Melanesians Search

For An Identity

According to the Concise Oxford ictionary, the word Melanesia comes 3m the Greek: melas (black) nesos dand) and refers to the group of ands, NE of Australia, in which the uninant race is dark-skinned and izzly-haired. Geographically, the rm Melanesia is usually used to ver New Caledonia, New Hebrides, ji, Solomon Islands, Papua New ainea and Irian Jay a, though e Torres Straits Islands ought to be :luded, and Fiji might better be put .o a category of its own. And, as is inted out in An Introduction to the oples and Cultures of Melanesia, sre is much cultural overlap be een Melanesia, Micronesia and ilynesia. What, then, is Melanesia? hat constitutes a Melanesian?

The author, an anthropologist with nsiderable field experience in Papua jw Guinea, believes that “Melanesia best regarded as a geographical ifion within which some culture tits occur with greater frequency an they do in some of the surround l areas” and that it is not possible ) make more than a handful of neralisations that will apply to even ; majority of the societies in Melan a, and many of these generalisa •ns do not distinguish Melanesia >m Micronesia, eastern Indonesia, the smaller islands of Polynesia”.

In this booklet, one of a series current topics in anthropology, the thor’s experience and skilful use of levant material from recognised urces provide a most helpful over jw. In clear and concise language, ;e from academic jargon, Chowning iefly summarises the main facets of ? past and present of the Islanders d their environment.

The text is divided into sections on ysical anthropology, languages, pre »tory, environment and resources, rticulture, demography, land-use, cial organisation, warfare, kinship d marriage, sexual relations, reli -3n and ceremonial, art, and econo ic organisation. Inevitably, there are me overlaps, and some people will efer a different arrangement of the a and/or wish to change the iphases given to sections. For in mce, because the nexus between •rticulture and land-use, and that be een social organisation and econo ic organisation, is so strong, the vision into separate sections will not ;ase every reader.

It might be asked why the section i demography has no reference to e work of Dr Norma McArthur,

perhaps the foremost authority on population studies in the Pacific. And it is not correct to state that too little is known about the Western Islands to class their people as Micronesians: Hohnschopp (1971) has provided de tailed evidence that, on Aua and Wuvulu, proto-Polynesian conquerors introduced a culture which has over come the original Manus culture.

The real test, however, is whether one can see the wood for the trees.

Most academic writers have taken a microcosmic approach, leaving the ‘ordinary’ reader to tackle a plethora of books, monographs and articles in order to gain an overview. This book let passes that ‘arboreal’ test with flying colours. Equally important, Chowning draws attention to some as sumptions which, though valid only for the group of people and/or limited environment about which they have been made, are close to becoming conventional wisdom for the whole of Melanesia.

She rightly stresses that much more needs to be known about such matters as the historical development of mi gration and settlement, of land owner ship and use, of kinship, and of the role of women. Our current know ledge supports Chowning’s view that Melanesia can only be regarded as a geographical region in a wide sense, and as an even wider one in relation to the peoples who inhabit it. How ever, she concludes, “the greatly in creased interaction between people of different groups as a result of Euro pean influence and control, along with the gradual disappearance of tra ditional technology, ceremonies, and customs, has reduced the cultural dis tinctions that were once the most outstanding characteristic of Melan nesia”.

Intra- and inter-island politics, close personal relationships between leaders in the region, eg that of the prime ministers of Papua New Guinea and Fiji, and inter-marriage among the politico-economic elites are but some of the factors contributing to what may become a pan-Melanesian cul ture.

The new nations of the Pacific have gained international recognition, but they are still searching for identity within the region. This booklet may help Melanesians in that search. It deserves to be read by them and theii

friends.

Harry Jackman.

(An Introduction To The Peoples

And Cultures Of Melanesia. By Ann

Chowning. Published by Cummings Publishing Co, Menlo Park, USA. $2.00.)