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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