Saturday, April 30, 2011

A trip to Bishop Museum



As a child, I always enjoyed the museum.  Not the guided tour or hours of lagging behind my parents trips to the museum, but the making lemonade out of lemon slices, sugar, and water in the cafeteria with my mates museum days…or the wondering around, using our imaginations to travel back in time trips to the museum.  Back then, I never thought much about anything except the interesting objects I found within the museum walls.  I spent countless hours in the Bishop Museum believing I had been born too late.  Over the years however, my paradigm shifted and I began to question even the concept of such as place as a “museum” where items meant to be used were shown on exhibit.  It might be that I am looking for patterns where there are none, however it seems that the Bishop Museum (though the institution is the brain child of native Hawaiian, Bernice Pauahi Bishop) is still very much influenced by the Western, Judeo-Christian world.

The main exhibit surrounds a history of the Hawaiian Islands.  It is displayed in Hawaiian Hall - a dark, Victorian, three storied building that is set up with the most “primitive” of displays at the bottom level.  It is on the first floor that we find traditional houses and old Gods along with other more “primitive” tools.  As we move up to the middle floor (which has become more modern and interactive over the years) we begin to see more of the skill that was necessary to construct all of the utensils, tools and clothing used in everyday living.  The top floor is reserved for the “light.”  These are the displays of the monarchy and its European trappings...after the introduction of Christianity, of course.  It is as though, in ascending the stairs, the visitor travels from the depths of darkness up into the light.  The huge sea animals (including a huge shark) suspended from the museum's ceiling are also of interest, reminding us that Hawaii is, literally, in the middle of the ocean. 

In Hawaiian Hall, Hawaii is the focus, and there is quite a bit of provenance for many pieces.  However, it would be nice if there were more.  For those of us who are/were Pacific Island Study majors - we would like to see (for instance) more about how the various ku’pe’e were made and what they were used for, or the time, materials, detail, and prayer that went into making just one pawehe/decorated gourd.  It is not as if this information is not available. Perhaps there just isn’t enough room – or interest.  Though the museum was created by and for Hawaiians, it is also/has become a tourist attraction and tourists (for the most part) want only so much information. They then want to continue on with the fantasy.  Was this Bernice Pauahi Bishop's vision? 

As stated above, Hawaiian Hall is huge (by Hawaii’s “museum” standards).  It is three stories high and filled with artifacts from very early times until fairly recent.  There is provenance offered wherever possible.  In another room, about a quarter of the size (if that) of Hawaiian Hall, a place is set aside for “the rest” of Oceania.  This is a well lit, quiet space with a number of artifacts, yet given the diversity of the people in this region and the vast amount of ocean in which they navigated, I find neither the space nor the artifacts adequate.  There is little to no provenance.  The visitor is offered an artifact and, for the most part, left to his or her own devises to figure out what it was used for.

Although museums offer the public a chance to see (albeit enclosed in a glass case) things/artifacts they might otherwise only find in books, ever in the back of my mind are the “curios” of the wealthy (which were the precursors to our modern museums).  I wonder what distinguishes art from artifact.  I wonder who does the distinguishing.  I wonder if there is not another way to "exhibit."  For instance, could we not have some sort of “working museum” where the public visits a living, working village?  This would keep ancient arts (including the art of the orator) alive, provide a teaching environment, and, hopefully provide a venue for indigenous epistemology and ways of knowing to continue and grow. 

 While I may question even the concept of the museum, the thinking behind the manner in which art/artifacts are displayed, to its credit Bishop Museum provides wonderful behind the scenes learning experiences, as well as an extensive research library, and an exceptional website.http://www.bishopmuseum.org/

Sunday, April 17, 2011

New is not always better...

The Bougainville Civil War, or Bougainville Conflict (a term which minimizes this horrific incident), like all wars was fought (on the one side) to keep something they already had, and (on the other) to get something they wanted.   The lines, however, are sometimes blurred.  There is/was no one singular cause for the war.  An over simplification, would be to say that the Australian owned and run Paguna Mine, issues surrounding compensation to the people of Bougainville and devastation to the natural environment were the main catalyst.  With 20% of the profits from the mine going to the PNG government, only .05-1.25% of the total profits going to the people of Bougainville, and the majority to the profits lining the pockets of its Australian owners, resentments reached a peak in the early 1980's and a bloody conflict ensued which continued for the better part of the following ten years.  As with any civil war, families found themselves divided and many, many people died.

However the war and it's causes are not what I wish to discuss in this entry.  What I want to address is the use of traditional conflict resolution to achieve true reconciliation and forgiveness between the tribes/individuals directly involved and those victims of the suffering inflicted by the devastation of this armed conflict.  However, before I address this, I would like to point out the obvious:  PNG has a long history of colonization.  They have found themselves "administrated" by the governments of Germany, Brittan, Australia, and Japan.  They have been the not so willing participants in a war not of their making...specifically WWII.  Without the knowledge, bravery, and strength of native Papua New Guineans, many more people would have died.  And what did the people of PNG receive for their bravery?  Medals and a rather demeaning  poem of gratitude written by an Australian soldier.  While the poem extols the virtues and bravery of these men, it also leaves one with the impression that these brave PNG men were also somewhat child-like.  The poem was later put to music and became a popular tune around the end of WWII.  It is titled "Fuzzy Wuzzy Angles."  Below you will find an abridged version of the poem.


