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E-book Engaging Environments in Tonga : Cultivating Beauty and Nurturing Relations in a Changing World

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Penilaian

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In October 1986, Kotu Island in the Lulunga district of the Tongan group of Ha‘apai appeared as a low silhouette on the Western horizon as the small boat we were in weaved its way through a channel in the fringing reef into the large lagoon surrounding the island for the first time. The tide was low, and the boat scraped the bottom and ground to a halt long before reaching the sandy beach in front of the entrance to the village. A tall and slender elderly man with short-cropped, silver hair greeted us with a smile as we waded ashore; he then escorted us through the village to the home of his family, next to the central village green. This was the late Heamasi Koloa Pemo‘ui, town officer and steward of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga on Kotu; I am deeply grateful to him for opening his home and heart to us when we first arrived and forever indebted to him for his unfailing commit-ment to sharing his long experience and many insights about the ways of the world and how to cope with them. I remember with appreciation his gentle encouragements to have the patience and perseverance to ‘grasp well’ (puke lelei) our long conversations and discussions about how the world works before moving on to other topics. The subject matter of this book bears the mark of Koloa’s support and his own patience and perseverance. Also, I am grateful to his wife, the late Meletoa Koloa; his daughter Melena‘a; and his son Rev. Lea ‘a e Peni Koloa and his wife, the late Alamani Koloa, and their family for generously accepting the added burden of caring for visitors from afar during the first two field visits to Kotu in 1986 and 1991. Over the three decades of field visits that this book is based on, too many people from Kotu to name individually have offered their friendship and contributed their knowledge and views to make this book possible. My thanks go to all of them for their interest, openness and acceptance of someone coming re-peatedly from across the world to ‘study the Tongan way’ (ako e ‘ulungaanga fakatonga). Special gratitude goes to families on Kotu and on Tongatapu, with whom I have enjoyed enduring relations of mutual support. This has been essential for the book’s perspective on the characteristics and dynam-ics of local sociality; the family of the late Siale and ‘Ofa Koloa; the family of Rev. ‘Isikeli Hau‘ofa L?t? and ‘Alai Fakapulia L?t?; the family of Manase and Ele Fakapulia; the family of the late Rev. Hateni and ‘Ofa Pahulu; the family of the late ‘Atu and Meliame H?; the family of the late Lisiate and Launoa ‘Ilangana; the family of the late Sione Pelo and ‘Atalia Ta‘ufo‘ou; the family of ‘Atolo and Sela Tu’inukuafe; and the family of Fe‘ao and Lineti Fakapulia and in particular their son Paula Fakapulia for leaving his door open even at his new home overseas.I am also very grateful to have benefited over the years from stimulating discussions about qualities and continuities in Tongan culture and society with the founder of the Atenisi Institute, the late Futa Helu; Hufanga scholar ‘Okusitino Mahina; tufunga lalava artistSopolemalama Filipe Tohi; tufunga t? tongitongi woodcarver Sitiveni Fe‘ao Fehoko; and last but not least, the late ‘Epeli Hau‘ofa for advising me to go to Kotu in the first place.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

333.79612 PER e

Penerbit

London : Berghahn Books., 2023

Deskripsi Fisik

246 hlm

Bahasa

ISBN/ISSN

9781805390657

Klasifikasi

333.79612

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

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Tipe Pembawa

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Edisi

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Subjek

Natural Resources and Energy, Environment in Tonga

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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