"This book is a collection of hanuju, fäeag tupu'a and rogrogo (myths, legends and stories) as well as some fakpeje (ceremonial speeches) and sua (songs) gathered in 1964 in Rotuma. Many of the tales refer to specific places in Rotuma and its offshore islets (called "dependencies" in the Rotuma Deed of Cession of 1881). The islet of Hatana is central to the origin myths of Rotuma. Seksek 'e Hatan is more than a record of traditions and memoirs because it includes "excerpts from an archaeologist's field notebook." This approach sets the traditions of Rotuma in an archaeological and geographical landscape, and in a context of ceremonial and traditional activities, signs and omens."--Publisher's description.

Dr Parke’s monograph examines how Fijians, especially in western areas of Fiji, currently understand and explain the origins and development of the social and political divisions of late pre-colonial traditional Fijian society. It assesses the reasoning, consistency and, where possible, the historical accuracy of such understandings. The oral history research which forms the backbone of the study was conducted in either standard Fijian or one or other of the western Fijian dialects with which Dr Parke was familiar. The period on which the monograph concentrates is the two centuries or so immediately prior to the Deed of Cession on 10 October 1874. A number of the major chiefs of Fiji had offered to cede Fiji to Queen Victoria; and after the offer had been accepted, Fiji became a British Crown Colony on that day. The volume will be of interest to all archaeologists, anthropologists and historians with an interest in Fiji. It will also be of wider interest to Pacific Studies scholars and those of British colonial history as well as historians with a wider interest in indigenous traditional histories and their role in governance today.

Objects have many stories to tell. The stories of their makers and their uses. Stories of exchange, acquisition, display and interpretation. This book is a collection of essays highlighting some of the collections, and their object biographies, that were displayed in the Uncovering Pacific Pasts: Histories of Archaeology in Oceania (UPP) exhibition. The exhibition, which opened on 1 March 2020, sought to bring together both notable and relatively unknown Pacific material culture and archival collections from around the globe, displaying them simultaneously in their home institutions and linked online at www.uncoveringpacificpasts.org. Thirty‑eight collecting institutions participated in UPP, including major collecting institutions in the United Kingdom, continental Europe and the Americas, as well as collecting institutions from across the Pacific.

Papers form a formal symposium which convened in February 2005 during the annual meetings of ASAO on Lihu'e, Kaua'i Island, Hawaii.

Text in Fijian and English.

A history of the people from Rotuma Island (Fiji) from legendary times (based on oral history, archaeological, and linguistic evidence), through the era of British colonial domination, until the end of the twentieth century. The book is divided into four sections. The first section presents information about Rotuma's geography; its early history as derived from myths, legends, language affinities, and the limited archaeological work done on the island; the nature of Rotuma's culture and society at the time of European intrusion in the early nineteenth century; and the forms of creative and artistic expression. The second section deals with the impact of explorers, whalers, beachcombers, and returning Rotuman sailors, as well as missionaries who visited or stayed on Rotuma for varying lengths of time. The time period covered by this section is from 1791, when the Pandora, captained by Edward Edwards, made a brief visit, to 1879, when a war between Methodist and Catholic factions culminated in an offer of cession to Great Britain. Section three provides an account of Rotuma's colonial experience, beginning with the events leading to cession; the shape of political and economic experience under colonial rule; and the health and welfare implications of colonial policies. The final section covers the Rotuman experience from the time Fiji gained independence from Great Britain in 1970 until the end of the twentieth century. This section begins with an account of changes on the island of Rotuma, followed by a consideration of the somewhat problematic relationship between Rotuma and Fiji, concluding with a look at the global Rotuman community - a community in the process of formation.

Provides a detailed analysis of the traditional social organisation and land tenure systems on Rotuma and how these have been affected by external influences and the transition from traditional to colonial to post-colonial government.