Vol. 46 No. 1 (2023): Pacific Studies Full Issue

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lā ‘ie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US$40.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, and publication. The Center cooperates with other scholarly and research institutions in achieving their objectives. It publishes monographs, produces films, underwrites research, and sponsors conferences on the Pacific Islands. Articles submitted to the editor must not be submitted elsewhere while under review by Pacific Studies. Please note that text files should be in Microsoft Word format and should be completely double-spaced (including quotations, references, and notes). Please submit manuscripts to [email protected]. Authors may visit our website, http://academics.byuh.edu/the_pacific_institute/home, for Instructions to Authors. Books for review should be sent to the editor

FRAUGHT AGING AND FRAYED SOCIAL NETWORKS

This article looks at the challenges of aging in Gende society and why the Papua New Guinea government should consider a safety net for more vulnerable populations. It begins with an overview of how the Gende used their exchange system over many generations to deal with periods of extreme uncertainty and inequality. Investing in a moral economy that encouraged gender equality and expansive kin relations and obligations, the Gende weathered tribal warfare that drove them off their traditional lands long ago. Moving into sparsely populated mountains in what is now Madang Province, Gende became middlemen in trade routes connecting the North Coast with highlanders living in the central mountain valleys. The coming of missionaries and colonial officers in the 1930s upset the Gende’s advantageous position, which was further devastated by the Highlands Highway, which promoted development for their neighbors but not the Gende. High out-migration and unequal job situations and remittances resulted in the bachelorization of Gende society and generational strife. Mining operations have exacerbated inequality with younger men benefiting most. Big men are no more, and traditional exchanges that worked for everyone are now used by the wealthy to obtain greater land rights and power

INTRODUCTION

This special issue of Pacific Studies focuses on well-being amongst indigenous Pacific elders. Well-being is a widely used concept, but research is lacking on how well-being is understood in Oceania. This issue involves studies on the well-being of elders from Rotuma, Papua New Guinea and Pollap, as well as Māori and Pacific peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Our collection emphasizes two pou, or posts, supporting well-being amongst Pacific elders. The first, aging in place, has a Pacific twist, where homeplaces are whenua, ancestral places of deep connection imbued with cultural and relational significance. Vā, meaning relational space, is a related concept. The second pou is dignity, reflecting the Oceanic understanding of aging as a positive life stage, encompassing spirituality, faith, identity, strength, wisdom and cultural knowledge. These articles, from indigenous and Western scholars, offer fresh perspectives on growing old in the Pacific

KAUMĀTUATANGA: KŌRERO OF MĀORI ELDERS FROM THREE TAI TOKERAU TRIBAL GROUPS

An ongoing transdisciplinary research program from James Henare Research Centre, University of Auckland/Waipapa Taumata Rau highlights kaumātua voices to investigate the well-being of Māori elders. Our kaupapa Māori research involves noho wānanga, overnight meetings with kaumātua of a particular rohe (area), and pays attention to locality and histories, as well as the direct emerging themes from conversations and interviews. This article examines participants’ understanding of kaumātuatanga, that is, what it means to be a kaumātua, or Māori elder, in three rohe in Te Tai Tokerau, the northern region of Aotearoa/New Zealand: Patuharakeke, Ngātiwai and Te Hiku o te Ika. We also discuss how kaumātuatanga sustains the well-being of elders and their communities. Despite persistent inequalities in health and material resource for older Māori across Aotearoa New Zealand, the well-being of kaumātua appears robust. The kaumātua role gives strong social connections, status, a sense of purpose, satisfaction in helping others (particularly the younger generations) and defines connection to their tribal group, linking tūpuna (ancestors) with the coming generations. Strong connection to the whenua (land), whānau, hapū, and iwi (family and tribal groupings) grounds kaumātua well-being. We conclude that kaumātuatanga is the pou (post) on which rests kaumātua well-being

BEHAVIORIST ETHICS IN A POLYNESIAN COMMUNITY: ANUTA, SOLOMON ISLANDS

In this essay, we explore the ethical system of Anuta, a remote Polynesian community in the Solomon Islands. We discuss the system’s underlying premises, the way in which the elements fit together into a coherent whole, and how the system might be characterized in terms familiar to Western philosophers and social scientists. In particular, Anutans draw a connection between happiness, as expressed in overt laughter, and moral virtue. Thus, we argue, Anutan ethics can reasonably be described as “utilitarian” and “behaviorist” and, on that basis, be compared with ethical systems found in other cultural and geographic regions

AGING AND WELL-BEING ON ROTUMA IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

In this article, we present a historical overview of the conditions affecting the experience of aging among Rotumans on their home island. We draw on an array of cultural, social, and personal data derived from censuses, fieldwork, and archival sources covering more than one hundred years on Rotuma, which we divide into three segments for comparison: a baseline period (1903–60), the transition to modernity (1960–99), and the twenty-first century (2000–19). Among the changes that have affected the welfare of the elderly on the island are medical conditions, household size and composition, economic changes, and the proportion of older people on the island. Our findings suggest that the overall effect of these changes—a lower death rate, a shift to a money economy fueled largely by remittances, smaller household size, and considerably more national and international mobility—has, if anything, increased the well-being of elderly people on Rotuma

Vol. 46 No. 2 (2023): Pacific Studies Front Matter

Front Matter for the Vol. 46, No 2-Dec 2023 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal

TALANOA DIGITAL STORYTELLING AS A CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE METHOD IN PALLIATIVE CARE HEALTH RESEARCH: AN EVALUATION OF THE NARRATIVES OF PACIFIC FAMILIES CARING FOR OLDER LOVED ONES AT END OF LIFE

Talanoa is a Pacific concept of dialogue and storytelling that was used as a framework for producing our digital stories. This article sets out an evaluation of a workshop-based process for talanoa digital storytelling (DST) where aiga (family) carers created their own short autobiographic films and injected their voices into the social and public health discourse and knowledge production. Five digital stories were created. Participants were drawn from a cohort of 33 aiga carers in a study investigating the end of life circumstances of Pacific Peoples dying in advanced age, and the experiences faced by their aiga who carry out the bulk of their care. Participant observation, field notes, and an anonymous questionnaire were analyzed using thematic analysis. Talanoa DST was found to be culturally appropriate and an empowering way for aiga carers to uphold the memory of their loved ones while sharing the significant caregiving experiences in their lives

FROM ATOLL TO MAINLAND: AGING MICRONESIANS IN THE CONTEXT OF MIGRATION

A case study of the atoll of Pollap, part of Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia, analyzes changes in the process of aging over the past forty years, in particular as a result of migration of Micronesians to Guam, Hawai‘i, and the mainland United States. Forty years ago, most elderly aged at home surrounded by family to care for them, valued for their knowledge, advice, and even some productive activities. With migration, however, many elderly now live abroad with grown children. Some migrated as young people, found jobs, acquired good English skills, and have made homes in the United States. Those brought over as elderly fare less well, being relatively isolated due to language and less familiarity with American ways. They are physically cared for but no longer valued for their traditional wisdom or skills. In general, they also interact within a much smaller network of kin than those who age on the atoll

Vol. 45 No. 2 (2022): Pacific Studies Front Matter

Front Matter for the Vol. 45, No 2-Dec 2022 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal