Humanities and Social Sciences

Anthropology Program

Tongan History Association Newsletter

Vol.6 No.1, May 1995

Report from the 'Linking our Sea of Islands: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga' Conference, Auckland University, January 1995

Organised by Dr Elizabeth Wood Ellem, of THA, this conference was both interesting and unusual. Rather than the usual call for papers, this conference invited nine `theme speakers' to introduce topics that compared and contrasted the three countries. Abstracts of their papers were circulated prior to the conference and participants were invited to comment on the papers as panellists. Most speakers had two panellists, who expanded, critiqued, or otherwise commented upon their papers. The remainder of the participants at the conference were given the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the panellists' responses, and further discussion occurred in the very successful workshops. In alphabetical order, the speakers were:

* Ian Campbell: `Introduction to the theme'

* Isimeli Cokanasiga: `The challenge for the improvement of quality and effectiveness in institutions of higher education in Fiji, Tonga, and Western Samoa'

* Paul Geraghty: `Contacts between Fiji and Western Polynesia: evidence from linguistic and oral traditions'

* Roger Green: `Aspects of linguistic and archeological correlates for rank, status, and social organisation in ancestral Polynesian societies of Fiji - Western Polynesia'

* Adrienne Kaeppler: `Tonga, Fiji, and Samoa as a social system'

* `Okusi M hina: `The Western Polynesian ancestral homeland and afterworld Pulotu: a consideration of "text" and "form"'

* Malama Meleise : `Land reform in Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga'

* Penny Schoeffel: `Female leadership and women's associations in Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga'

* Jehanne Teilhet-Fisk: `Rank, status, and symbolism in hairstyles of Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa'

** Futa Helu also gave a fascinating and amusing paper on Tongan poetry, concluding with a presentation by teachers and students from `Atenisi.

Apart from the papers themselves and the workshops, the conference had a number of highlights: the formal Maori welcome to the Waipapa Marae, with Rangi Walker; a poetry performance by Samoan poet Sia; a Samoan feast followed by much singing and dancing; and for some of us, the thrill of sleeping in the meeting house of the marae, under the fantastic carvings. Elizabeth Wood Ellem was assisted in the conference organisation by Phyllis Herda, Judith Huntsman, Melenaite Taumoefolau, and John Wilcox.

On the final day of the conference an extraordinary meeting of the THA was held: below are the minutes of that meeting.

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Tongan History Association, held on 28.1.1995 at Auckland University, Auckland, at 1.30 p.m.

Present: Ian Campbell, Eve Coxon, George Fa`apoi, Eseta Fusitu`a, Phyllis Herda, Adrienne Kaeppler, Tisiola Kakala, Helen Morton, Peter Nightingale, Nancy Pollock, Wendy Pond, `Opeti Taliai, Melenaite Taumoefolau, Jehanne Teilhet-Fisk, Edgar Tu`inukuafe (chair), Elizabeth Wood Ellem.

After some discussion it was decided that this meeting could not be a formal meeting at which motions could be passed and carried. Hence, a number of recommendations were made, which will be forwarded to the Executive Committee for their consideration, or to be discussed at the next General Meeting, at the next THA Conference.

First, it was announced that Aletta Biersack would not be seeking to renew her term as Secretary-Treasurer, and Helen Morton agreed to act in that position on an interim basis until the next meeting. The meeting asked Helen to write to Aletta to thank her for her terrific contribution to THA. Helen will also represent the THA in Australia as the former representative (Elizabeth Wood Ellem) has moved to New Zealand.

There was some discussion about representives, with some question as to who would act as the American representative(s). A notice is to be sent to members informing them of representatives' addresses as soon as possible.

Elizabeth Wood Ellem recommended a five-year subscription of $30 be introduced.

Edgar Tu`inukuafe suggested that the next THA conference be held at the Australian National University in Canberra, as a 10-year anniversary of the first THA conference. This has also been suggested by Sione L t kefu, president of the THA. Since the next general meeting will not take place until the next conference, those present agreed that Canberra should be the 1997 venue, and this matter was left for the Executive to finalise.

Elizabeth Wood Ellem raised the question of the publication of the 1993 conference papers, and the monies acquired for this purpose. Eseta informed the meeting that funding had been received from the French Embassy, and that she is going to check which papers have been received for publication. Once this is established publication can be organised. Elizabeth Wood Ellem also asked that investigation be made into other monies held by THA and the uses for which they are available.

