Culture of the Solomon Islands

Vella Lavella girl with painted face and shell ear ornaments, c. 1900

Traditional culture

In the traditional culture of the Solomon Islands, age-old customs are handed down from one generation to the next, allegedly from the ancestral spirits themselves, to form the cultural values to Solomon Islands. Culturally, the Solomon Islands are a part of Melanesia, and the indigenous peoples are Melanesians.

Contemporary culture

In the contemporary Solomon Islands, as elsewhere in Melanesia, kastom is the core of the assertion of traditional values and cultural practices in a modern context.^[1] The Kastom Gaden Association^[2], for example, advocates growing and eating traditional foods rather than imported ones.^[3]

Languages

There are at least 64 languages in the Solomon Islands, not counting English and Pijin.^[4] The Islands' languages are part of the great diversity of the Austronesian languages of Melanesia.

Notable figures

Notable figures in contemporary Solomon Islands culture include painter Ake Lianga and musician Sharzy. Writers include John Saunana and Celo Kulagoe.^[5]

See also

• Music of the Solomon Islands
• Literature of the Solomon Islands
• Languages of the Solomon Islands
• Religion in the Solomon Islands

References

1. ^ "The Politics of Indigenous Identity, Ethnicity and Tradition", University of Hawai'i, Center for Pacific Islands Studies
2. ^ "Gaden", not "Garden". The word belongs to the Pijin language, not English.
3. ^ "Don’t rely on import food: Kastom Gaden", Solomon Star, May 5, 2008
4. ^ Ples Blong Iumi: Solomon Islands the Past Four Thousand Years, Hugh Laracy (ed.), University of the South Pacific, 1989, ISBN 982-02-0027-X
5. ^ "English in the South Pacific", John Lynch and France Mugler, University of the South Pacific