Oceania: Our Sea of Islands

Oceania: Our Sea of Islands by Epeli Hau'ofa

Introduction

• The essay addresses critical issues in Oceania and presents a new, optimistic perspective.
• It acknowledges potential disturbance to those dedicated to Oceania, for whom the author holds respect.

Two Levels of Operation in Oceania

• National Governments and Diplomacy:
  • Involves politicians, bureaucrats, diplomats, and business communities.
  • Focuses on aid, trade, investment, defense, and security.
  • Often leads to increased dependency on powerful nations.
• Ordinary People (Peasants and Proletarians):
  • Independently plan their lives due to poor benefit flow and skepticism towards policies.
  • Their actions often go unnoticed or are misinterpreted by experts.
• Views from macroeconomics and macropolitics differ significantly from those at the grassroots level.
• The essay is based on observations of behavior at the grass roots.

Dominant Views vs. Subordinates

• Views of those in dominant positions can significantly affect how subordinates cope.
• Belittling narratives can lead to self-perpetuation of subordination.
• Colonial condemnation led to views of islanders as savage and lascivious.
• Colonial terms like "masters" and "police boys" reinforce hierarchical relationships.
• Attempts to remove colonial taint are seen in movements rejecting European ways.
• Parallel relationships exist in the appropriation of indigenous knowledge.

The Prevailing View of Small Island States

• Small island states are seen as:
  • Poorly endowed with resources.
  • Isolated, hindering economic growth.
  • Dependent on external largesse.
• This view was initially accepted and propagated, seemingly based on the reality of their existence.
• Events after political independence appeared to confirm this view:
  • Hopes unmaterialized.
  • Rush for financial aid.
  • Stagnating economies.
  • Environmental deterioration.
  • Migration to other regions.
  • Exclusive economic zones being sold off.
  • Some islands labeled as "mirab societies" dependent on migration, remittances, and bureaucracy.
  • Melanesian countries faced dependency and social fragmentation.

Challenging the Notion of Smallness

• The author began questioning this bleak view after students expressed concern and a desire for solutions.
• The idea of smallness was seen as limiting, even if production increased.
• Inspiration came during a visit to the Island of Hawai'i, observing its formation and growth.
• The author realized that the view of islands as small and poor is an economic construct that overlooks cultural and historical realities.
• Ordinary Pacific people had a sense of belonging and grandeur extending from north to south, predating European contact.

The Dangers of Internalized Belittlement

• Internalized belittlement can lead to moral paralysis and fatalism.
• Comparable to the confinement of indigenous people on reservations.
• Some islands risk being confined to metaphorical, if not physical, reservations.
• Example: The Marshall Islands, victims of atomic and hydrogen bombs.

Reframing the Pacific: A Sea of Islands

• The idea of smallness is relative and depends on what is included in the calculation of size.
• Oceanic peoples conceived their world as encompassing:
  • Land and surrounding ocean.
  • The underworld.
  • The heavens.
  • Their world was anything but tiny; they thought big.
• The difference between viewing the Pacific as "islands in a far sea" versus "a sea of islands":
  • "Islands in a far sea" emphasizes smallness and remoteness.
  • "A sea of islands" is a holistic perspective, highlighting interconnectedness.
• Colonial powers drew imaginary boundaries that confined islanders.
• The concept of "Pacific Islanders" as a common category emerged recently due to shared experiences of colonial rule.

Oceania: A World of Seafarers

• Oceania denotes a sea of islands with their inhabitants.
• Ancestors were seafarers who explored, settled, and navigated the seas.
• They developed navigation skills and a spirit to traverse large distances.
• Theirs was a large world where peoples and cultures moved freely.

Inter-Island Exchange and Integration

• Islands like Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Rotuma, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Futuna, and Uvea formed a large exchange community.
• Voyaging extended to Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia.
• Settlements in Melanesia, New Zealand, and Hawai'i were intentional, not accidental.
• Large regions of Melanesia were integrated by trading and cultural exchange systems.
• Lingua francas and multilingualism contradict the notion of fragmented communities.
• Imperialism and neocolonialism promoted misconceptions of Melanesia.
• Oral traditions and blood ties support the idea of interconnected islands with shared economies and cultures.

The Contraction of Oceania

• Nineteenth-century imperialism erected boundaries, confining people and restricting movement.
• Islanders were cut off from relatives, resources, and cultural enrichment.
• This historical context led to the view of island countries as small, poor, and isolated.

Breaking Free from Confinement

• The expansion of the world economy after World War II had a liberating effect.
• People moved in large numbers, re-establishing connections and expanding their world.
• They established new resource areas and kinship networks in various countries.
• Despite being referred to as Spanish, British, American, or Japanese lakes, the ocean belongs to those who call it home.

Resources Beyond National Boundaries

• The resources of islanders are no longer confined to national boundaries.
• Goods flow between homelands and communities abroad.
• This informal movement sustains the welfare of ordinary people.

Oceania's True Wealth

• Oceania is neither tiny nor deficient in resources, a condition created by a colonial confinement of less than a century.
• Islanders are mobile and are enlarging their world, establishing new resource bases and networks.
• Alliances are forming with indigenous populations in Aotearoa and Hawai'i.

Shifting the Focus

• We must focus on the actions of ordinary people, not just political economies and diplomacy.
• The world of Oceania includes major cities in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada.
• The extent of people's resources must be measured within this expanded world.

Challenging Misconceptions

• Living standards in Oceania are generally higher than in most third-world societies.
• Attributing this solely to aid and remittances is a misreading of reality.
• People depend more on themselves and their kin than on external largesse.
• Reciprocity is central to oceanic cultures, with homeland relatives reciprocating for support from abroad.
• This dynamic represents interdependence, not dependence.

Connectivity and Mobility

• The islands are not isolated due to advancements in technology and transportation.
• Increased circulation within Oceania is driven by regional organizations.
• The University of the South Pacific fosters connections among people from various island countries.

Oceania's Global Significance

• The ocean's importance for global environmental stability, resource provision, and mineral reserves is increasingly recognized.
• Exclusive economic zones make island countries significant in size.
• Organizations and movements focus on environmental protection, nuclear-free initiatives, and sustainable development.
• Islanders are well-suited to be guardians of the world's largest ocean.

A Vision for the Future

• The focus must be on the younger generations and fostering a better future.
• Oceania deserves a major role in the protection and sustainable development of its ocean.
• The goals of neocolonialism must be understood.
• Ordinary people are independently redefining their world and securing their children's futures.

The Expanding Island of Hawai'i as a Metaphor

• The Big Island of Hawai'i expanding symbolizes the future of Oceania.
• This future lies in the hands of the people, not external prescriptions.

The Story of the Tongan Friend

• A Tongan man in Berkeley exemplifies independence by importing and selling kava.
• He sends T-shirts to students, supports his relatives, and funds his sons' college education.

Conclusion

• Thousands like him are traversing boundaries, cultivating their own universe.
• Oceania is vast, expanding, hospitable, and humanity rising from the depths.
• Embrace this ancient truth to resist confinement and belittlement.

Acknowledgments

• Thanks to Marshall Sahlins for his insights.

Notes

• Fiji is included in Polynesia for geographic and cultural reasons.
• Thanks to Eric Waddell for the terms "islands in a far sea" and "a sea of islands."
• The terms Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia are part of the cultural consciousness of the peoples of Oceania.