Ian Campbell recommended that the Executive be asked to consult on the future and administration of the THA, and to bring its proposals on these matters to the next meeting. This motion arose out of concern about members not receiving copies of the THA constitution, or minutes of the 1993 meeting, and thus being unsure of details such as the term of office-bearers. Wendy Pond recommended that the office of President be held for three year terms; indication was made that some members would oppose this suggestion, so this issue was deferred until the 1997 meeting for more formal consideration.

Concern was raised that the 1995 `Linking our Sea of Islands' conference was not a THA conference: members were reminded by Elizabeth Wood Ellem and Phyllis Herda that at the 1993 meeting it was decided to forgo a specifically THA conference in favour of the broader-based conference that was proposed.

Edgar Tu`inukuafe recommended that at future THA conferences papers be presented in either Tongan or English, to encourage more Tongan involvement and participation, as had been the case at at least one previous THA conference.

Membership

A reminder that membership dues are to be paid by July 4th each year; $10 in your country's currency ($5 for students). Address cheques and money orders to Tongan History Association. The THA Representatives, to whom you may pay subscriptions in your own currency, are:

Tonga
Salote Fukofuka, USP Centre, P.O. Box 278, Nuku'alofa.

New Zealand
Edgar Tu`inukuafe, 36 Sequoia Place, Sunnynook, Auckland 1310.

USA
Hold on to your subscriptions temporarily: there are several representatives and it is yet to be decided who will collect US monies.

Australia
Helen Morton, 2 Moran Street, Viewbank 3084, Victoria.

Europe
Dr. Paul van der Grijp, Weezenhof 67-55, 6536 BG Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

New Members

Melenaite Taumoefolau, Anthropology Department, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

Tisiola Kakala, 235 Mt Eden Road, Mt Eden, New Zealand.

Rory Ewins, Department of Political and Social Change, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia. Phone: (616) 249 0181; Fax: (616) 257 1893; email: arewins@coombs.anu.edu.au

Changes to Members' Addresses

Phyllis Herda, Women's Studies, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland. Phone: (09) 373-7999; e-mail: p.herda@auckland.ac.nz.

Elizabeth Wood Ellem, Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. Fax: 03-364 2002

Arne Aleksej Perminow, Okernveien 75, 0575 Oslo, Norway

** Any members who would like their email addresses published in this newsletter, please let me know.

Items of Interest

Conference
Preparations are already underway for the 1997 THA Conference in Canberra. I have held off sending this newsletter in order to be able to announce the theme of this conference: Tonga: World War Two to the Present. The conference will be held January 29-31, 1997, with registration on January 28th. Proposals for papers should be sent to the committee, chaired by Sione Latukefu, by SEPTEMBER 1995.

The conference committee would welcome any suggestions or proposals for fundraising, to assist with fares from Tonga for those who would otherwise be unable to attend. Send proposals and fundraising suggestions to: Sione L t kefu, Division of Pacific and Asian History, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia.

CORAIL (Coordination pour l'Oceanie des Recherches sur les Arts, les Idees et let Litteratures) will hold its 8th pluridisciplinary colloquium under the patronage of the Universite Francaise du Pacifique on November 23-25, 1995, in Noumea, on the theme Women between tradition and modernity (in the South Pacific World, in its historical, literary, artistic, social and cultural aspects). Deadline for abstracts is August 15th. Enquiries to:

C.O.R.A.I.L. President Sonia Faessel, Universite Francaise du Pacifique, GPO Box 4477, Noumea, New Caledonia; or fax the Universite on (687) 25.48.29 or fax Mrs Faessel (687) 43.45.40

From 15-17 December 1994 was the second conference of the European Society for Oceanists, in Basel, Switzerland, entitled Knowing Oceania: Constituting Knowledge and Identities. There were about 200 participants from Europe and overseas, and 90 papers. Two papers on Tonga were presented: Paul van der Grijp with "Agriculture Became Very Popular: Socio-Cultural Impact of the Tongan Squash Boom," and Francoise Marsaudon with "Which Memory for Which History? Constituting Historical Knowledge in Polynesia (Tonga)."

Book
Has anyone else had trouble getting hold of Arne Aleksej Perminow's book, The long way home: dilemmas of everyday life in a Tongan village (1993), reviewed in the last newsletter? I had so much trouble that I wrote to the author, who kindly sent me a copy, as well as information that may help others to find it: Scandinavian University Press distributes world-wide (excluding Scandinavia) through Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford OX2 6DP (or their branch in your country). Also check the `British Library Catalouging in Publication Data' and `Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data'. The ISBN code is ISBN 82-00-41092-7. It's a great read, so keep trying!

