Unit 9: Indigenous Arts of The Pacific

Oceania

Encompasses Australia and the Pacific Islands, including cultures divided into Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.

Mana

A supernatural power or spiritual essence residing in persons, objects, and works of art.

Tapu

A system of strict rules and prohibitions that protect mana.

Micronesia

A region consisting of small islands, often low-lying atolls.

Melanesia

Geographically known as the 'black islands,' including Papua New Guinea.

Polynesia

Region consisting of 'many islands,' including Hawaii and Easter Island.

Lapita

Ancient seafarers who share a common heritage across Pacific cultures.

Men's Arts

Art forms traditionally made from hard materials associated with war and ancestral rituals.

Women's Arts

Art forms traditionally made from soft materials, crucial for social exchanges and rituals.

Navigation Chart

Micronesian memory aids made of sticks and shells for teaching ocean navigation.

Moai

Colossal stone statues found on Easter Island, representing deified ancestors.

Ahu

Platforms on which Moai statues stand.

Pukao

Red stone cylinders representing hair or headdresses on Moai.

Moko

Facial tattoos used by Maori as legal signatures and lineage records.

Tewhatewha

A weapon or staff symbolizing power used by Maori chiefs.

Wharenui

The Maori meeting house, viewed as the body of an ancestor.

Poupou

Relief panels inside the Wharenui representing specific genealogies.

Malagan

A cycle of rituals and art objects in New Ireland, often ephemeral.

Yam Masks

Woven masks created by the Abelam people to adorn prize-winning yams during festivals.

Korambo

A-frame spirit houses built by the Abelam for ceremonial purposes.

Dreaming (Dreamtime)

The Aboriginal belief system where ancestral beings shape the landscape.

X-Ray Style

An Aboriginal art style depicting animals with internal organs to show life force.

Dot Painting

A modern Aboriginal art form using dots to encode sacred knowledge.

Ecological Crisis Theory

A theory suggesting that statue construction on Rapa Nui led to societal collapse.

Grade-Taking Ceremonies

Ceremonies in Melanesian cultures marking transitions of power through art.

Ephemeral Art

Art created to be destroyed after its intended ritualistic purpose is fulfilled.

Spirit Communication

Focus of Melanesian art, aiming to connect with ancestral spirits.