An Encyclopedia

Of Pacific

Knowledge

VHomme dans le Pacifique Sud, one of the most compre hensive and valuable books on the South Pacific ever published, is the latest of the steady stream of publications to be issued by the Societe des Oceanistes in Paris.

WITH 640 pages of heavy paper measuring roughly 10 inches by eight, the book is also the weightiest to come our way for some time.

Its author, Francois Doumenge, a 40-year-old Frenchman, obviously has an encyclopedic approach to life, a sponge-like ability to soak up facts, a computer-like facility to sort them into order, and the knack of regurgitating them on paper with the speed of an Edgar Wallace.

Limitations

Although his book frequently touches on New Guinea, it is mainly concerned with the islands from the Solomons to Easter Island.

The book is divided into three main parts.

The first describes the physical nature of the Pacific Islands—

geology, climate, botany, animal life, etc.

The second part describes the native people, their origin and mode of life; the history of European and Asiatic penetration in the area; the Islanders’ search for a new “equilibrium”, their new migrations, etc.

And the third part is an account of the modes of making a living in the various islands—agriculture, fish ing, mining and manufactures— together with the story of the development of administrative and economic services, transport, and tourism.

The book is profusely illustrated with excellent photographs (many taken by the author), maps, draw ings, and tables.

The last 40 pages are taken up with bibliographical material and indexes.

The book contains an enormous amount of up-to-date material on a great many facets of Islands life, much of which is not easy to find elsewhere.

Not surprisingly, it is particularly strong on the French territories— New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna—and the Anglo- French New Hebrides.

But it is hard to think of any

subject on which the author does n< have copious and useful informatioi If you want to know, for exampL how many New Zealand planes calle at Nadi in 1965, how many cai Western Samoa had in 1962, ti history of the Star Kist tuna canner in Pago Pago, or of the developmei of the phosphate deposits o Makatea, Ocean Island or Nauru it is all there in detail.

L’Homme dans le Pacifique Su is a remarkable achievement for single author. The only matter fc regret is that it is not in English.

On masks

Another recent publication by th Societe des Oceanistes is Mythologi du Masque en Nouvelle-Caledonu by the indefatigable French anthrc pologist of the Pacific, Jean Guiart.

The author says in an introductio that, except for a little known stud by Maurice Leenhardt, the “sombr and terrifying masks” of the nativ New Caledonians have previous! received little attention from scholars Guiart’s work certainly make amends for this neglect, for it cover the subject in detail from every angle and it is illustrated with numerou fullpage colour and black and whit photographs of the wide variety o masks, plus several old-time drawing of them.—RL.

(L’Homme Dans Le Pacifique Sui

And Mythologie Du Masque El

NOUVELLE - CALEDONIE. Societe de Oceanistes, Musee de I’Homme, Paris France. Prices not available.)