Books about Polynesian from Amazon.com

The longing stretch toward the infinite ..the reluctant embrace of the temporal This is the eternal lot of mankind This is The Epic of Gilgamesh. Our revised 2nd edition of mankind's first epic features a lucid historical and cultural introduction by Dr. Biggs, a new interpretive essay on the themes of Gilgamesh by James G. Keenan and their echoes in other literature, and ancient world and original illustrations.

Though The Epic of Gilgamesh exists in several editions, this version has been undertaken with a very specific intent -- to remain faithful to the source material while attempting to convey the poetic scope of a work that is both lusty and tender and that retains the ability to arouse compassion and empathy in all who follow Gilgamesh on his journey. This edition aims to reanimate the story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu for modern readers, bringing it new life through indelible poetic images.

For centuries the beginnings of the literary history of the West were defined by the Hebrew Bible--what most people call the Old Testament--and Homer's epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey. These texts were once naively imagined to have come about in splendid isolation either as a miracle of divine creation or the spontaneous combustion of the ?Greek genius.? The mighty stream of words down over the millennia to our own time are so many generations of offspring still somehow beholden to their initial begetters. Thus do we construe Western Literature.

- from Ancient Epic Poetry Chapter 8: Gilgamesh

Charles Rowan Beye

Special Features

* Story Commentary
* Historical Notes
* Illustrated Introduction
* 15 Original Woodcut Prints
* 18 Photos

Also available:

Ancient Epic Poetry: Homer, Apollonius, Virgil With A Chapter On The Gilgamesh Poems - ISBN 0865166072
The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic - ISBN 0865165467.
Price: $8.83 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Typee is the first "romance" of the South Seas, a semi-autobiographical account of life in the Marquesas Islands in the 1840s. A blend of personal experience and the narratives of explorers and missionaries, it influenced many later writers on the Pacific, including Robert Louis Stevenson and Jack London. This edition offers an Introduction that considers the book from a post-colonial perspective, and detailed annotation of Melville's allusions..
Price: $6.90 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $3.93 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Comprising thousands of islands and hundreds of cultural groups, Polynesia and Micronesia cover a large part of the vast Pacific Ocean, from the dramatic mountains of Hawaii to the small, flat coral islands of Kiribati. This new volume in the acclaimed Oxford History of Art series offers a superb introduction to the rich artistic traditions of these two regions, traditions that have had a considerable impact on modern western art through the influence of artists such as Gauguin. After an introduction to Polynesian and Micronesian art separately, the book focuses on the artistic types, styles, and concepts shared by the two island groups, thereby placing each in its wider cultural context. From the textiles of Tonga to the canoes of Tahiti, Adrienne Kaeppler sheds light on religious and sacred rituals and objects, carving, architecture, tattooing, personal ornaments, basket-making, clothing, textiles, fashion, the oral arts, dance, music and musical instruments--even canoe-construction--to provide the ultimate introduction to these rich and vibrant cultures. Each chapter begins with a quote from an indigenous person from one of the island areas covered in the book and features both historic and contemporary works of art. A timeline for migration into the Pacific includes the latest information from archaeology, as well as the influx of explorers and missionaries and important exhibitions and other artistic events. With more than one hundred illustrations--most in full color--this volume offers a stimulating and insightful account of two dynamic artistic cultures..
Price: $16.83 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This brand new book presents each verb on a full page, completely conjugated in all tenses. Selected on the basis of conjugation type and scientifically established frequency of use, every verb is illustrated with sentences or short paragraphs that suggest its optimal use..
Price: $24.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A compelling portrait of a Polynesian island community caught up in a world of change Thousands of years ago, Polynesian voyagers discovered and settled Nanumea atoll, a tiny cluster of coral islets in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The community prospered, first evolving into a traditional culture finely tuned to the atoll's limited environment and then weathering new changes imposed by missionaries, colonial officials, and Westernization itself. Now one of eight separate island communities comprising the modern Pacific nation of Tuvalu, Nanumea faces new challenges: rising sea levels, globalization, and massive social and economic changes. Using personal stories that evoke the difficulties and excitement of fieldwork, Keith and Anne Chambers draw on more than twenty-five years of ethnographic research in Nanumea to craft an engaging account of Nanumean culture and social organization. Readers will come to appreciate how the community's intense sharing obligations, service-oriented chieftainship, and a flexible system of extensive kinship reckoning define a lifestyle that differs fundamentally from modern Western society. Caught up in the Internet revolution and the many forces for change sweeping the Pacific, Nanumeans look ahead to the twenty-first century with mixed feelings. Will the community's cultural treasure, its "unity of heart," be able to sustain them in the twenty-first century?.
Price: $15.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $5.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Traditional tattooing designs are depicted from the exotic Pacific Polynesian cultures of Easter Island, Hawaii, the Marquesas, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and Tonga. The actual process and ceremonies involved in tattooing are described and illustrated with over 250 drawings and color illustrations of native people. Included are actual 19th century photographs as well as early exploration art, paintings, drawings, engravings, and artifacts all relating to tattooing..
Price: $44.07 [Notify me when price goes down.]