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Marking Indigeneity: The Tongan Art of Sociospatial Relations
Tongans, the native people of the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific, are a highly mobile indigenous group. Like their seafaring ancestors, they are constantly on the move across tā (time) and vā (space). Carrying their traditions with them, Tongans living in Maui, Hawai‘i, actively mediate those dimensions by extending the time-space structure of certain activities and places in order to practice tauhi vā —the marking of time to sustain harmonious relations and create beautiful sociospatial relations.
In Marking Indigeneity , Tevita O. Ka‘ili examines the conflicts and reconciliation of indigenous time-space within the Tongan community in Maui, as well as within the time-space of capitalism. Using indigenous theory, he provides an ethnography of the social relations of the highly mobile Tongans.
Focusing on tauhi vā, Ka‘ili notes certain examples of this time the faikava gatherings that last from sunset to sunrise, long eating gatherings, long conversations ( talanoa ), the all-night funeral wakes, and the early arrival to and late departure from meetings and celebrations. Ka‘ili also describes the performing art of tauhi vā, which creates symmetry through the performance of social duties ( fatongia ). This gives rise to powerful feelings of warmth, elation, and honor among the performers. Marking Indigeneity offers an ethnography of the extension of time-space that is rooted in ancient Moana oral traditions, thoughtfully illustrating the continuation of these traditions.
In Marking Indigeneity , Tevita O. Ka‘ili examines the conflicts and reconciliation of indigenous time-space within the Tongan community in Maui, as well as within the time-space of capitalism. Using indigenous theory, he provides an ethnography of the social relations of the highly mobile Tongans.
Focusing on tauhi vā, Ka‘ili notes certain examples of this time the faikava gatherings that last from sunset to sunrise, long eating gatherings, long conversations ( talanoa ), the all-night funeral wakes, and the early arrival to and late departure from meetings and celebrations. Ka‘ili also describes the performing art of tauhi vā, which creates symmetry through the performance of social duties ( fatongia ). This gives rise to powerful feelings of warmth, elation, and honor among the performers. Marking Indigeneity offers an ethnography of the extension of time-space that is rooted in ancient Moana oral traditions, thoughtfully illustrating the continuation of these traditions.
- GenresNonfiction
200 pages, Paperback
Published August 7, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 5, 2017
Note: I received this book from the University of Arizona Press for free as part of a larger review I am writing for Canadian Review of American Studies, a peer-reviewed journal. Since this longer review is in the works of being published, I'll only be offering a shorter condensed version below.
This text offers a new scholarly discussion regarding space and time, as viewed by Tongan philosophy, culture, and its people. Written from the context that allow Indigenous knowledge to shine through, there are many notable discussions to be had regarding this book. First and foremost, I was most intrigued by the languages studies aspect of the text. While not necessarily the primary focus of the work, there is a breadth of knowledge that shows the links between core/root words and contemporary words, phrases, etc.
I would argue it is rare to find scholarship on Tongan culture, especially research that is conducted within the community with its voice in mind during the writing process. For that, I very much enjoyed this text. When initially reading, though, there were moments that I thought "This paragraph is repetitive." From a non-Indigenous standpoint, this may be a format the average reader does not expect, but after careful reflection I'd like to share the following: The repetition is good. Similar to oral stories, a teacher may repeat things because of their significance. I believe this happens within the book, but further builds upon Indigenous frameworks for telling/giving/receiving information, and ends up being beneficial.
Several wonderful graphs and appendices are included!
Rating this on a star system was complex, and I did waver between 3 and 4 stars. In the end, I chose 3-stars for the following reason: exclusivity. There are moments where I believe the text can be exclusive to those with a background in Indigenous Studies, Pacific Studies, Tongan culture, etc., that could distance some readers. I do believe that the average reader can pick this text up and follow it, but there are areas where there will need to be work on their part, and there are definitely areas where I think a reader without a background in this scholarship may "get lost" momentarily. I am not saying this is a bad thing. I am merely suggesting that perhaps it would be best to be more inclusive. However, this is an author's choice, not a reviewer's.
My only other complaint is that all of the notes for each chapter appear at the end of the book. I feel that footnotes, or even having each chapter's notes at the end of the chapter, would have been less cumbersome. It was hard to flip from the front of the book to the very back (past appendixes even) in order to read notes.
This text offers a new scholarly discussion regarding space and time, as viewed by Tongan philosophy, culture, and its people. Written from the context that allow Indigenous knowledge to shine through, there are many notable discussions to be had regarding this book. First and foremost, I was most intrigued by the languages studies aspect of the text. While not necessarily the primary focus of the work, there is a breadth of knowledge that shows the links between core/root words and contemporary words, phrases, etc.
I would argue it is rare to find scholarship on Tongan culture, especially research that is conducted within the community with its voice in mind during the writing process. For that, I very much enjoyed this text. When initially reading, though, there were moments that I thought "This paragraph is repetitive." From a non-Indigenous standpoint, this may be a format the average reader does not expect, but after careful reflection I'd like to share the following: The repetition is good. Similar to oral stories, a teacher may repeat things because of their significance. I believe this happens within the book, but further builds upon Indigenous frameworks for telling/giving/receiving information, and ends up being beneficial.
Several wonderful graphs and appendices are included!
Rating this on a star system was complex, and I did waver between 3 and 4 stars. In the end, I chose 3-stars for the following reason: exclusivity. There are moments where I believe the text can be exclusive to those with a background in Indigenous Studies, Pacific Studies, Tongan culture, etc., that could distance some readers. I do believe that the average reader can pick this text up and follow it, but there are areas where there will need to be work on their part, and there are definitely areas where I think a reader without a background in this scholarship may "get lost" momentarily. I am not saying this is a bad thing. I am merely suggesting that perhaps it would be best to be more inclusive. However, this is an author's choice, not a reviewer's.
My only other complaint is that all of the notes for each chapter appear at the end of the book. I feel that footnotes, or even having each chapter's notes at the end of the chapter, would have been less cumbersome. It was hard to flip from the front of the book to the very back (past appendixes even) in order to read notes.
December 19, 2021
Gorgeous and informative read -- Many things are already part of my schema, but I didn't have a name for them - or more often than not did not know the origin of the names/words that we called those social elements.
My favorite part of the centering in indigeneity - in Tongan-ness and not addressing the research from the White framing. Most of the citations validated Tongan epistemologies.
Major themes:
Linguistics
Taavaa theory
Tauhiva as a sociocultural tool of navigation
heliaki to carry ideas both social, physical, and visual
My favorite part of the centering in indigeneity - in Tongan-ness and not addressing the research from the White framing. Most of the citations validated Tongan epistemologies.
Major themes:
Linguistics
Taavaa theory
Tauhiva as a sociocultural tool of navigation
heliaki to carry ideas both social, physical, and visual
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews