sharp spears, and the soft body of the he‘e (octopus) evokes both cultural specificity and visceral vulnerability. Ultimately, the poem critiques how some cling to age-old tactics of control and harm, choosing cunning and tradition over transparency or change.

Speaking Reflections: Whaikoorero (Speech Making) And Karanga (Welcoming Cry) In Recent Theatre By Maaori Women, Mei-Lin Te-Puea Hansen

Pacific Studies

This essay suggests that contemporary Maaori/bicultural theatre is becoming a potent site for the articulation of Maaori women’s aspirations and concerns. Drawing on Maaori women’s biographical koorero from four plays performed between 1986 and 1997, the essay presents a kind of “vocal kaleidoscope.” This vocal kaleidoscope reflects the complexities of balancing a contemporary existence with a traditional past. Rena Owen’s Te Awa I Tahuti, Riwia Brown’s Roimata, Renee’s Jeannie Once, and Briar Grace-Smith’s Ngaa Pou Waahine render audible gender and cultural identity issues pertinent to Maaori women. Pieced together, the reflective voices of these waahine koorero help locate points of …

Tumuge' Påpa' (Writing It Down): Chamorro Midwives And The Delivery Of Native History, Christine Taitano Delisle

Pacific Studies

This essay explores the evolving significance of the Chamorro phrase tuge' påpa'—"write it down"—as both a command and a cultural imperative in the life of a Chamorro woman and scholar. Anchored in personal history and critical scholarship, the essay examines how writing becomes a medium for engaging with, preserving, and reshaping Chamorro identity, history, and resistance in the face of colonial narratives. Drawing from research on i pattera siha—prewar Chamorro nurse-midwives trained under U.S. Naval Administration—this work blends ethnography, historiography, and family memory to challenge dominant American colonial discourse. Using the motif of “working hands,” it underscores the …

Silauni‘I, Jacinta Galea‘I

Pacific Studies

This poignant story follows the narrator’s friendship with Silauni‘i, the daughter of a village minister in Samoa. Silauni‘i is quiet, unconventional, and full of subtle resilience—her zig-zag pigtails, uncombed hair, and luminous smile defy rigid expectations placed on minister’s children. Together, the girls navigate school, village gossip, and the burdens of being “examples” in their community. As they study Samoan grammar at A‘oga Samoa, the story builds to a heartbreaking moment when Silauni‘i is publicly beaten after failing a quiz, a punishment that reflects the weight of expectations and the cruelty of discipline cloaked in righteousness. Through intimate details and …

Blood And Reproduction Of (The) Race In The Name Of Ho‘Oulu Lāhui—A Hawaiian Feminist Critique, J. Kehaulani Kauanui

Pacific Studies

This essay interrogates the colonial legacy and contemporary consequences of blood quantum laws in defining Native Hawaiian identity, focusing on the exclusionary impact of the 1921 Hawaiian Homes Commission Act’s 50% rule. Through personal reflection and political critique, it examines how these policies fragment genealogical connection, displace indigenous knowledge systems, and fuel internalized anxieties about authenticity and extinction. Drawing on statements by sovereignty leaders Mililani Trask and Lynette Cruz, the essay explores how nationalist calls to ho‘oulu lāhui (reproduce the nation) place disproportionate reproductive burdens on Hawaiian women, often framed within heteronormative, racialized, and even eugenicist logics. While Trask emphasizes …

Shadows Dance In My Head, Cresantia F. Koya Vaka'uta

Pacific Studies

This emotionally charged poem captures the fragmentation of memory, longing, and betrayal through rich sensory imagery and stream-of-consciousness form. The speaker grapples with a haunting relationship marked by absence, desire, and spiritual dissonance. Religious symbols like rosaries and puja sit beside visceral images of movement, scent, and violence, evoking a clash between sacred ritual and raw human emotion. A mysterious woman—sensual, spectral, unattainable—symbolizes the speaker’s loss and powerlessness. The poem loops, returning to “shadows” and “silence,” suggesting the persistent echo of emotional trauma and unresolved yearning.

Pele, Hi‘Iaka, And Haumea: Women And Power In Two Hawaiian Mo‘Olelo, Noenoe Silva

Pacific Studies

This paper examines two Hawaiian mo‘olelo published in Hawaiian in 1861 and 1905 for representations of powerful female characters. These characters are seen to be human, divine, and parts of the landscape all at once. The paper argues that the elaborated stories as literature have been lost in the processes of colonialism that eroded and nearly eradicated the Hawaiian language; the stories have been replaced with caricatures, distorted translations, and other simulacra that work to reinforce stereotypes about Hawaiians. A successful revitalization of the Hawaiian language that allowed most people to be able to read this literature would work as …

Fijian Women As Orators: Exceptions To “Tradition”?: Theresa Koroivulaono Interviewed By Caroline Sinavaiana And J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, Caroline Sinavaiana, J. Kehaulani Kauanui

Pacific Studies

This interview examines the position of Fijian women through the structures of formulaic, ceremonial, oral narratives that provide the framework within which Fijian rituals and customs are enacted. A specific ceremony, the Kau Ni Matani Gone, which marks a person’s first visit to her/his mother’s or father’s village, informs the discussion on changing gender constructs. Research included fieldwork in Fiji and involved both the examination of written history and conducting interviews to collect information on Fijian oral traditions and history. Examining the position of Fijian women in modern society with recourse to traditional elements that have defined their identity provides …

Vol. 30, No. 1/2 (2007): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies Brigham Young University–HawaiʻI

Pacific Studies

Front Matter for the Vol. 30, No 1/2-March/June 2007 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal. Special Issue: Women Writing Oceania: Weaving the Sails of Vaka

Mauri, Alice Te Punga Somerville

Pacific Studies

This evocative poem is a quiet meditation on memory, mourning, and the enduring presence of a loved one. The white wreath becomes a sacred object—part keepsake, part spirit vessel—tied to a deeply personal moment of loss. As the speaker reflects on the wreath’s gentle movement, what might be dismissed as mere wind becomes, for them, a sign of something more: a whisper from beyond, a connection that lingers even in silence.

