Author : Joël Bonnemaison
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 9780824815257
Total Pages : 402 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (152 download)
Book Synopsis The Tree and the Canoe by : Joël Bonnemaison
Download or read book The Tree and the Canoe written by Joël Bonnemaison and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 1994-01-01 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This personal observation of Tanna, an island in the southern part of the Vanuatu archipelago, presents an extraordinary case study of cultural resistance. Based on interviews, myths and stories collected in the field, and archival research, The Tree and the Canoe analyzes the resilience of the people of Tanna, who, when faced with an intense form of cultural contact that threatened to engulf them, liberated themselves by re-creating, and sometimes reinventing, their own kastom. Following a lengthy history of Tanna from European contact, the author discusses in detail original creation myths and how Tanna people revived them in response to changes brought by missionaries and foreign governments. The final chapters of the book deal with the violent opposition of part of the island population to the newly established National Unity government.