Cultural Anthropology Essay: Impact of Culture on Polynesian Artifacts

This essay, focusing on cultural anthropology, examines the impact of culture on Polynesian artifacts, specifically a female figure from the Tonga, Ha’apai Islands. The artifact, crafted from whale ivory, dates back to the early nineteenth century and represents either goddesses or important ancestors. The essay discusses the figure's significance within Tongan culture, including its use in shrines and by high-ranking women, as well as its cultural connections to neighboring islands like Fiji and Samoa. It highlights the artists' techniques, such as the application of coconut oil and smoking process to create a golden sheen. The essay also touches upon the historical context, including the cultural changes due to European influences, and emphasizes the role of women in Tongan society. The essay concludes by underscoring how the culture of the Pacific islands is reflected in their art and creative works.

Running head: CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Cultural anthropology revolves around the study of human cultures, practices, beliefs,
values and traditions. Cultural anthropology deals with the study of social structures, religion and
politics of a particular community. Culture involves shared and learned behavior and beliefs of a
society (Rapport). Cultural Anthropology can be classified into two themes. These are
“Diversity” and “Change”. The environment or culture and upbringing of an individual make
him or her diverse from other existing cultures. “Change” represents the ability of individuals to
adapt and transform to a different physical, biological or cultural background (Haviland; Guest).
The Pacific Island’s collection of artworks present in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
consists of collections from five cultural regions of the Pacific ocean. These are Australia,
Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and the South East Asian Islands. This essay describes the
impact of culture on the artifacts of the Polynesian islands.
The Polynesian island artifact described in this essay is that of a female figure. This
figure dates back to the early nineteenth century. The artifact belonged to the Tonga, Ha’apai
Islands. It is made of whale ivory and was 13.3 x 5.1 x 3.8 centimeters in height, width and
depth, respectively (Www.metmuseum.org).
Figure 1: Female figure of Tonga
(Source: Www.metmuseum.org)

2CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
The ivory figurines of the Tongan islands represent either female goddesses or their
important ancestors. These statues served as the sources in which the divine powers of the deities
resided (Shaw and Wagelie). These vessels are also called “vaka”. These figures were kept in
shrines and some were even worn by women of high ranking positions like female chiefs. They
wore these figures as jewellery on special events. The artists of the Ha’apai islands created these
figures. Some of the figures were also sent to the neighboring islands of Fiji, where they were
also considered to be sacred and were worshipped. Thus, it represents the culture connections
and indicates the similarity of cultures of neighboring regions (Gunson).
The artists of the islands created a rich varnish of the figurines by applying coconut oil and then
subjecting them to a smoking process involving sweet tubers or sugar canes. This imparted a
golden hue or sheen to the surface of the figurines, accentuating the natural texture of the ivory.
The archipelago of Tonga has been found to be inhabited for 3000 years
(Www.sciencedaily.com). However, the culture of the inhabitants of the island had undergone
changes as a result of arrival of the European explorers. Before this invasion, the people of the
island were always in contact with the inhabitants of the neighboring islands of Fiji and Samoa,
thereby indicating cultural connections and overlaps. This is because the inhabitants of the
neighboring islands also worshipped female figurines like those of the Tongan islands. In the
Tongan culture, the women held a greater degree of social prestige than men, thereby indicating
the abundance of figurines depicting female deities or ancestors (Nishitani). However, there were
a change in such cultures or traditions following the Western influences.
Thus, the culture of the Pacific islands played an essential role in development of their
society, which can also be determined from their art and other creative works.

3CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Reference List
Guest, Kenneth J. Cultural anthropology: A toolkit for a global age. WW Norton & Company,
2013.
Gunson, Niel. "Sacred Gods from Polynesia." The Journal of Pacific History 49.4 (2014): 501-
507.
Haviland, William A., et al. Cultural anthropology: the human challenge. Cengage Learning,
2013.
Nishitani, Makiko. "Kinship, gender, and communication technologies: Family dramas in the
Tongan diaspora." The Australian Journal of Anthropology 25.2 (2014): 207-222.
Rapport, Nigel. Social and cultural anthropology: The key concepts. Routledge, 2014.
Shaw, Debora, and Jennifer Wagelie. "Studying artworks and their digital copies: Valuing the
artist’s aura." International Journal of Education through Art 12.1 (2016): 57-69.
Www.metmuseum.org. "Female Figure | Work Of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline Of Art History | The
Metropolitan Museum Of Art." The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. N.p., 2017. Web.
12 Nov. 2017.
Www.sciencedaily.com. "Sixty Headless Skeletons -- 3,000 Years Old -- Discovered In Pacific
Ocean Archipelago Vanuatu." ScienceDaily. N.p., 2017. Web. 14 Nov. 2017.