"Many a mother in Australia...
Sends a prayer to the Almighty
for the keeping of her son...
For they haven't any halos
only holes slashed in their ears
And their faces worked by tattoos
with scratch pins in their hair
Bringing back the badly wounded
just as steady as a horse
Using leaves to keep the rain off
and as gentle as a nurse
Slow and careful in the bad places
on the awful mountain track
The look upon their faces
would make you think Christ was black...
Many a lad will see his mother
and husbands see their wives
Just because the fuzzy wuzzy
carried them to save their lives...
May the mothers of Australia
when they offer up a prayer
Mention those impromptu angels
with their fuzzy wuzzy hair."

But, I diverse.  In the Western world, when a war is over, there is a cease fire, the terms of peace are agreed upon and a treaty is signed.  Many times there are reparations to be made, however, this does little to assuage the guilt carried by those who have participated in acts of atrocity...those who have seen and contributed to some of the worst examples of man's inhumanity to his fellow man.  Nor does a treaty ease the pain of those who have been the victims...those who have lost loved ones and/or had their villages ravaged as a result of "collateral damage" It does not erase the rage that eats at them, especially on an island as small as Bougainville, where many times, the victim knows exactly who perpetrated the crime.









In order to truly heal from the devastation of the war, the people of Bougainville looked to ancient traditional ritual.  This is documented in a film called Breaking Bows and Arrows http://www.firelight.com.au/break1.html (the above images were taken from this site). A five minute trailer from this moving documentary by Liz Thompson can be viewed on http://www.linktv.org/globalspirit/bows. Although I would have liked to offer it on this blog, I did not have the expertise to "borrow" it from the above site.  However, I feel it important to watch this trailer (and strongly suggest it) in order to better understand the following paragraphs.

After years of fighting and much negotiation, the mine was finally closed, a treaty was signed and islanders were no longer killing each other yet, there still existed deep seated pain, hatred, feelings of blame, guilt, and numerous other emotions that were eating at the people of Bougainville.  In a number of traditional, formal ceremonies, the various factions came together and were truly able to put this painful incident behind them.

These rituals included were quite intricate and took as much as three years of preparation.  One group of men went together to collect sweet smelling plants, which they took to the river and ritually crushed in order to release their sweet smell.  The men then washed away the foul smell of the acts they had committed during the war.  They wore traditional ceremonial clothing - clothing created for no other purpose than to reconcile differences...to ask forgiveness.  They then, in the presence of thousands of spectators, broke their weapons and then shared betel nut.  The also buried a rock, thus burying their differences.

Although the theme of the film was the need for reconciliation and forgiveness in order to truly move on and the use of traditional means to do so, this was illustrated mainly by the personal journeys of Immaculate Atorevi, the widow of a chief who had been killed during the conflict and his killer Francis Boisivere.  As part of the ritual, Francis buys a coffin, carefully chooses the materials and flowers to decorate it. He and other members of the BRA (Bougainville Revolutionary Army), carefully cut the material to fit the coffin. They then take great care to decorate it.  Their deep concentration is evident. In the mean time Immaculate Atroevi and her village prepare a house for the bones of her husband.  Having buried the bones of the chief, Francis (again with other ex BRA fighters), return to the burial site and carefully retrieve the bones from the ground.   Francis then ritually washes each, individual bone and gently dries them.  Next, placing the bones in the coffin, he and the other men carry the coffin (with the bones of the dead chief inside) into the the chief's home village where his bereaved wife and family are waiting.  They place the coffin in the "house" the villagers have prepared for it.  The chief's wife, family and village are finally able to have closure.  They weep, cry, and throw themselves on the house and coffin.  Observing these proceedings, Francis and some of the other men also find themselves weeping.  They are visibly moved. After the chief is buried, Francis presents other gifts to the wife and family of the murdered chief.  They then share betel nut.  When later interviewed, Francis states that he feels lighter - that prior to this ceremony, he felt weighted by his guilt.  He also states, that knowing what he now knows, and/or if asked to fight again, he would never pick up arms.  The price is too great.

In earlier entries to this blog, I have spoken about the concept of standing on the shoulders of our ancestors...that their purpose was/is for us, and our purpose is for those who will come after.  I have also (briefly) addressed the idea of "backing into the future while facing the past."  This reconciliation ritual is a clear demonstration that we do, indeed stand on the shoulders of our ancestors.  By preforming these ritual acts, the past is brought to present.  Concentration, and a  sincere desire to make things right have a profound effect on the participants in the/any ritual.  There is a re-connection with those who came before, for now, not only do they support us, but stand alongside us.  The purpose of preforming this particular ritual was/is not only to clear the slate for those directly affected by the conflict but to relieve the burden for generations to come.  The sins of the parents need not be visited upon the children.  There are so many areas where Western solutions fall short.  While I believe we need to look to the past in order to address both the present and future, clearly in this instance, reconciliation and freedom were found in following established practices of the ancients.  New is not always better and in this case, an impersonal "treaty" left gaping wounds which continued to fester.  Taking personal responsibility and making personal, ritualized amends and ritual cleansing have washed away a great heaviness, cleansed the wounds and provided a healing salve paving the way toward building a healthy "body" for future generations.