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The Polynesian Islands The islands of the eastern Pacific are known as Polynesia, from the Greek for "many islands." Set within a triangle by New Zealand in the south, Hawaii to the north and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the east, the Polynesian islands are dotted across the vast eastern Pacific Ocean. Though small and separated by thousands of miles, they share similar environments and were settled by people with a common cultural heritage. These people were exceptional boat builders and sailed across the Pacific navigating by currents, stars and cloud formations. They were skilled fisherman and farmers, growing fruit trees and vegetables and raising pigs, chickens and dogs. Islanders were also accomplished craftspeople and worked in wood, fiber and feathers to create objects of power and beauty.
Nan Madol Nan Madol. Pohnpei, Micronesia. Saudeleur Dynasty. c.700-1600 CE. Basalt boulders and prismatic columns. Off the shores of a tiny island in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean are the ruins of an ancient civilization. The remains of Nan Madol are the only standing monument of a civilization built entirely over open water, on a coral reef. Nan Madol was once home to the Saudeleur, who ruled the island of Pohnpei for more than a millennium. The 92 artificial islands of Nan Madol are thought to have been constructed over the course of several centuries, and then eventually abandoned after 1,000 years of habitation. Nan Madol is the only known ancient city ever built on top of a coral reef. Construction is thought to have started 1,500 years ago and the Saudeleur people built 92 islands in the water next to Pohnpei, which is today part of theFederated States of Micronesia.
Nan Madol Built from large basalt blocks, some weighing as much as fifty tons on an ancient coral reef, with hundreds of artificial structures, intersected by manmade canals.
Moai on a platform (ahu). Rapa Nui (Easter Island) c.1100-1600 CE. Volcanic tuff figures on basalt base. The Moai are minimalist, monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the island's perimeter. Almost all moai have overly large heads three-eighths the size of the whole statue. The moai are chiefly the living faces of deified ancestors. The production and transportation of the 887 statues are considered remarkable creative and physical feats. The tallest moai erected was almost 10 m (33 ft) high and weighed 82 tons! The heaviest erected was a shorter but squatter moai at Ahu Tongariki, weighing 86 tons. The islanders themselves tore down the standing moai after theircivilization broke down.
‘Ahu ‘ula (feather cape). Hawaiian. Late 18th century CE. Feathers and fiber. The Hawaiian male nobility wore feather cloaks and capes for ceremonies and battle. Such cloaks and capes were called 'ahu'ula, or "red garments." Across Polynesia the color red was associated with both gods and chiefs. In the Hawaiian Islands, however, yellow feathers became equally valuable, due to their scarcity. They consisted of olona (Touchardia latifolia) fibre netting made in straight rows, with pieces joined and cut to form the desired shape. Tiny bundles of feathers were attached to the netting in overlapping rows starting at the lower edge. The exterior of this example is covered with feathers from various birds (depending on the color). This small cape has a shaped neckline which would closely fit the wearer.
Other ‘ahu ‘ula examples Staff god. Rarotonga, Cook Islands, central Polynesia. Late 18th – early 19th century. Wood, tapa, fiber, and feathers. The only surviving wrapped example of a large staff god, this impressive image is composed of a central wood shaft wrapped in an enormous roll of decorated barkcloth. There are no other surviving large staff-gods from the Cook Islands that retain their barkcloth wrapping as this one does. This was probably one of the most sacred of Rarotonga's objects. This impressive image is composed of a central wood shaft wrapped in an enormous roll of decorated barkcloth. The shaft is in the form of an elongated body, with a head and small figures at one end. The other end, composed of small figures and a naturalistic penis, is missing. A feathered pendant is bound in one ear.
Other ‘ahu ‘ula examples Staff god. Rarotonga, Cook Islands, central Polynesia. Late 18th – early 19th century. Wood, tapa, fiber, and feathers. Wood carving is a common art form in the Cook Islands. Rarotonga is known for its fisherman's gods and staff-gods. Cult figures called staff-gods or atua rakau from Rarotonga, apparently combine images of gods with their human descendants. They range in length between 28 inches and 18 feet and were carried and displayed horizontally. At one end, there is a schematized blade-shaped head and arms of the progenitive god with a succession of little figures rising from his body, alternatively full-face and in profile with penis erect. The staff itself terminated in a phallus. But this elaborately carved sexual imagery had less importance for the Rarotongans than the feathers and pieces of shell representing the soul of the god and enclosed in yards of bark cloth wound around the center of the staff
Female diety. Nukuoro, Micronesia.c.18th to 19th century CE. Wood. The anthropomorphic figures from the tiny atoll of Nukuoro are among the most impressive works of art from Oceania. Artists reduced the human body to its basic shapes. The shoulders are decorated with a delicately incised pattern which corresponds to the tattoos of Nukuoro chieftains and their families. The sculptures represent deities and deified ancestors. They were adorned with articles of clothing and were kept and worshipped in cult houses or in cult places. During major annual festivals, the inhabitants of the island, who were of Polynesian origin, gathered around the figures, which had been specially adorned for the celebration, and offered fruit and other food as a sacrifice. There’s not much information on the religious context of these rare figures. The activities of Christian missionaries, who began converting the inhabitants of Nukuoro towards the end of the 19th century, eventually caused the disappearance of these known traditions.
Female diety. Nukuoro, Micronesia. c.18th to 19th century CE. Wood.
