Talks by Roderick H Ewins
In the wonderful classic film “The man who shot Liberty Valance”, Ford has a newspaper reporter s... more In the wonderful classic film “The man who shot Liberty Valance”, Ford has a newspaper reporter say “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” It was a great line, and certainly myth often overwhelms the facts. There are a lot of examples surrounding traditional Fijian art. Here I briefly present three of them.
Papers by Roderick H Ewins
This essay addresses the vexed questions of provenance and authenticity of objects that have been... more This essay addresses the vexed questions of provenance and authenticity of objects that have been collected and made accessible for study. It calls for an exploration of the way in which these have often been uncritically accepted solely on the basis of notes and comments made by the original collectors. The difficulty is that the authority with which collectors were able to speak varied enormously, and even when the collectors obtained objects personally from the original owners, it cannot be assumed that they understood clearly the names, purposes or provenance of the objects they obtained.
Objects from Island Oceania in the Tasmanian Museum …, 1997
... 1997 © 1997 Rod Ewins and PacificArts. When Philip Dark asked me to write a piece about the P... more ... 1997 © 1997 Rod Ewins and PacificArts. When Philip Dark asked me to write a piece about the Pacific material in the Tasmanian ... As usual, there are many weapons: a very large number of spears, fighting clubs and boomerangs from all over Australia. ...
Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, 2010
I cannot upload this paper because it is subject to copyright by Berg. However, the Encyclopedia ... more I cannot upload this paper because it is subject to copyright by Berg. However, the Encyclopedia is to be found in many reference libraries.
Pacific Affairs, 2001
While it has generally come to be accepted that most Western settlement and colonization of non-E... more While it has generally come to be accepted that most Western settlement and colonization of non-European countries should more properly be seen as invasion, 'fatal impact' accounts have been largely discounted in light of overwhelming evidence of the tenacity and adaptability of societies and cultures. This book traces the course of the courageous determination of the Maori of Aotearoa (New Zealand) to maintain their heritage and autonomous identity during two centuries of intense and sustained 'impact' since the beginnings of European settlement. To a reviewer forced to read many academic books in obscure and turgid prose, Alves's writing style is refreshingly readable, clear and jargon-free. Her account is well-researched but treads lightly on the pages, stating its position undogmatically yet persuasively. After briefly presenting current views on Maori migrations and pre-contact life, it moves through early contacts, missionization and British annexation. It explains how the Maori translation of the Treaty of Waitangi differed from its English original, encouraging a very different reading of it by the two sides. Thus the 'agreement,' which Britain brandished to validate its annexation of the whole country, was not merely contracted with a relatively few North Island chiefs, it was fundamentally counterfeit.
Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, 2002
Any book that brings together the historical insight of Brij Lal, the political musings of Sitive... more Any book that brings together the historical insight of Brij Lal, the political musings of Sitiveni Rabuka, and the sophisticated cultural analysis of Teresia Teaiwa is a book that will be of great interest to scholars of Fiji. Fiji Before the Storm is a varied and useful collection of essays ...
American Ethnologist, 2002
Teaching Documents by Roderick H Ewins
Fiji was not the subject of involuntary annexation but was voluntarily ceded to Britain by a cons... more Fiji was not the subject of involuntary annexation but was voluntarily ceded to Britain by a consortium of the highest chiefs in the land, in 1874. The instrument they all signed to transfer sovereignty of their country to Queen Victoria and her government, is called the Deed of Cession.
One original of the Deed of Cession was retained in Fiji, and until the late Thirties of the Twentieth Century was in the archives of the Colonial Government. It began to show signs of wear, however; and photostat facsimiles—from one of which the following text is taken—were made for local use, the original being placed in safe keeping.
The two interlineations, referred to in the Interpreter's certificate, initialled by him in the margin, and indicated below by asterisks, were as follows: (1) in Sir Hercules Robinson's title, the adjective honorable, used for the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, was altered to distinguished; (2) the article the was transposed from a position before bona fide to that given in the text.
