The Coconut Wireless and
Other Modes of Communication
Not only did the process of adaptation
have to do with the supplies and equipment I used, but also the language
as well. Though my "client" was generally the university,
the audience was the entire Pacific. An ocean? you ask. No, the many
small island nations that inhabit it. The university is run by a
consortium of 12 member nations with a few other junior members who
also send their students. Representing more than a quarter of the
world's languages, the Pacific ocean offered challenges beyond just
simple literal communication. English is the main language of communicatins
with the university community but to those who participate in its
activities, English may be a second or even third language. Throw
into the soup some cultural, social, and economic diversity of a
far more intense nature than we acknowledge in the USA for a context
and the challenge could push some designers and communicators over
the edge.
An interesting example of the
rich diversity of the visual symbols that are at hand is given in
the university's tapa. The design, featured on all official publications
of the university, is a composite of symbols from each of the 12
nations that share in the running of this regional institution. Though
tapa, barkcloth, is a traditional craft in some of the countries,
it is not used in all of them. So the creators of the university's "tapa" had
to draw on symbols from other art forms, artefacts, and specialized
crafts from each country. the result is a design with representative
symbols from each country.
Here is the University Tapa
description as adapted from "The Design of the University
Tapa", The University of the
South Pacific, Information Office, Seona
Smiles, Director:
The tapa design featured on official
publications of The University of the South Pacific is a symbol of
the institution of characteristically Pacific connotation. Barkcloth,
known as tapa in Polynesia and masi in Fiji, has long been associated
with the marking of special occasions. Traditionally, it is part of
the insignia of status and is made and ornamented for socially important
ceremonial presentations. In preparations for the University's first
graduation ceremony in December 1971, it was decided that hte academic
robes of the University's Chancellor and Pro Chancellor should carry
facings of tapa cloth with designs representing different countries
of the University's region. One of the difficulties in choosing such
designs was that decorated tapa is not made in all of these places.
It was necessary in some cases to take design elements from such objects
as mats, spears, adzes, head-dresses and shell ornaments. Another problem
was that the patterns used are rarely limited only to one country in
the region. In the case of the final design, however, the provenance
of the main motif for each country's panel directly relates to that
country. The panels meanings are as follows (from left to right):
1,2,3 - The first three panels
represent Fiji, Tonga, and Western Samoa. The central motif for each
was taken from a tapa from that region. They appear to be stylized
flowers but their symbolic significance has been lost. The Fijian comb
pattern is at each end of the entire tapa; Frigate birds are between
the panels for Fiji and Tonga, and cannibal forks are between Tonga
and Samoa.
4 - The fourth panel represents
Solomon Islands and has a lengga nut design from the kap-kap shell
ornament worn around the neck as its main motif. The striated triangles
at the top and bottom were taken from a carved war club.
5 - The fifth panel represents
Kiribati (pronounced Kiribas, formerly known as Gilbert Islands) and
was taken from a finely woven mat. It is bordered top and bottom by
a stylised shark's tooth spear and is separated from the other panels
bya design taken from the finely woven sinnit cord on the haft of the
same spear.
6 - The sixth panel represents
Tuvalu (formerly known as Ellice Islands) and is bordered by a representation
of the ancient bamboo flute still palyed in some communities.
7 - The sevent panel represents
Cook Islands. In the centre is a motif from a carved ritual adze from
Mangaia with the right border taken from a wooden food bowl.
8 - The Vanuatu panel features
a design from a rare ritual head-dress of the Banks Islands borderd
bya apattern which is said to represent the marks made by crabs walking
across wet sand.
9 - The ninth panel is for Niue
with a central motif, a vane pattern, and flying birds spearating it
from Vanuatu's panel, all taken from a very old Niue tapa.
10 - The tenth panel is for Tokelau
and is taken from a woven mat and is separated by the earlier panel
by a stylized crab design.
11 - The panel representing Nauru
shows string figues, a traditional art in that country. The central
panhel refers to a legend of twin babies fighting for milk at their
mother's breast, while the side figures are flying fish.
12 - The final panel is
for the Marshall Islands. The top and bottom and left side borders
come from a traditional mat weave, referring to lineage and land
inheritance. The central motif is a navigational stick chart, rebbelib
or meddo, used by ancient sailing masters to chart currents and islands.
