The Islands Have Memory: Reflections on Two Collaborative Projects in Contemporary Oceania

Abstract

More than two decades ago, Marshall Sahlins reminded us that Oceania’s Islands have a history. They also have a memory. Anthropologists and other social researchers often deal with the problem how to actively turn orally transmitted memories into written or audiovisual representations. But in fact, researchers are much more involved than that: they become part of the Islands’ cultural memory due to their actions—what they do and do not do. European anthropologists Guido Pigliasco and Thorolf Lipp re-purpose a series of reflections on opportunities and challenges of “doing culture” in collaboration with indigenous counterparts.