A Tikong passes on
16-Jan-2009 10:18 AM

“Epeli Hau’ofa describes himself as a clown who likes to laugh a lot.

In this collection of twelve stories about life in the South Pacific, Hau’ofa plays the clown to the hilt. His zany perspective is unusual in a body of literature characterised by its serious. In Tales of the Tikongs, we encounter a free spirit who turns our world upside-down making us laugh at the absurdity of human behaviour when viewed from a clown’s perspective,” writes Vilsoni Hereniko in the Editor’s Note of the a short story collection, Tales of the Tikongs – a satire a development in a tiny South Pacific island.

Tongan satirist, writer and director of Oceania Centre for Arts and Culture at University o the South Pacific, Professor Epeli Hau’ofa 70, passed away in Suva on Sunday, January 11 after a short illness.

Professor Hau’ofa was a Professor of Anthropology at the USP, and was admitted to hospital on New Year’s Eve.

He is author of many anthropological pieces on the Pacific, exploring the many aspects of island life as it clashed with European civilisation and modernity.

Prof Hau’ofa also authored a novel, Kisses in the Nederends.

A funeral service was held yesterday at Oceania Centre for Arts and Culture, which he founded in 1997.

Prof Hau’ofa was born in Papua (New Guinea) in 1939 of Tongan missionary parents. He was educated in Papua, Tonga, Fiji, Australia and Canada, and was a PhD graduate of the Department of Anthropology, Australian National University. He has been Keeper of Palace Records in Tonga. He became a citizen of Fiji and since 1983 he had been working at the University of the South Pacific’s main campus in Suva, Fiji, where he was the founder and director of the Oceania Centre for Arts and Culture, established in 1997.

His publications include the most recent “We are the Ocean: Selected Works by Epeli Hauofa a collection of his essays, fiction, and poetry published in January 2008.

The University of Hawai’i Press noted, “His writing over the past three decades has consistently challenged prevailing notions about Oceania and prescriptions for its development.

He highlights major problems confronted by the region and suggests alternative perspectives and ways in which its people might reorganize to relate effectively to the changing world. He conveys his thoughts from diverse standpoints: university-based analyst, essayist, satirist and humorist, and practical catalyst for creativity.”

Epeli is survived by his wife Barbara and son Epeli Si’i.