"Alasa'a's words form the core of this book, presenting one man's perspective on the history of his people. However, this introduces a broader view of the past based on other sources, interpreting Alasa'a's account for those unfamiliar with his cultural background and contributing different historical perspectives, both local and colonial. The editors have drawn on oral history, anthropological research and archival records to present a man-sided account of a rich and complex Pacific Islands history." "Alasa'a's narrative is printed in both Kwara'ae and English, with 58 black and white illustrations."--BOOK JACKET.

The Things We Value takes as its subject the creativity and cultural heritage of Solomon Islands, focusing on the kinds of objects produced and valued by local communities across this diverse country in the south-west Pacific. Combining historical and interpretive analyses with personal memories and extensive illustrations, the contributors examine such distinctive forms as red feather-money, shell valuables, body ornaments, war canoes, ancestral stones and wood carvings. Their essays discuss the materials, designs, manufacture, properties and meanings of artefacts from across the country. Solomon Islanders value these things variously as currency, heirlooms and commodities, for their beauty, power and sanctity, and as bearers of the historical identities and relationships which sustain them in a rapidly changing world. The volume brings together indigenous experts and leading international scholars as authors of the most geographically comprehensive anthology of Solomon Islands ethnography yet published. It engages with historical and contemporary issues from a range of perspectives, anthropological and archaeological, communal and personal, and makes a major new contribution to Pacific Islands studies.