Magazine
K l liana `Otuang Naufahu has produced a magazine called Tongan Women: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. The first edition, published in 1994, has stories on many Tongan women and their work in Tonga and overseas. For information write to Tongan Women Magazine, PO Box 3107, Nuku`alofa, Tonga.

Thesis
Another thesis to add to the lists previously published in the THA newsletter:

Francis, Steven. 1990 `Class formation in the Pacific Islands of Tonga. An Investigation of different conceptualisations of class within a hierarchical society'. MA Thesis, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.

People
In March 1995, THA member Paul van der Grijp was re-elected Board Member of the European Society for Oceanists. He also was a co-founder of this society during the First European Colloquium on Pacific Studies held in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, in 1992. The aim was to set up a professional association for researchers in Oceania and to organise biennial conferences. The European Society for Oceanists now has more than 250 members.

Arne (Alex) Perminow reports that his current research project is entitled "Beautifying Society: Moving `Things of Love' in the changing world of a Tongan Island".

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Grijp, Paul van der. 1994. "A history of misunderstandings: first contacts between Europeans and Tongans." In Toon van Meijl and Paul van der Grijp (eds). European Imagery and Colonial History in the Pacific, pp.32-48. Saarbruken and Fort Lauerdale: Breitenbach.

----. 1995. "Made in Tonga: manufacture and art objects from leaves, bark and wood." In Dirk Smidt et al (eds) Pacific Material Culture: Essays in Honour of Dr. Simon Kooijman, pp.200-218. Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde 28. Leiden: National Museum of Ethnology.

Grijp, Paul van der, and Toon van Meijl. 1994. "Introduction: European imagery and the colonial history of the Pacific." In Toon van Meijl and Paul van der Grijp (eds). European Imagery and Colonial History in the Pacific, pp.1-13. Saarbruken and Fort Lauerdale: Breitenbach.

Kaeppler, Adrienne L. 1995. "Poetics and Politics of Tongan Barkcloth." In Dirk Smidt et al (eds) Pacific Material Culture: Essays in Honour of Dr. Simon Kooijman, pp.101-121. Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde 28. Leiden: National Museum of Ethnology.

Teilhet-Fisk, Jehanne H. 1995. "To beat or not to beat, that is the question: a study on acculturation and change in an art-making process and its relation to gender strutures." In Dirk Smidt et al (eds) Pacific Material Culture: Essays in Honour of Dr. Simon Kooijman, pp.122-148. Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde 28. Leiden: National Museum of Ethnology.

**************************************

As you will see in the minutes of the Auckland meeting of the THA, Aletta Biersack declined to renew her position as Secretary-Treasurer and so will no longer be producing the THA Newsletter. Aletta has done a terrific job and it will be hard to fill her shoes. As this is my first newsletter, let me introduce myself:

I have a PhD in anthropology, from the Australian National University, and a revised version of my doctoral thesis is being prepared for publication with the University of Hawai'i Press, entitled Becoming Tongan: an ethnography of childhood. At present I have a Women with Career Interruptions Research Fellowship in the Gender Studies Research Unit, in the Department of History at the University of Melbourne. I'm working with Tongan migrants in Melbourne, looking at transformations in gender identity in the context of migration, from the perspective of child socialisation. Some of you may know me by my former name, Helen Kavapalu.

I am keen to maintain the high standard that Aletta established for the newsletter (although it may take me a while to get the hang of it!). To do so I would appreciate your contributions: let me know what research you are doing, what you have published, any conferences you think may interest members, book reviews, requests for information, indeed anything you would like included in the newsletter.

You can contact me at the Department of History, Melbourne University, Parkville 3052 (fax: 03 344-7894); however I work mainly from home so my home address is quicker (as above in country reps.) My home phone is 03 457-6808. My email address is: helen_morton@muwayf.unimelb.edu.au , though I only check that once a week when I go in to Melbourne University, so don't expect an immediate response. Any item sent on diskette in Wordperfect 5.1 will be most welcome, and the diskette will be returned if you so request.

I hope to put out another issue of the newsletter mid-year, so please try to get any information to me by the end of June.

Return to Newsletter Index

Return to the Tonga Research Association Home Page