![Kapkap, 19th century, Solomon Islands](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Kapkap%2C_19th_century%2C_Solomon_Islands.jpg)
The culture of the Solomon Islands reflects the extent of the differentiation and diversity among the groups living within the
Solomon Islands archipelago
The Solomon Islands (archipelago) is an island group in the western South Pacific Ocean, north-east of Australia. The archipelago is in the Melanesian subregion and bioregion of Oceania and forms the eastern boundary of the Solomon Sea. The ...
, which lies within
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...
in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, with the peoples distinguished by island, language, topography, and geography. The cultural area includes the nation state of
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
and the
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomons. Its land area is ...
, which is a part of
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
.
The Solomon Islands includes some
culturally Polynesian societies which lie outside the main region of Polynesian influence, known as the
Polynesian Triangle
The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners: Hawai‘i, Easter Island (''Rapa Nui'') and New Zealand (Aotearoa). It is often used as a simple way to define Polynesia.
Outside the triangle, th ...
. There are seven
Polynesian outliers within the Solomon Islands:
Anuta
Anuta is a small high island in the southeastern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu, one of the smallest permanently inhabited Polynesian islands. It is one of the Polynesian Outlier communities in Melanesia.
Geography
The island ...
,
Bellona Bellona may refer to:
Places
*Bellona, Campania, a ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta, Italy
*Bellona Reef, a reef in New Caledonia
*Bellona Island, an island in Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands
Ships
* HMS ''Bellona'' (1760), a 74 ...
,
Ontong Java
Ontong Java Atoll or Luangiua, (formerly ''Lord Howe Atoll'', not to be confused with Lord Howe Island) is one of the largest atolls on earth.
Geographically it belongs to a scattered group of three atolls which includes nearby Nukumanu Atol ...
,
Rennell,
Sikaiana,
Tikopia, and
Vaeakau-Taumako.
Traditional culture
![Vella Lavella girl with painted face and shell ear ornaments, Solomon islands](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Vella_Lavella_girl_with_painted_face_and_shell_ear_ornaments%2C_Solomon_islands.jpg)
In the traditional culture of the Solomon Islands age-old customs are handed down from one generation to the next, allegedly from the ancestral spirits themselves, to form the cultural values of Solomon Islands.
''Tepukei'' (ocean-going outrigger canoes)
Some
Polynesian societies of eastern Solomon Islands built ocean-going outrigger canoes known as
Tepukei
A tepukei, tepuke or TePuke is a Polynesian boat type, characterized by its elaborate decking, its submerged hulls and symmetrical "crab claw" sail slender foil or radically extended tips claw sail (Te Laa). ''Tepukei'' boats are produced pri ...
. In 1966
Gerd Koch, a German anthropologist, carried out research at Graciosa Bay on
Nendö Island (Ndende/Ndeni) in the
Santa Cruz Islands and on
Pileni and
Fenualoa in the
Reef Islands, and returned with documentary film, photographic and audio material. The films that Koch completed are now held by the
German National Library of Science and Technology
The German National Library of Science and Technology (german: Technische Informationsbibliothek), abbreviated TIB, is the national library of the Federal Republic of Germany for all fields of engineering, technology, and the natural sciences. I ...
(TIB) in Hanover.
He brought back to the
Ethnological Museum of Berlin
The Ethnological Museum of Berlin (german: Ethnologisches Museum Berlin) is one of the Berlin State Museums (german: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin), the de facto national collection of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is presently located in t ...
the last still complete Tepukei from the Santa Cruz Islands.
Contemporary culture
In the contemporary Solomon Islands, as elsewhere in Melanesia, kastom is the core of the assertion of traditional values and cultural practices in a modern context. The Kastom Gaden Association, for example, advocates growing and eating traditional foods rather than imported ones.
Languages
Literature
Notable figures
Notable figures in contemporary Solomon Islands culture include painter
Ake Lianga and musician
Sharzy. Writers include
John Saunana and
Celo Kulagoe.
"English in the South Pacific"
, John Lynch and France Mugler, University of the South Pacific
Cuisine
Sport
Many Solomon Islanders are passionate about sport, and it forms a major part of the country's culture in terms of spectating and participation.
Folklore
Solomon Islanders stories and legends have a cultural significance independent of their empirical truth or falsehood.
See also
* Music of Solomon Islands
* Solomon Islands dance
Solomon Islands dance is part of the culture of the Solomon Islands. Dances are performed at ceremonies and special occasions, as well as on a regular basis in some hotels and restaurants, which feature local musicians performing traditional son ...
* Solomon Islands literature Solomon Islands literature began in the 1960s.
History
The emergence of Solomon Islands written literature (as distinct from oral literature) took place in the context of the development of indigenous Pacific Islander literature in the Pacific ...
* Languages of the Solomon Islands archipelago
* Religion in Solomon Islands
Notes
References
*
* .
{{Culture of Oceania