Buk (mask). Torres Strait. Mid to late 19th century CE. Turtle shell, wood, fiber, feathers, and shell. The unique turtle-shell masks of the Torres Strait Islands that lie between Australia and New Guinea are among the most striking works of Oceanic art. Attributed to Mabuiag Island, this work displays the composite human and animal imagery typical of western Torres Strait masks. Turtle-shell masks in the western Torres Strait reportedly were used during funerary ceremonies and increase rites (rituals designed to ensure bountiful harvests and an abundance of fish and game). The ceremonies often involved performances in which senior men, wearing the masks together with rustling costumes of grass, reenacted events from the lives of culture-heroes, drawn from local oral tradition. Worn over the head like a helmet, this work depicts a human face, possiblyportraying one such culture-hero.Atop the head is a bird in flight.
Hiapo (tapa). Niue. c.1850-1900 CE. Tapa or bark cloth, freehand painting. Tapa cloth (or simply tapa) is a barkcloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean . Hiapo is the Niuean word for tapa cloth. Traditionally, it was patterned with designs unique to the island, many of them depicting events that were topical at the time the hiapo was painted. Often the women of a whole village work together on a huge sheet of tapa. A This hiapo is a form of decorated barkcloth from Niue. Little is known of pre-19th-century forms of Niuean cloth, but we do know that in the 1830s, Samoan methods of making barkcloth were introduced to Niue by Samoan missionaries. Consequently, the patterns and motifs on Niuean hiapo from mid nineteenth century are often indistinguishable from Samoan pieces of the same period. This hiapo is made from the bark of the paper mulberry tree. It has been decorated with freehand drawn motifs quite distinctivefrom later styles.
Hiapo (tapa). Niue. c.1850-1900 CE. Tapa or bark cloth, freehand painting.
Gottfried Lindauerwas originally from Bohemia (part of the Czech Repulic) and later a New Zealand artist famous for his portraits including that of the Māori. To avoid being drafted to the Austrian military service, he left for Germany and in 1874 boarded a boat to New Zealand. Many prominent Māori chiefs commissioned his work, which accurately records their facial tattoos, clothing, ornaments and weapons.
TamatiWaka Nene. Gottfried Lindauer. 1890 CE. Oil on canvas. Tāmati Wāka Nene (1785-1871) was a Māori chief who fought as an ally of the British in the Flagstaff War. Based on his obituary, Nene “boldly stepped out from amongst his own countrymen as the champion of law and order, of right as against wrong, and was the unflinching defender of the weak and helpless amongst person of both races.”
TamatiWaka Nene. Gottfried Lindauer. 1890 CE. Oil on canvas. The object he is holding is known as a tewhatewha. It’s a long-handled Māori club weapon. It is shaped like an axe and, formerly used in battle, is now used in ceremonies. This long club was designed for scientific sparring and lightning strokes and thrusts, aided by quick footwork on the part of the wielder. The blows were not struck with the blade as one would with an axe, but rather with the thicker straight front edge. It was common for tewhatewha to be decorated with a bunch of split pigeon or hawk feathers which hang from a drilled hole near the lower edge of the extension.
Navigation chart. Marshall Islands, Micronesia. 19th to 20th century CE. Wood and fiber. The Marshall Islands in eastern Micronesia consist of 34 coral atolls and more than 1,000 islands and islets spread out across an area of several hundred miles. In order to maintain links between the islands, the Marshall Islanders built quick, seafaring canoes. In order to determine a system of piloting and navigation, the islanders devised charts that marked not only the locations of the islands, but their knowledge of the swell and wave patterns as well. The charts were composed of wooden sticks; the horizontal and vertical sticks act as supports, while diagonal and curved ones represent wave swells. Cowrie or other small shells represent the position of the islands. The information was memorized and the charts would not be carriedon voyages.
Navigation chart. Marshall Islands, Micronesia. 19th to 20th century CE. Wood and fiber.
Malagan mask. New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, 20th century. Wood, pigment, fiber, and shell. The people of northern New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, honour the dead through Malagan ceremonies. These ceremonies assist the souls of the dead to pass into the spirit world. Malagan ceremonies are a means by which whole communities can express their reverence for the deceased. It is not a time of grief but a festival for honouring the dead.
Malagan mask. New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, 20th century. Wood, pigment, fiber, and shell. The purpose of a malagan ceremony is to send the souls of the deceased to the realm of the dead. At the climax of the ceremony, the commissioned malagan sculptures are exhibited in temporary display houses. Each mask honors a specific individual and represents an individual's soul or life force, not a direct portrait. During the course of the ceremony, the malagan are treated with the utmost care, since it is believed that the souls of the deceased actually enter the sculptures. Once the souls leave the malagan (and the world of the living), the sculptures are no longer needed and are usually burned or allowed to rot. Only the masks and musical instruments used during malagan ceremonies are preserved for future use.
Malagan display of masks and sculptures. New Ireland Province,Papua New Guinea, 20th century. Wood, pigment, fiber, and shell.
Ngatulaunima (tapa cloth). Tonga, central Polynesia, 1953. Shortly after being coronated in 1952, Queen Elizabeth II of England visits Tonga for the first time in December 19th-20th 1953, as part of her Head of the Commonwealth world tour. To commemorate this event, a ngatu launima (an enormous Tongan tapa cloth) that measured over 74 ft. x 14 ft. was made. It is now on display at the Te Papa museum in Wellington, New Zealand.
Queen Elizabeth II escorted by Queen Salome of Tonga.Tonga, central Polynesia, 1953.
Processional welcoming Queen Elizabeth II to Tonga with Ngatulaunima (tapa cloth). Tonga, central Polynesia, 1953.
