Kaumaakonga: Taoba

The singer-musicians of Kaumaakonga are outliers because their ancestors traveled far. Their two small islands—Mungava and Mungiki, from which they derive Avaiki, the name of their Polynesian culture and language—occupy a corner of the Solomon Islands, which are predominantly Melanesian.* Centuries before Europe’s Age of Exploration, Polynesian navigators plied the vast Pacific in canoes, using a wayfinding toolbox of sun and stars, waves and … More Kaumaakonga: Taoba

George Telek, David Bridie & Musicians of the Gunantuna: Songs from a Bit na Ta

Papua New Guinea may seem remote, but everyone manages to find it. Prior to independence, parts of it were colonized or invaded by Germany, Great Britain, Japan and Australia. Few among the intruders knew the Papuans, but that’s the aim of a Bit na Ta (Source of the Sea), a sweeping multimedia exhibit at the Queensland Art … More George Telek, David Bridie & Musicians of the Gunantuna: Songs from a Bit na Ta