Brief#2
Kros/Cross – Albert Leomala
Albert Leomala is a well established poet/politician from Vanuatu, who
has graduated from the University of the South Pacific which is one if his many
achievements.
The poem Kros was published in
Lali: A Pacific Anthology (1980) by Albert Wendt along with another poem of his
named Niuhebridis or New Hebridis. Both poems are published
in Pidgin English also known as Bislama along with English. Both languages are
national languages of Vanuatu along with French, which gives us an insight in
to the colonial powers that have entered and influenced Vanuatu.
Religion has had a major impact on nearly all nations in the Pacific
with the majority of Pacific Islanders claiming to be religious, and belonging
to many ‘faiths’ including Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Seventh Day Adventist,
and Christianity. Kros gives us an example of Leomala’s thoughts and feelings
on the impact religion has had on Vanuatu specifically, although it is
reasonable to assume he is regarding the effects it has had on all Pacific
nations. Leomala doesn't state or address any particular religion in the poem,
but we can assume he is regarding Christianity seeing as it is the predominant
religion in Vanuatu with approximately 83% of Ni-Vanuatu (the people of
Vanuatu) identifying themselves as Christians. Leomala may also be generalising
all religions that have impacted Ni-Vanuatu.
Western missionaries first introduced Christianity to Vanuatu in the 19th
century. They varied in their attitudes towards Pacific customs but most
considered much of the Melanesian culture and traditions unacceptable deeming
them as sinful, and taught the indigenous people that in order for them
to live a holy life and follow a righteous path they had to either compromise
their traditions (not necessarily all of them) or in most cases discontinue
them. This ultimately influenced certain rituals, deeming the exposure of
woman’s breasts as inappropriate and tattooing gradually became less and less
common. Interestingly enough, tattooing is still very popular in Samoa. Most
importantly their teachings influenced the minds of Ni-Vanuatu resulting in a
dramatic change in what they valued.
In my opinion, because Ni-Vanuatu no longer prioritised their customs
and valued the Church more, they didn’t realise the severity of the loss of
their traditions because they thought they were doing what was right at that
time. Because certain traditions weren’t practiced on a regular basis this resulted
in the generations that followed becoming less and less knowledgeable about traditions
that were once highly regarded in their community. In Leomala’s case he blames
the Church for this happening and this is apparent with his use of sentences
such as ‘Cross I hate you’ and ‘You are killing me, you are destroying my
traditions’.
Before missionaries entered Vanuatu, traders, labour recruiters and
other western influences had already arrived there. They also influenced
Ni-Vanuatu’s values by introducing goods such as rifles and liquor which were
foreign items to them at the time, the introduction of these created a lust of
the indigenous people to attain these items which had a negative impact of the
local communities.
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