Sarong/‘Ie Lavalava, Caroline Sinavaiana

Pacific Studies

These paired poems—one traditional and one contemporary—celebrate love, desire, and cultural identity through the evocative imagery of clothing and voyage. The first, a traditional Samoan poem, uses the lavalava (sarong), siapo (tapa cloth), and the metaphor of anchoring a canoe to express admiration, intimacy, and the quiet finality of choosing a beloved. The second, more modern, mirrors this sentiment with lyrical imagery: a sarong as a flowing connection between nature, memory, and union. Together, they link personal affection with cultural heritage, honoring both bodily adornment and emotional anchorage.

Village Princess, Tusiata Avia

Pacific Studies

This poem reflects on the tension between traditional cultural roles and personal freedom, using the figure of a taupou—an honored ceremonial title in Samoan culture—as a lens. The speaker contrasts their sister’s symbolic beauty and status with her eventual rejection of expectations, choosing instead a life of independence and reinvention in America. The shift from reverence to silence around titles suggests a broader commentary on changing values and the cost of self-determination.

Living Small, Kim Meredith

Pacific Studies

This story traces Luisa’s quiet reflections during a bus ride through the city and into the suburbs, blending present experiences with vivid memories of a full, familial past. As she recalls life with her husband in her grandparents’ home and her grandmother’s moving speech at her university graduation, we see Luisa grappling with the contrast between her youthful dreams and her current life. Her grandmother once called her “a dreamer” and supported her late-night intellectual curiosity, forging a bond that shaped Luisa’s path. When a coworker sits beside her on the bus, Luisa is drawn back into the present, revealing …

Manōwai, Victoria Nālani Kneubuhl

Pacific Studies

This story follows Kanoe, a woman who retreats to rural Kona to recover from an emotionally abusive relationship with Frank, a manipulative academic. Through journal-like reflections and quiet moments in the heat-soaked coastal town, Kanoe processes her heartbreak and rediscovers herself. Her interactions with locals—particularly the wise and warm-hearted Luisa—reveal a rhythm of life grounded in history, resilience, and a subtle but profound sense of healing. As Kanoe begins writing again and exploring her surroundings, her journey shifts from escape to restoration, where stories, memory, and new connections light the path forward.

It Began With A Question, Konai Helu Thaman

Pacific Studies

This poem reflects a quiet, profound moment of surrender and trust. Rooted in timelessness and uncertainty, the speaker is called into action not by clarity, but by faith. Despite feeling disconnected from place and time, they answer a rare question with a brave "yes," grounding themselves in something enduring—a rock that "noticed" them. It’s a meditation on belonging, voice, and hope whispered into a weary world.

Walking With My Grandmothers #1, Jewel Castro

Pacific Studies

Image of three women, two are grandmothers

The Night Woman, Sia Figiel

Pacific Studies

This evocative poem honors the resilience, knowledge, and sacred power of the “Night Woman”—a symbolic figure who endures judgment and violence from the dominant “Day People.” Though wounded, she hides her pain behind silence and laughter, carrying ancient wisdom of the natural and cosmic world. In a transformative act at the ocean’s edge, she sheds societal expectations (“Day Skin”) to embrace her true self, birthing new generations whose identities are written in the stars. It’s a lyrical celebration of hidden strength, ancestral legacy, and feminine sovereignty.

Diagnosis, Caroline Sinavaiana

Pacific Studies

This poem captures a moment of tense uncertainty, likely surrounding a medical diagnosis revealed by ultrasound. The natural imagery—sea of shadows, swaying grass, warring rain and wind—mirrors the speaker’s emotional turbulence. Faced with a 50/50 prognosis, they turn inward, preparing for struggle or protection by invoking ancestral strength, symbolized by “ancient arrows” and a tightened bowstring. It’s a poetic meditation on fear, resilience, and readiness in the face of potential loss.

Butterfly Thighs Flutter By The Bye, Rosanna Raymond

Pacific Studies

An artwork displaying a woman in sepia tones in front of a background of text.

Waimanalo Litany, Caroline Sinavaiana

Pacific Studies

This elegiac poem, “Waimanalo Litany,” written in memory of Mahealani Dudoit, is a lyrical meditation on loss, healing, and the sacred presence of place. With vivid imagery of ocean, land, and ancestral spirits, the poet weaves a prayerful plea for mercy and peace across beloved Pacific landscapes. The repeated invocations to the spirits of moana, Koʻolau, Makapuʻu, and Waimānalo evoke a sense of cultural rootedness and spiritual continuity, even amid physical pain and environmental disruption. It is both a personal tribute and a collective chant of remembrance.