First People: New Directions in Indigenous Studies. Foreword By Ōkusitino Māhina. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press, 2017. xvii, 180 pp. (Tables, figures, B&W photos.) US$50.00, cloth. ISBN 978-8165-3056-4.
Marking Indigeneity contributes to the field of Indigenous anthropology through using theory that emerges from, and is embedded in, Tongan epistemology to explain Tongan practices related to sociospatial relationships amongst the Tongan diaspora. The communities that are described in the ethnographic sections of this work are Tongans living in Hawai‘i, and more specifically, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) living in Lahaina, on the island of Maui. The author, Tevita O Ka‘ili, also belongs to this faith community. Tracing genealogical connections with people who participated in the research process is described as an integral part of his relational approach as an Indigenous scholar who argues that “genealogy is a critical part of indigenous anthropology” (50).
The book begins by making explicit links between the ancestral and contemporary mobility of the Tongan community, and pointing out the ancestral, cosmological, and genealogical connections between Tonga and Hawai‘i. Ka‘ili argues for an extended conception of indigeneity which recognizes and includes ancestral mobilities and interconnectivities between Moanan peoples. In chapter 5, Ka‘ili draws upon genealogies and oral histories about Moanan voyaging and migration to develop the argument that Hawaiian and Tongan peoples have common ancestors, as well as shared histories of contact and cooperation.
Ka‘ili’s approach to redefining indigeneity involves recognizing enduring and “ancient systems of thinking and behaving” such as tauhi vā (5). Ka‘ili defines tauhi vā as “an older cosmology that promotes the indigenous marking of time-space through rhythmicity, symmetry, synchrony, and harmony” (5). He argues that the multiple ways of marking time and space through tauhi vā are important ways of marking indigeneity within social relations (6). “Tauhi vā is an indigenous artistic device that uses symmetry to reconcile sociospatial conflicts and create harmonious and beautiful sociospatial relations” (5).
Chapter 2 provides a useful review of existing academic literature about Moanan conceptions of tā (time) and vā (space). Ka‘ili illustrates that these concepts can be found in Tongan, Samoan, and Hawaiian language and cosmology, and discusses how such ideas have been used as conceptual frameworks for Indigenous scholarship and within the work of anthropologists. Ka‘ili acknowledges that most scholars to date have focused on vā—the social and relational spaces between people and how these relational spaces are maintained, nurtured and cared for.
Inspired by the work of Ōkusito Māhina (“Tā, Vā and Faiva: Time, Space and Art,” paper presented at the Philosophy Conference, Chico, California, 2001) on the tā-vā theory of reality, in chapter 3, Ka‘ili sets out to redress the balance vis-à-vis academic analysis of the temporal dimension of tauhi vā, arguing that the inextricable dimensions of time and space need to be considered together. Ka‘ili argues that the omission of tā is “significant because tauhi vā, as indicated by its name, is a spatiotemporal concept and practice. For instance, tauhi means to create and maintain a particular rhythm (time), and vā is a social expression of space” (34).
Another important conceptual omission which Ka‘ili seeks to address in this chapter is the lack of academic focus to date on the artistic and aesthetic aspects of tauhi vā, in which conflicts are mediated through the creation of “symmetry and harmony” (34). Ka‘ili makes specific reference to material arts, fine arts, and the performing arts as forms of tauhi vā that attend to and reflect the rhythms of social expectations. He argues that skilled artists and performers who can identify and meet the needs of a community play a central role in establishing customs and practices that regulate social life. Artists are uniquely placed to be able to “transform society in a tempo-spatial sense from tokatāmaki (chaos) to tokamālie (order and peace)” (39). Artists and performers create both aesthetic and socially experienced forms of mālie, meaning harmony and beauty, which is experienced through rhythm, symmetry (42) and feelings of “inner warmth” arising from the maintenance of “beautiful social relations” (47).
Through combining ethnographic and Indigenous approaches Ka’ili has created a work which builds on Indigenous theory and research practices from Moana, contributing to an anthropological understanding of concepts of time and space which are rooted in Tongan epistemologies. For scholars interested in the concept of vā, or for people wanting to utilize vā as a research methodology or method, this book provides a review of existing literature that is a valuable and useful contribution to the field. In addition, Ka‘ili has clearly articulated how his research process involved taking care of social relationships and responsibilities to the community, thereby offering clear and practical suggestions for embodying research ethics and ensuring that communities are involved not only as people whose ideas and practices contribute data, but also as co-creators and co-constructors of theory whose input and “roasting” of concepts (62) alongside the author provide crucially important critique that connects theory to practice. Ka‘ili argues that: “The process of understanding and developing a cultural concept is like roasting yams. It takes time, with much turning and counterturning. A cultural concept must be fokifokihi (turned upside down and downside up) to develop all of its dimensions. Fokifokihi also provides a critical examination of all the dimensions of a concept” (62).
Tui Nicola Clery
Independent scholar, Isle of Wight