The only other alterations were the correction of certain individual letters, and the deletion of the phrase and the laws, which had been duplicated in copying.
Book Reviews by Roderick H Ewins
Though the title gives no hint of it, the focus
of this book, which is actually a case study, is
... more Though the title gives no hint of it, the focus
of this book, which is actually a case study, is
Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands. This fact is
significant because the work is less a study
about creativity and more a fascinating picture
of a tiny insular society, historically disrupted,
and now left endlessly dividing itself amoebalike
into factions competing about rights and
identities.
The 61 engravings made from the drawings of the artist John Webber on James Cook’s third voyage, ... more The 61 engravings made from the drawings of the artist John Webber on James Cook’s third voyage, first published as an Atlas accompanying the three volumes of Cook’s journals in 1784, were the first visual records of the
Pacific for the Western world.meticulous matching of each image. The authors, Eleanor C. Nordyke and James A. Mattison, Jr., here reproduce them all in fine detail with, on the facing page, original text that relates exactly to the event, scene, person or place depicted. The engraved images are presented in the sequence in which the original drawings and paintings were made, so that the book becomes in one sense a travelogue, and allows us to take a “virtual journey” along with the voyagers.
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Talks by Roderick H Ewins
Papers by Roderick H Ewins
Teaching Documents by Roderick H Ewins
One original of the Deed of Cession was retained in Fiji, and until the late Thirties of the Twentieth Century was in the archives of the Colonial Government. It began to show signs of wear, however; and photostat facsimiles—from one of which the following text is taken—were made for local use, the original being placed in safe keeping.
The two interlineations, referred to in the Interpreter's certificate, initialled by him in the margin, and indicated below by asterisks, were as follows: (1) in Sir Hercules Robinson's title, the adjective honorable, used for the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, was altered to distinguished; (2) the article the was transposed from a position before bona fide to that given in the text.
The only other alterations were the correction of certain individual letters, and the deletion of the phrase and the laws, which had been duplicated in copying.
Book Reviews by Roderick H Ewins
of this book, which is actually a case study, is
Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands. This fact is
significant because the work is less a study
about creativity and more a fascinating picture
of a tiny insular society, historically disrupted,
and now left endlessly dividing itself amoebalike
into factions competing about rights and
identities.
Pacific for the Western world.meticulous matching of each image. The authors, Eleanor C. Nordyke and James A. Mattison, Jr., here reproduce them all in fine detail with, on the facing page, original text that relates exactly to the event, scene, person or place depicted. The engraved images are presented in the sequence in which the original drawings and paintings were made, so that the book becomes in one sense a travelogue, and allows us to take a “virtual journey” along with the voyagers.
One original of the Deed of Cession was retained in Fiji, and until the late Thirties of the Twentieth Century was in the archives of the Colonial Government. It began to show signs of wear, however; and photostat facsimiles—from one of which the following text is taken—were made for local use, the original being placed in safe keeping.
The two interlineations, referred to in the Interpreter's certificate, initialled by him in the margin, and indicated below by asterisks, were as follows: (1) in Sir Hercules Robinson's title, the adjective honorable, used for the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, was altered to distinguished; (2) the article the was transposed from a position before bona fide to that given in the text.
The only other alterations were the correction of certain individual letters, and the deletion of the phrase and the laws, which had been duplicated in copying.
of this book, which is actually a case study, is
Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands. This fact is
significant because the work is less a study
about creativity and more a fascinating picture
of a tiny insular society, historically disrupted,
and now left endlessly dividing itself amoebalike
into factions competing about rights and
identities.
Pacific for the Western world.meticulous matching of each image. The authors, Eleanor C. Nordyke and James A. Mattison, Jr., here reproduce them all in fine detail with, on the facing page, original text that relates exactly to the event, scene, person or place depicted. The engraved images are presented in the sequence in which the original drawings and paintings were made, so that the book becomes in one sense a travelogue, and allows us to take a “virtual journey” along with the voyagers.