TALANOA – Get Together. The Herrnhut Network, James Cook and the Ancestral Gods of Oceania

„Talanoa – Get Together“ presents objects from the Pacific with a focus on negotiations of social status among Pacific communities. Such practices become evident in the collection gathered in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Tonga, Tahiti, and Hawai’i during James Cook’s voyages in the Pacific, which eventually came to Germany via Moravian networks.
Similarly, the Herrnhut collection of Melanesian malanggan masks shows how the living ceremonially commemorate the dead along with their social status. At the same time, the malanggan masks convey stories about Moravian networks.
Part 1 TONGA

Talanoa in the Tonga Archipelago (1)
Mu’a was the capital city of the Tongan archipelago on Tongatapu Island over many centuries
(Photo: F. Vorpahl, 2023)

Talanoa in the Tonga Archipelago (2)
To this day, several dozen multi-layered stone platforms provide an impression of the immense ceremonial cites erected by Tonga’s highest-ranking dignitaries who counted as descendants of the gods.

Female Figure (1)
Tongan: ta maka fakamanatu

Female Figure (2)
Tongan: ta maka fakamanatu

Part 2 TONGA

Fragment of Ceremonial Regalia (1)
Tongan: sisi fale

Fragment of Ceremonial Regalia (2)
Tongan: sisi fale

Decorative Comb (1)
Tongan: helu

Decorative Comb (2)
Tongan: helu

Headrest (1)
Tongan: kali

Headrest (2)
Tongan: kali

Headrest (1)
Tongan: kali

Headrest (2)
Tongan: kali

Part 3 TONGA

Square War Club (1)
Tongan: 'akau tau o. 'akau ta

Square War Club (2)
Tongan: 'akau tau o. 'akau ta

War Club with Decorative Ribbons (1)
Tongan: 'akau tau o. 'akau ta

War Club with Decorative Ribbons (2)
Tongan: 'akau tau o. 'akau ta

“Paddle War Club” (1)
Tongan: moungalaulau

“Paddle War Club” (2)
Tongan: moungalaulau

Part 4 LOGBOOK

James Cook and the Cook Myth
Nathaniel Dance-Holland: Captain James Cook (1775/1776)
National Maritime Museum, London

Cook Today – a Controversial Hero

James Cook & his Voyages
J. Cook: Log-book Kept on board his Majesty's Sloop “Resolution”, James Cook Commander. 1772–1773. – Handwriting by Johann Reinhold Forster

Part 5 TAHITI

Taio Tute in Tahiti (1)
William Hodges: The Resolution and Adventure in Matavai Bay, Tahiti (ca. 1776)
National Maritime Museum, London

Taio Tute in Tahiti (2)

Breastplate (1)
Tahitian: taumi

Breastplate (2)
Tahitian: taumi

Necklace (1)
Tahitian: teunga te ufi
Tongan: teunga kaoha

Necklace (2)
Tahitian: teunga te ufi
Tongan: teunga kaoha

Dance Apron (1)
Tahitian: ‘ahu more

Dance Apron (2)
Tahitian: 'ahu more

Part 6 MUSIC

Nose Flute (2)
Tongan: fangufangu

Nose Flute (2)
Drawing of the nose flute: Sylvia Pereira, Ethnographical Museum Dresden

Notes of the island of ’Eua – the oldest written reference of the original music of Tonga
Recording: Frank Vorpahl, Martin Chaudhuri (Nuku’alofa 2023)

Part 7 HAWAI'I + AOTEAROA

Twilight of the Gods in Hawai'i (1)
This painstakingly researched image by Kawainui Kāne shows Captain Cook‘s demise at Kealakekua Bay on Big Island/Hawai’i
in: Frank Vorpahl, der Welterkunder, Berlin 2018

Twilight of the Gods in Hawai'i (2)

With Tupaia to Aotearoa/New Zealand (1)
William Hodges: [Cascade Cove], Dusky Bay (1775)
National Maritime Museum, London

With Tupaia to Aotearoa/New Zealand (2)

Eye Disks of a Feather God (1)
Hawai’ian: ki'i hulu manu

Eye Disks of a Feather God (2)
Hawai’ian: ki'i hulu manu

Leg Ornament (1)
Hawai’ian: kūpe'e pipipi

Leg Ornament (2)
Hawai’ian: kūpe'e pipipi

Arm Ornament (1)
Hawai’ian: kūpe'e ho‘okalakala

Arm Ornament (2)
Hawai’ian: kūpe'e ho‘okalakala

Bark Bast (1)
Hawai'ian: kapa

Bark Bast (2)
Hawai'ian: kapa

Nephrite Blade (1)
Māori: toki pounamu

Nephrite Blade (2)
Māori: toki pounamu

Part 8 NEW-IRELAND

Niu Ailan / New Ireland
Map of New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
by Kelisi from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

Moravian Network

Hagenauer: A Missionary in Colonial Networks
Friedrich August Hagenauer
Photo Studio: T. Humphrey & Co, Melbourne
Source: Unitätsarchiv Herrnhut FS.P.0463

Malanggan Carving, Frieze (Bird)

Malanggan Carving, Frieze (Snake)

Malanggan Carving, Ancestral Figure

Malanggan Carving, Guard Figure “Flying Fish”

Malanggan Carving: Representative Mask

Malanggan Mask: Tatanua

Malanggan Mask: Tatanua

Malanggan Mask: Tatanua

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