Epeli Hauʻofa (7 December 1939 – 11 January 2009)"Epeli Hau'Ofa"
, Libraire Ombres blanches was a

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

n and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

an writer and

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

born of Tongan missionary parents in the

Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the ...

. He lived in Fiji and taught at the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...

(USP). He was the founder of the Oceania Centre for Arts at the USP.

Biography

Hauʻofa was born of Tongan

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

parents working in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. At his death, he was a citizen of Fiji, living in Wainadoi, Fiji.About Epeli Hauʻofa

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

He went to school in Papua New Guinea,

and

( Lelean Memorial School), and attended the

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

;

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, Montreal; and the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, where he gained a PhD in

social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

, published in 1981 with the title ''Mekeo: Inequality and Ambivalence in a Village Society''.Obituary
''The Age'', 11 February 2009 He taught as a tutor at the

University of Papua New Guinea The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...

, and was a research fellow at the

in Suva, Fiji. From 1978 to 1981 he was Deputy Private Secretary to His Majesty the

King of Tonga This is a list of monarchs of Tonga since 1845, after the Constitution of Tonga established the role of the monarch. The first constitutional monarch of Tonga was George Tupou I. 2008 cession of powers Three days before his coronation on 1 ...

, serving as the keeper of palace records. During his time in Tonga, Hauʻofa co-produced the literary magazine ''Faikava'' with his wife Barbara. In early 1981 he re-joined the University of the South Pacific as the first director of the newly created Rural Development Centre based in Tonga. He subsequently taught sociology at the University of the South Pacific and, in 1983, he became Head of the Department of Sociology at the University's main campus in

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

.Hauʻofa, Epeli, ''Kisses in the Nederends'', Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1995, In 1997, Hauʻofa became the

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

and director of the Oceania Centre for Arts and Culture at the USP in Suva. The intention of the space being to amplify Pacific cultures, students, and knowledges for "spaces where we give free rein to our imagination and ample time to experiment with and develop new forms and styles, new movements, sounds, and voices, that are unmistakably acificours."

Writing

He was the author of ''Mekeo: Inequality and Ambivalence in a Village Society''; ''Tales of the Tikongs'', which deals (through fiction) with indigenous South Pacific Islander responses to the changes and challenges brought by modernisation and development; ''Kisses in the Nederends'', a novel; and, more recently, ''We Are the Ocean'', a selection of earlier works, including fiction, poetry and essays. ''Tales of the Tikongs'' was translated into Danish in 2002 by John Allan Pedersen (as ''Stillehavsfortællinger'', ) The ''

BBC History ''BBC History'' is a British magazine devoted to both British and world history, and aimed at readers of all levels of knowledge and interest. There are thirteen issues a year, one each month and a Christmas special. The magazine is published, ...

'' magazine writes that Hauʻofa provided a "reconceptualisation of the Pacific": In his "influential essay ''Our Sea of Islands''", he argued that Pacific Islanders "were connected rather than separated by the sea. Far from being sea-locked peoples marooned on coral or volcanic tips of land, islanders formed an oceanic community based on voyaging." The reframing of the Pacific from "Islands from a Far Sea" to "A Sea of Islands" offered a change from a "belittlement" of the islands to an "enlargement" in regard to the Pacific on a global scale. It centers Pacific Islanders relationships to each other, as historically and presently embedded, and their relationships as navigators of the vast sea. The essay ''Our Sea of Islands'' was published in ''A New Oceania : Rediscovering our Sea of Islands'', co-edited by Hauʻofa, Vijay Naidu and Eric Waddell, published in 1993.

Death

Hauʻofa died at the Suva Private Hospital in Suva at 7 AM on 11 January 2009 at the age of sixty-nine. He was survived by his wife, Barbara, and son, Epeli Si'i. A funeral service was held at the University of the South Pacific campus in Suva on 15 January 2009. He was buried at his residence in Wainadoi, Fiji.

Legacy

Hau'ofa was awarded a posthumous honorary doctorate in literature by the University of Auckland in 2023.

External links

"Epeli Hau'ofa : Muse, mediator and mentor"
obituary by

Joni Madraiwiwi ''Ratu'' Joni Madraiwiwi, Lord Madraiwiwi Tangatatonga (10 November 1957 – 29 September 2016) was a prominent Fijian lawyer, legal scholar, jurist, and politician. He served as vice-president, and also acting president, of Fiji, and Chief J ...

, former Vice-President of Fiji, in the ''

Fiji Times ''The Fiji Times'' is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869 by George Littleton Griffiths, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating. ''The Fiji Times'' is owned by Motibhai Gr ...

'', 19 January 2009 * ''Poutous sur le popotin

French translation of ''Kisses on the Nederends'' (

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

, 1987) by Mireille Vignol, éditions Au vent des îles, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hauofa, Epeli Tongan anthropologists 21st-century Fijian writers Fijian anthropologists People educated at Lelean Memorial School 1939 births 2009 deaths University of the South Pacific alumni Academic staff of the University of the South Pacific Australian National University alumni University of New England (Australia) alumni McGill University alumni Fijian people of Tongan descent Academic staff of the University of Papua New Guinea 20th-century Fijian writers 20th-century Tongan writers 20th-century anthropologists 20th-century Fijian scientists 21st-century Fijian scientists