This paper aims to examine the colonial history of Palauan war canoes (kabekel) and their present-day revival. Canoes were employed in warfare between villages during precolonial times, but colonial administrations banned their practical use for peacekeeping purposes. War canoe races were organized on Athletic Day (Taiiku Dei) during Japanese rule. Races were not held from the end of the Japanese administration until 1979, when financial aid from the United States enabled the construction of two new war canoes to commemorate the establishment of self-government in Palau. After Palau was selected as the host country for the Ninth Festival of Pacific Arts, which was to be held in 2004, seven new war canoes were built to illustrate and celebrate Palauan national culture. War canoe races were then staged at the Festival for the benefit of both foreign and native spectators. This paper will show that representation of Palauan national culture was made possible by appropriating successive colonial experiences under German, Japanese, and American administrations.
Key Words: Palau, successive colonial experiences, war canoes, national culture, Festival of Pacific Arts
The aim of this paper is to consider the relationship between subethnicity and religion among Chinese in Australia using the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Chinese population in Australia as a case study. By looking at their Christian communities in Australia, the paper analyzes the characteristics of Chinese subethnicity. Australia has had a Chinese community since the late 19th century. Since the Australian government abandoned its White Australian Policy and adopted multiculturalism after World War II, the number of Chinese newly arriving in Australia has increased. These Chinese newcomers have come from various countries such as Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, East Timor, Vietnam, and the People's Republic of China. PNG Chinese are included among these Chinese arrivals in Australia. Chinese immigration to PNG began in the colonial period with New Guinea Island. Germany occupied the northeastern part of New Guinea and introduced Chinese immigrants as colonial laborers. German New Guinea was taken over by the Australian army at the beginning of World War I. After World War II, the Australian government allowed the Chinese in Papua and New Guinea to acquire Australian citizenship. PNG Chinese subsequently began to send their children to Australia for higher education, and PNG Chinese have used English as their common language. Before the independence of PNG in 1975, the PNG Chinese started migrating to Australia. They established Christian associations in Sydney and Brisbane. The PNG Chinese have interacted with Chinese people from other countries through these associations. Because of the differences in their languages and religions, however, the Christian associations of the PNG Chinese cannot include all of the Chinese subethnic groups. Their subethnic particularity can be seen in the PNG Chinese associations.
Key Words: Chinese, Papua New Guinea, Australia, subethnicity, Christianity, migration, settlement
This paper will analyze the Teuila Tourism Festival, which was first held in 1992 for the purpose of attracting more international tourists to Samoa. The Festival involved competitions in traditional singing and dancing as well as other semi-traditional activities. It was enthusiastically welcomed by the Samoan people and was turned into a national celebration of sports and performing arts, but the reactions of international tourists were less easy to define. They may have found the Festival too elaborate for their tastes. On the other hand, among foreign visitors to Samoa, VFRs (visiting friends and relatives), who are almost all Samoan emigrants and their children, outnumber holiday visitors. While most people who are involved with tourism development do not consider VFRs tourists, I would suggest the contrary because VFRs follow to some extent the activities of international tourists. The difference between international tourists and VFRs however, is that the latter typically have a greater appreciation for the elaborate details of the Teuila than the former. In this sense it may be fair to call the Festival a major tourist attraction. In any case, events such as the Festival provide a means for the Samoan government to develop its policy of preserving traditional culture as well as a way to attract overseas Samoans back home.
Key Words: Samoa, tourism development, festival, cultural policy, migration
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