This play is a serious comedy, intended to be staged simply and symbolically. Take a beautiful girl desperate to get out of Marawa, a fictional island in the South Pacific. Add a retired psychology professor from Europe looking for a virgin bride. Sir, then sprinkle with an anthropologist from Harvard collecting data on sexual harassment. Pour into the mixture a native feminist, educated at the Australian National University in search of her roots. What do you get? Last virgin in Paradise. At the end of the play are two brief essays that will be of assistance to anyone interested in directing this play.
In this anthology of contemporary eco-literature, the editors have gathered an ensemble of a hundred emerging, mid-career, and established Indigenous writers from Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and the global Pacific diaspora. This book itself is an ecological form with rhizomatic roots and blossoming branches. Within these pages, the reader will encounter a wild garden of genres, including poetry, chant, short fiction, novel excerpts, creative nonfiction, visual texts, and even a dramatic play—all written in multilingual offerings of English, Pacific languages, pidgin, and translation. Seven main themes emerge: “Creation Stories and Genealogies,” “Ocean and Waterscapes,” “Land and Islands,” “Flowers, Plants, and Trees,” “Animals and More-than-Human Species,” “Climate Change,” and “Environmental Justice.” This aesthetic diversity embodies the beautiful bio-diversity of the Pacific itself. The urgent voices in this book call us to attention—to action!—at a time of great need. Pacific ecologies and the lives of Pacific Islanders are currently under existential threat due to the legacy of environmental imperialism and the ongoing impacts of climate change. While Pacific writers celebrate the beauty and cultural symbolism of the ocean, islands, trees, and flowers, they also bravely address the frightening realities of rising sea levels, animal extinction, nuclear radiation, military contamination, and pandemics. Indigenous Pacific Islander Eco-Literatures reminds us that we are not alone; we are always in relation and always ecological. Humans, other species, and nature are interrelated; land and water are central concepts of identity and genealogy; and Earth is the sacred source of all life, and thus should be treated with love and care. With this book as a trusted companion, we are inspired and empowered to reconnect with the world as we navigate towards a precarious yet hopeful future.
A traditional story in which Sina, a beautiful princess, makes friends with an eel, not realising that he is a prince in disguise. Sina rejects a proposal of marriage from the eel, but eventually Tinilau's true identity is revealed and he and Sina are married. Suggested level: junior, primary.
Describes the origins, history, and culture of the native people inhabiting the South Pacific islands and examines the impact of Western influences and the problems facing them today. Includes a glossary of terms.
...As you read and look through this book, you will gain new knowledge about the contemporary art scene at the University of the South Pacific. By making this unique collection widely known to the general public, we hope to draw attention to the power, ideas, and sensibilities embedded in these 'things of beauty.'" -- p. 7.
“An imaginative and thought-provoking study of clowning in Rotuma, especially of ritual clowning in contexts of marriage ceremonies and the weaving of fine mats.... Completely fascinating.” —Canberra Anthropology “A challenge to readers both in its form and content.... This book conveys the lively, complex and often hilarious elements, both of daily life and celebratory rituals, as they are expressed in contemporary culture.” —Journal of Intercultural Studies
A traditional story in which Sina, a beautiful princess, makes friends with an eel, not realising that he is a prince in disguise. Sina rejects a proposal of marriage from the eel, but eventually Tinilau's true identity is revealed and he and Sina are married. Suggested level: junior, primary.
This play is a serious comedy, intended to be staged simply and symbolically. Take a beautiful girl desperate to get out of Marawa, a fictional island in the South Pacific. Add a retired psychology professor from Europe looking for a virgin bride. Sir, then sprinkle with an anthropologist from Harvard collecting data on sexual harassment. Pour into the mixture a native feminist, educated at the Australian National University in search of her roots. What do you get? Last virgin in Paradise. At the end of the play are two brief essays that will be of assistance to anyone interested in directing this play.
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