Solomon Islands chief wearing a spectacular porpoise tooth chest ornament and kap-kap, Florida or Malaita

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 Polynesian is the adjectival form of Polynesia. It may refer to: * Polynesians, an ethnic group * Polynesian culture, the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia * Polynesian mythology, the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia * Polyn ...

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 Sikaiana (formerly called the Stewart Islands) is a small atoll NE of Malaita in Solomon Islands in the south Pacific Ocean. It is almost in length and its lagoon, known as Te Moana, is totally enclosed by the coral reef. Its total land ...

Tikopia Tikopia is a high island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It forms a part of the Melanesian nation state of Solomon Islands but is culturally Polynesian. The first Europeans arrived on 22 April 1606 as part of the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fer ...

, and

Vaeakau-Taumako Vaeakau-Taumako (formerly known as ''Pileni'') is a Polynesian language spoken in some of the Reef Islands as well as in the Taumako Islands (also known as the Duff Islands) in the Temotu province of the Solomon Islands. The language is spoke ...

Traditional culture

Vella Lavella girl with painted face and shell ear ornaments, Solomon islands

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 Gerd Koch (11 July 1922 – 19 April 2005) was a German cultural anthropologist best known for his studies on the material culture of Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Santa Cruz Islands in the Pacific. He was associated with the Ethnological Museum of ...

, a German anthropologist, carried out research at Graciosa Bay on

Nendö Island Nendö is the largest of the Santa Cruz Islands, located in the Temotu province of Solomon Islands. The island is also known as Santa Cruz, Nendo, Ndeni, Nitendi or Ndende. The name ''Santa Cruz'' was given to the island in 1595 by the Spa ...

(Ndende/Ndeni) in the

Santa Cruz Islands The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the nation of Solomon Islands discovered by the Spaniards. They lie approximately 250 miles (400 km) to the southeast of the Solomon Islands ...

and on

Pileni 300px, Map of the Reef Islands Pileni is a culturally important island in the Reef Islands, in the northern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. Despite its location in Melanesia, the population of the islands is Polynesian. Pileni ...

and

Fenualoa Fenualoa is the second largest island in the Reef Islands, administratively located in the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. Geography The estimated terrain elevation above sea level is some 17 metres. At low tide, Fenualoa is connected to the n ...

in the

Reef Islands The Reef Islands are a loose collection of 16 islands in the northwestern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. These islands have historically also been known by the names of Swallow Islands and Matema Islands. Geography The islan ...

, 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 Ake Lianga (born 1975 on Guadalcanal) is a Solomon Islands screen printer and painter, who has "gained recognition for paintings and murals throughout Oceania".

and musician Sharzy. Writers include John Saunana, Rexford Orotaloa, 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.

Notes

References

* * . {{Culture of Oceania