The Last Men by Iago Corazza

The Last Men by Iago Corazza. (2008,White Star Publishers)

This book is breath-taking! I am known to take pretty average photographs so when I come across a coffee-table book of such exquisite photographic portraiture I am in awe. Corazza and his colleagues travelled to Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya and attended sing-sings in the highlands. There they took hundreds of photographs of the myriad of costumes and finery on display. Costumes displayed everything from moss and shells to cassowary beaks, boar tusks, bird-of-paradise feathers, leaves, bilums and penis gourds.
   The detail in the pictures is so fine that you can imagine these proud and scary warriors right before you, complete with sweat and face paints.
   The book's full title is The last Men: Journey Among the Tribes of New Guinea but it seems to also be published as Farewell to the Last Man: Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea. No matter what the title, it is just magnificent!
   Please note that the link above takes you to Corazza's website which is written in Italian but there are some super photographs at the introduction which give you a taste of his amazing work.

Throwim Way Leg by Tim Flannery

Throwim Way Leg
(Text, 1998)

If you are fascinated by the amazing wild life of New Guinea then this book is a real treasure. Scientist Tim Flannery spent many years travelling to New Guinea to undertake field research into the mammals there and has cobbled together a fascinating collection of anecdotes and accounts of his travels and work in the beautiful and often treacherous mountains of this large tropical island.

The Dingiso, a ground-living tree
 kangaroo discovered by  Flannery in
1994. Source: T. Flannery

   Flannery's descriptions of the landscape are evocative. It was easy to imagine the colourful frogs in the moss, the misty cold mountain tops and the fierce flooded waterways.
   A set of colour plates in the centre of the book shows some of the people he worked with, the stunning terrain and a few of the creatures he encountered.
   I loved this book and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in ecology or travel writing. For those interested in traditional lifestyles Throwim Way Leg tells of many customs of the Mountain people, how their way of life is changing due to Western influence and how this in turn impacts upon wildlife conservation.

The Ghosts of Iron Bottom Sound by Sandy Nelson

The Ghosts of Iron
 Bottom Sound
(2010, Harper Collins)

I was really interested to read this thinking it would have scary ghosts haunting Honiara or Bonegi Beach but no, it's not so dark. They are actually quite benevolent ghosts that reside in a book that the protagonist Paddy repeatedly borrows from the library. They hound the boy to ask his grandfather about the battle for Savo Island and the sinking of HMAS Canberra during WW2. Paddy's grandfather was a crew member on the fated ship and was rescued but hundreds weren't so lucky. Unfortunately his grandfather doesn't like to talk about his war experiences but he lets Paddy read his journal which outlines the full horror of the sea battle.
   The story is pitched at younger readers and the journal account of life on board the warship is fascinating and well presented for 8 to 12 year olds. I get a feeling older readers wouldn't be as captivated by the plot however.
   Nelson has obviously done a lot of research and the photographs in the back are a great addition to the story.

Commonwealth Shorts

There is a great creative venture going on right now in the Pacific where a group of Islander film-makers,writers and directors are working on some short films along the theme of relationships. The scheme is called Commonwealth Shorts and it is a partnership between Commonwealth Writers, B3 Media and the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association/Worldview. The five short films, one documentary and four dramas, will be premiered in Auckland New Zealand on February the 26th.

The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J.Maarten Troost

Swampy land near the airport.
B. Montgomery, 1992

In 1992 I visited Kiribati for a week and stayed at the only decent hotel on Tarawa. I was amazed at how thin the atoll was. In some places it seemed only 50 metres from one side of the island, the lagoon, to the other side, the ocean. The whole place was awash with water and swampy areas made agriculture impossible. (I imagine with climate change things will only get worse.) The shops had even less variety than those in Nauru and there wasn't much to do except sit in the shade and try to cool down.

The Sex Lives of Cannibals
(Broadway Books, 2004)

   The Sex Lives Of Cannibals is a travel book which goes into far more detail of life on Tarawa. The author, J. Maarten Troost, spent two years in Kiribati and writes a refreshingly funny account of his experiences there. His frustrations with obtaining fresh water and something interesting to eat are familiar ones to expats in the central Pacific. Troost's quirky voice and sometimes contrary nature make some of his anecdotes hilarious. His way of solving the neighbourhood's noise pollution (ie: loud irritating music) is one that had me chuckling.
   There is a fair amount of swearing, so if you can't stomach profanities you may have to give it a miss. But I highly recommend this to expats throughout the Pacific and other island nations. So much of the content will make you nod and say 'That's right..., island time.'

The Marshall Islands~~~

The Marshall Islands~~~, a photo by Island-Life on Flickr.

Happy New Year to everyone in the islands and beyond. May 2013 be a year of peace and prosperity, love and laughter.

2012: a year of firsts

2012 was the year I...

1. ...had my first ever science books published. Thanks to Blake Education!

2. ...bought my first ever e-reader and started reading ebooks. Thanks Kobo!

3. ...read my first ever selkie story. Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan is just awesome!

4. ...took up my first units of Teacher Librarianship. Thanks to Charles Sturt Uni!

5. ...explored NZ's north Island for the first time. Thanks family for putting up with my travel bug and tagging along!

                                                         

Win a Pacific Stories DVD

Follow this link to the Pacific Stories Facebook page and check out the promotion of their completed DVD called Pacific Stories. It's a series of eight short films exploring Australian Pacific Islander identity. Congratulations Amie on making your project come to life.

Versatile Bananas

Summer desserts are a great joy. I love the raspberries, strawberries and apricots that grow in my garden. (And cherries, mangoes, peaches and passionfruit from the fruit shop) But what about bananas, that most versatile of fruits?

Bananas from our kitchen garden in Makira.
Source: Beth Montgomery 1996

   I once lived on an island that boasted seventeen different varieties of bananas and instead of having a staple starchy food such as a yam or potato, it relied heavily on bananas to feed everyone. There were the super sweet lady finger types and your regular everyday type of banana, but by far the best was the giant orange plantain. Mmmm yum. Boiled or baked they were simply delicious.
   My hausgirl pictured here with my daughter could make a fabulous banana stew. Yes, stew. And then there was the banana pudding that all the women knew how to make. I don't know the recipe but there was grated cassava and coconut cream and stacks of mushy banana, all wrapped in banana leaves and baked on the motu (stone oven). The finished product was sticky, sweet and gluey but fabulously filling.
   Has anyone out there got a recipe for it?