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Field notes on the culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands

documentary heritage

"The following notes deal then with a Polynesian community, living in a state of comparative isolation, over a period of 300-400 years, a community which, it may fairly be assumed, was founded accidentally, brought few previous racial traditions to bear on its development, and in which was evolving a primitive culture of local origin - a fact strikingly evident in the nomenclature of the lunar divisions of the seasons.

Last Update: 15 May 2026

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akm.collections.field_type_title_label

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Te reo Name

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Common Name

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Other Name

Culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands (Alternate title)

Memoirs of the Polynesian Society ; vol. 9 (Series)

Other Name Type

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Description

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Place

New Plymouth, New Zealand

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Field Collection Place

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Field Collection Site

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Collection Date

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Field Collection Date

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Accession Number

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Accession Date

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Other Id

GN671.E4 KEN (Library of Congress Call Number)

26229 (Cat ID)

25048 (DBTextworks system ID)

18030 (Presto content ID)

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Department

Publications

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Field notes on the culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands — All Rights Reserved

Display Room

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Object Type

book

Name/Title

Field notes on the culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands

Other Name

Culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands (Alternate title)

Memoirs of the Polynesian Society ; vol. 9 (Series)

Primary Maker

Donald Kennedy (Author)

Contributor/Publisher

Printed by Thomas Avery & Sons Limited

Place

New Plymouth, New Zealand

Date

1931

Production date notes

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Signature/marks

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Physical Description

xviii, 326 pages, 44 pages of plates, 1 unnumbered leaf of folded colour plates : illustrations, folded colour map, portraits ; 25 cm

Serial Holdings

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ISBN/ISSN

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Language

English

Tuvaluan

Collection

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Level of Current Record

Bib record

Member Object

2 items in this collection. View all items.

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Is Part Of

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Media/Materials Description

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Media/Materials

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Measurement Reading

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Technique

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Edition/State/Version

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Subject Person

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Subject Category

Ethnology--Tuvalu--Vaitupu

Classification

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Content

Foreword -- List of illustrations -- Preface -- Final introduction -- Introductory -- Calendar and time -- Fishing for the Palu -- Fishing for Bonito -- Fishing for Papa (kingfish) with the running noose -- Fishing for Flying-fish (Fai-isave) -- The Ellice Islands canoe -- Units of measurement -- Colour-sense and colour names -- Diet and cooking -- Games -- Vaitupu songs -- Religion -- Traditions and folk-lore -- Surgery and surgical instruments -- Sickness and its treatment -- Obstetrics -- Dwellings and other houses -- Material culture -- Final notes -- index.

Public Access Text

[Keywords: Tuvaluan language--Texts; Vaitupu (Tuvalu) - Social life and customs]

Includes bibliographical references and index. Blue tint image of young woman and baby tipped into the back of the volume. The coloured map tipped into the introduction shows villages and places of significance. A key to the map provides explanations such as; village, island, place, school etc. "Set up and printed by Thomas Avery & Sons Limited, New Plymouth, N.Z."--colophon.

Researcher Notes

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Associated Notes

http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Memoirs_%28Additional%29?action=null Available to read online on the Journal of the Polynesian Society website (accessed 22/8/2017)

Subject Notes

Donald Gilbert Kennedy (March 1898 - 1976) was born at Springhills, near Invercargill. He became a teacher, then an administrator in the British colonial service in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony and the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. For his services as a Coastwatcher during the Pacific War (World War II), he was awarded the DSO, and the Navy Cross (U.S.). He published journal articles and books on the material culture of Vaitupu atoll, land tenure and the language of the Ellice Islands.--Wikipedia, retrieved September 2020.

Collection Type

Reading Room

Reserve Collection

Credit Line

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Last Update

15 May 2026

Field notes on the culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands

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Field notes on the culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands

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Field notes on the culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands

Field notes on the culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands

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