This groundbreaking anthology is the first to navigate the interconnections between the rhetorics and aesthetics of the Pacific. Like the bright and multifaceted constellation for which it is named, Huihui: Rhetorics and Aesthetics in the Pacific showcases a variety of genres and cross-genre forms—critical essays, poetry, short fiction, speeches, photography, and personal reflections—that explore a wide range of subjects, from Disney’s Aulani Resort to the Bishop Museum, from tiki souvenirs to the Dusky Maiden stereotype, from military recruitment to colonial silencing, from healing lands to healing words and music, from decolonization to sovereignty. These works go beyond conceiving of Pacific rhetorics and aesthetics as being always and only in response to a colonizing West and/or East. Instead, the authors emphasize the importance of situating their work within indigenous intellectual, political, and cultural traditions and innovations of the Pacific. Taken together, this anthology threads ancestral and contemporary discursive strategies, questions colonial and oppressive representations, and seeks to articulate an empowering decolonized future for all of Oceania. Representing several island and continental nations, the contributing authors include Albert Wendt, Haunani-Kay Trask, Mililani Trask, Chantal Spitz, Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwo‘ole Osorio, Flora Devatine, Kalena Silva, Steven Winduo, Alice Te Punga Somerville, Selina Tusitala Marsh, ku‘ualoha ho‘omanawanui, Craig Santos Perez, Gregory Clark, Chelle Pahinui, Dan Taulapapa McMullin, Michael Puleloa, Lisa King, and Steven Gin. Collectively, their words guide us over ocean routes like the great wa‘a, va‘a, waka, proa, and sakman once navigated by the ancestors of Oceania, now navigated again by their descendants.

"Brij V. Lal is a singular scholar. His work has spanned disciplines—from history to politics—and genres—from conventional monograph history, to participant history, political commentary, encyclopaedia, biography and faction. Brij is without doubt the most eminent scholar Fiji has ever produced. He also remains the most significant public intellectual of his country, despite having been banned from entering it in 2009. He is also one of the leading Pacific historians of his generation, and an internationally recognised authority on the Indian diaspora. This Festschrift volume celebrates, reflects upon and extends the life and work of this colourful scholar. The essays, whose contributors are drawn from across the globe, do more than review Brij’s work; they also probe his contribution to both scholarly and political life. This book will therefore serve as an invaluable guide for readers from all walks of life seeking to better situate and understand the impact of Brij’s scholarly activism on Fiji and beyond." — Clive Moore, University of Queensland "It is a pleasure to commend this collection of very different essays that celebrate, reflect upon and extend the life and work of a remarkable scholar. Although I have had, at times, a close association with Brij Lal’s life and work, I have learned much from reading this book. It provokes further thought about the course of democracy in Fiji, and the very sorry state and future of Pacific history and the humanities in academia. Here is a timely assertion of the significance and major contribution that courageous scholars such as Brij have made to the study and public awareness of these areas of concern." — Jacqueline Leckie, University of Otago