Thomas Celentano: A South Pacific Story
Did you know? Our Focus on English author, Thomas Celentano, spent three years voyaging more than 10,000 miles among some of the beautiful islands in the South Pacific -- Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and New Zealand -- in his own 8.4 meter sailboat, "Carrie Ann." The author's interest? Polynesian culture and a language study. The author tells his story:
"When I graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa I had a dual major in anthropology and language studies. I was particularly interested in the island peoples of the South Pacific. I wanted to travel and live in Polynesia so that I could study these cultures more closely. Flying there and finding accommodations would have been difficult over an extended stay so I decided to sail down, from Hawaii, on my own 8.4 meter sailboat, "Carrie Ann".
The two advantages of traveling to the South Pacific on my own sailboat were: 1) the boat provided "at-will" transportation allowing me to go wherever I wanted among the region's many islands; 2) I could live on my boat; "Carrie Ann" had all of the comforts of a hotel without the expense. I could carry and prepare the food that I liked eating, there was a comfortable bed and adequate bathroom facilities. A fairly large table on the boat accommodated my typewriter and writing materials. The boat was small but I had everything I needed.
When I was in the Yasawa Island Group in Fiji, I did a language comparison study of Fijian dialects, the purpose of which was to demonstrate the influence of Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian languages on local dialects as one traveled from west to east on Viti Levu, the main island. I was aided by Ann Holway, my sailing companion who also had an interest in Fijian culture, and Lavenia Waqa, a Fijian government education director and teacher. The study was recorded on audiotape and has since been digitized.
I wondered if progressive dialectal changes might indicate migration pattern as well -- a west-to-east migration of peoples. There is some evidence to suggest that peoples from Eastern Africa may have eventually made there way across the Indian Ocean and into the Pacific to colonize some of the islands there. The standard dialect in Fiji today is Bauan. Everyone who is a lifetime resident of Fiji understands Bauan.
Did you know that Fiji has three standard languages? They are: Fijian (Bauan), Hindi, and English; all equally the standard languages of Fiji. Most life-long residents in Fiji can speak/understand all three languages to some degree. The three different radio services there broadcast to the individual language groups.
We also visited the island country of Western Samoa (now, just Samoa) and the kingdom of Tonga. The peoples of Tonga and Samoa can date their ancestry back at least 1600 years on their respective islands. The cultures are fascinating and have been the subjects of high-profile anthropological studies by the likes of anthropologists Margaret Mead and Derek Freeman.
My sailing companion, Ann Holway, was a New Zealander and well versed in the indigenous Maori culture. I was very fortunate to know her and have the advantage of her deep knowledge of New Zealand's people. New Zealand was (and still is!) an amazing country with wonderful, hospitable, intelligent people. We look forward to going back there again."
If you would like to see a brief video about the author's journey, CLICK HERE
