We’ve never seen a cyclone like this
-
Martin Paviour-Smith
Abstract
This chapter adds to the understanding of Melanesians conceptions of self and the structure of narratives in Melanesian Oceanic languages and Vanuatu cultures. In the early years of the 21st century a cyclone devastated much of the eastern seaboard of Malakula, Vanuatu. In 2007, the author collected narrative accounts of cyclone Ivy from members of the Auluan community. Examining the way the events of the cyclone and its aftermath are recounted and the positioning of the narrator and the community as characters we should be able to identify the characteristics of the notion of self within the Aulua speaking community. The shared theme of the narrative also provide a unique opportunity to witness a community narrate itself in one of its most difficult periods in recent times.
Abstract
This chapter adds to the understanding of Melanesians conceptions of self and the structure of narratives in Melanesian Oceanic languages and Vanuatu cultures. In the early years of the 21st century a cyclone devastated much of the eastern seaboard of Malakula, Vanuatu. In 2007, the author collected narrative accounts of cyclone Ivy from members of the Auluan community. Examining the way the events of the cyclone and its aftermath are recounted and the positioning of the narrator and the community as characters we should be able to identify the characteristics of the notion of self within the Aulua speaking community. The shared theme of the narrative also provide a unique opportunity to witness a community narrate itself in one of its most difficult periods in recent times.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editor’s note vii
- Glossing abbreviations ix
- About the authors xi
- Introduction 1
-
Inside the storyworld
- Moving through space and (not?) time 15
- We’ve never seen a cyclone like this 37
-
Telling narratives, constructing identities
- Local ecological knowledge in Mortlockese narrative 61
- Small stories and associated identities in Neverver 81
- ‘Sometime is lies’ 101
-
Narrative memories, cultures and identities
- Constructing Kanaka Maoli identity through narrative 119
- ‘Stories of long ago’ and the forces of modernity in South Pentecost 135
- Australian South Sea Islanders’ narratives of belonging 155
- Avatars of Fiji’s Girmit narrative 177
- Samoan narratives 193
- “[P]ulling tomorrow’s sky from [the] kete” 209
- Beyond exile 225
- Embodied silent narratives of masculinities 243
- Index 259
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editor’s note vii
- Glossing abbreviations ix
- About the authors xi
- Introduction 1
-
Inside the storyworld
- Moving through space and (not?) time 15
- We’ve never seen a cyclone like this 37
-
Telling narratives, constructing identities
- Local ecological knowledge in Mortlockese narrative 61
- Small stories and associated identities in Neverver 81
- ‘Sometime is lies’ 101
-
Narrative memories, cultures and identities
- Constructing Kanaka Maoli identity through narrative 119
- ‘Stories of long ago’ and the forces of modernity in South Pentecost 135
- Australian South Sea Islanders’ narratives of belonging 155
- Avatars of Fiji’s Girmit narrative 177
- Samoan narratives 193
- “[P]ulling tomorrow’s sky from [the] kete” 209
- Beyond exile 225
- Embodied silent narratives of masculinities 243
- Index 259
