Concepts of Space on a Polynesian Island

What is it about?

This paper explores the multiplicity of spatial models used by people of Taumako, a Polynesian island in the Solomon Islands. It examines the selection and use of those models both at sea for inter-island navigation, and on land. It explores the idea of radiality, which has been described as a foundational cultural model in Polynesia, and the relationship between radiality and aspects of social structure such as hierarchy.

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Why is it important?

A common assumption in the mid- to late 20th Century, particularly among symbolic" of "interpretive" anthropologists, was that cultures are integrated, uniform, and neatly bounded. Toward the end of the 1900s, a number of anthropologists suggested that even a single individual is likely to internalize multiple models of reality, and the plethora of models expands further when considering different individuals, even within the same community. This article considers that issue by examining the models used for conceptualizing space and spatial relations on the remote Polynesian island of Taumako in the southeastern Solomon Islands.