Chapter 28: Pacific Art

‘Ahu ‘ula

Hawaiian feather cloaks

Malagan

a large, traditional ceremony from Papua New Guinea, as well as the masks and costumes used in that ceremony

Mana

a supernatural force believed to dwell in a person, or a sacred object

Moai

large stone sculptures found on Easter Island

Tapa

a cloth made from bark that is soaked and beaten into a fabric

Nan Madol

* 92 small artificial islands connected by canals, about 170 acres in total.
* Built out into the water on a lagoon
* City built to separate the upper classes from the lower classes.

Female deity

* Many were kept in religious buildings belonging to the community.
* Sometimes they were dressed in garments; may have been decorated with ­flowers.
* Taken by missionaries who did not record anything about the sculptures.

Navigation chart

* meant to be memorized prior to a voyage
* enabled navigators to guide boats through the many islands to get to a destination.
* made of wood, therefore waterproof and buoyant.

wapepe

Charts are called ____ in the Marshall Islands.

‘Ahu ‘ula (feather cape)

* Feathers numbered 500,000; some birds had only seven usable feathers.
* Only high-ranking chiefs or warriors of great ability were entitled to wear these; mostly by men.

Mana

a supernatural force believed to dwell in a person or sacred object.

Red

____ was considered a royal color in Polynesia; yellow was prized because of its rarity.

Staff God

* Large, column-like, wooden core mounted upright in village common spaces; the wooden core is wrapped with tapa cloth.
* The wooden sculpture placed on top features a large carved head with several smaller figures carved below it
* Most were destroyed; only the top ends were retained as trophies.

manava

Reverend John Williams observed that the barkcloth contained red feathers and pieces of pearl shell, known as the ______ or the spirit of the god.

Hiapo (tapa)

* cloth made from tree bark; the pieces are beaten and pasted together.
* After it is dried, designs are sometimes repainted to enhance the effect.
* Traditionally worn as clothing before the importation of cotton.

Hiapo

the word used in Niue for tapa (bark cloth).

Tapa

* It takes on a special meaning: commemorating an event, honoring a chief, noting a series of ancestors.
* Generally worn by women
* many of the images have a rich history.

Tamati Waka Nene

* By Gottfried Lindauer (1890)
* a Maori chief and convert to the Wesleyan faith.
* Painting is posthumous, based on a photograph by John Crombie.

Malagan mask

* Commissioned; they represent the individual’s soul, or life force, not a physical presence.
* indicates the relationship of a particular deceased person to a clan and to living members of the family
* painted black, yellow, and red: important colors denoting violence, war, and magic.

Buk (mask)

* Part of a larger grass costume used in ceremonies about death, fertility, or male initiation, perhaps even to ensure a good harvest.
* this mask shows a bird placed on top.

Torres Strait

It is the water passageway between Australia and New Guinea.

Presentation of Fijian mats and tapa cloths to Queen Elizabeth II

* multimedia performance, photographic documentation,
* presented to the Queenin 1953 in commemoration of her visit to Fiji on the occasion of her coronation as queen of England.

Moai on platform (ahu)

* Prominent foreheads; large broad noses; thin pouting lips; ears that reach to the top of their heads.
* Short, thin arms fall straight down; hands on hips; hands across lower abdomen below navel.
* Monuments were toppled face down because it was believed that the eyes had spiritual power.

ahu

large platforms of stone mixed with ashes from cremations;