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Recent Publications

Books, Dissertations, and Theses

Rotuma Revisited: September 1969 — September 1970, by Peter Bridges (2020)

Rotuman Life Experiences 1890-1960, compiled and edited by Alan Howard and Jan Rensel (2021)

The Role of Migration and Remittance in the Development of Rotuma, by Jason Wesley Ravai Titifanue. M.A. thesis, Development Studies, The University of the South Pacific (2017)

The Autobiography, by Seán Óg Ó hAilpín (2013)

A Remarkable Rotuman Woman, by Jacinta Tonga (2013).

Being Rotuman In Australia: Cultural Maintenance In Migration, by Agnes Ferguson Hannan, Ph.D. dissertation, School of Arts and Social Sciences, James Cook University (2008). Download dissertation (2.1 MB)

Sạunōan Ka ‘Eagke Maoan (Forgotten But Not Lost): Rotuman Migration to the Torres Strait, by
Makereta Rosarine Mua, M.A. thesis, The University of the South Pacific (2007).

Methodology and Modelling Approach for Strategic Sustainability Analysis of Complex Energy-Environment Systems, by Andreas Hamm, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Cantebury, Christchurch, New Zealand (2007). [Dr. Hamm did his research on Rotuma.] Download dissertation (pdf 9.6MB)

Biofuel from Coconut Resources in Rotuma: A Feasibility Study on the Establishment of an Electrification Scheme using local Energy Resources, by Gerhard Zieroth with Leba Gaunavinaka and Wolf Forstreuter. Suva: PIEPSAP c/o SOPAC Secretariat. Download report (pdf 1.1MB)

Island Legacy: A History of the Rotuman People, by Alan Howard and Jan Rensel. Trafford Publishing, Victoria B.C. Canada (2007)

Toa' Rotuam Ne Av Te': Rogrog Fäeag'ak A'luak (ne mou se Kakai ne Rotuma 2006)
Queries should be addressed to Psephite Publishers, Raiwaqa, P.O. Box 5034, Suva, Fiji

Untie the doves cord, when it is free it sings: fara: dancing and singing on Rotuma, by
Ragnhild Scheifes, M.A. thesis, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, The Netherlands (2005)

The Rotuma Website: Transnational Relations and the Articulation of Cultural Identity, by Caroline Anne Clark, MA thesis in anthropology, University of British Columbia (2005)

The Structure of the Noun Phrase in Rotuman, by Marcel den Dikken. Munchen: LINCOM Europa, LINCOM studies in Austronesian linguistics; 5. 81 pages (2003).

Rotuma - Custom, Practice and Change, by Aubrey Parke. Coombs Academic Publishing , ANU, Australia (2003)

Austronesian Linguistics: Rotuman, by Marit Vamarasi (2002)

Seksek 'e Hatana, edited by Aubrey Parke. Suva, Fiji: Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific (2002) Preview in Google Books; Review

Kato'aga: Rotuman Ceremonies, by Elizabeth Inia Suva, Fiji: Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific (2001) Preview in Google Books; Review

Rotuma: Sprache und Geschichte, by Hans Schmidt (2000) English Translation of Conclusion

A Floristic Survey of the Coastal Littoral Vegetation of Rotuma, MSc thesis at USP by Rejieli Rigamoto (2000)

The Prosody of Phrase in Rotuman, by John J. McCarthy. Linguistics Department Faculty Publication Series, University of Massachusetts - Amherst (2000) Download pdf

A New Rotuman Dictionary, by Elizabeth Inia, Sophie Arntsen, Hans Schmidt, Jan Rensel, Alan Howard, C. Maxwell Churchward (1998) Preview in Google Books

Fäeag 'Es Fuaga: Rotuman Proverbs, Compiled and Translated by Elizabeth K.M. Inia, with an essay on proverbs in Rotuman culture by Alan Howard and Jan Rensel. Suva, Fiji: Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific (1998) Preview in Google Books

Rotuma: Fiji's Hidden Paradise, by Ian Osborne (1997).

A Bibliography of Rotuma, compiled by Antoine D.R. N'Yeurt, Will C. McClatchey and Hans Schmidt (1996)

Woven Gods: Female Clowns and Power in Rotuma, by Vilsoni Hereniko (1995) Preview in Google Books

Tales of a Lonely Island, by Mesulama Titifanua and C. Maxwell Churchward (1995; first published in 1938-39) Preview in Google Books

Hef Ran Ta (The Morning Star): A Biography of Wilson Inia, by Alan Howard (1994) Preview in Google Books, Full text (minus photos, glossary, and index)

The Traditional Rotuman Medicinal System and Ethnopharmacopoea, by Will C. McClatchey
Part of a thesis presented to the Department of Botany and Range Science, Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree, Master of Science (1993)

Evolutionary Process in an Oceanic Chiefdom: Intergroup Aggression and Political Integration in Traditional Rotuman Society, PhD Dissertation by Thegn Ladefoged, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai'i (1993)

Rotuma: Hanua Pumue (Precious Land), essays by various authors (1991). Preview in Google Books.

Learning to Be Rotuman, by Alan Howard. New York: Teachers College Press (1970)


Articles and Reports

The Changing Anthropological Enterprise: A Century of Ethnographic Research in Rotuma
by Jan Rensel and Alan Howard (2021). Download PDF file.

Rotuman Representation on Fiji's Currency 1969 to the Present Day, by Joshua Immanuel Fonmoa. Paper presented at IBNS Conference, Canberra Australia on 21 May, 2020. Download PDF file.

The political affordances of the 'coconut wireless': Rotumans on social media in the 2018 Fiji elections, by Rufino Varea, Jason Titifanue, Renata Varea. amd Romitesh Kant, Pacific Journalism Review 26 (2): 221-241 (2020) Download PDF file.

Creating an Archive for Rotuma: A Personal Account, by Alan Howard, The Contemporary Pacific 31:142-15 (2019). Download PDF file.

Diaspora No More? The Role of Facebook in the Development of a Global Rotuman Community, by Alan Howard, Diaspora 20:176-202 (2019). Download PDF file.

Birds and terrestrial Mammals of Rotuma, Fiji islands, by Cibois, A. & Thibault, J.-C.. Natural History Museum of Geneva, Switzerland 34 p. (2019) Download PDF file.

Digital diaspora, reinvigorating Indigenous identity and online activism: social media and the reorientation of Rotuman identity, by Jason Titifanue, Rufino Robert Varea, Renata Varea, Romitesh Kant, and Glen Finau. Media International Australia, 169: 32-42 (2018).

THE ROTUMA BILL NO. 6 OF 2015: WHAT IS AT STAKE FOR ROTUMA? by Lee-Anne Sackett, Romitesh Kant and Jason Titifanue. SGDIA WORKING PAPER SERIES, Working Paper No.4. Download PDF file

Diasporic Connections Amongst Torres Strait Islanders and Rotumans, by Makereta Mua. Fijian Studies: A Journal of Contemporary Fiji 16:25-42 (2018). Download PDF file

The Rotuman Cultural Garland (Tefui), by Emily Erasito. Unpublished article (2018). Download PDF file.

The Rotuman Experience with Return Migration, by Alan Howard and Jan Rensel.. In Mobilities of Return: Pacific Perspectives, edited by John Taylor and Helen Lee. Australia National University Press, pp. 45-73 (2017). Download PDF file.

Being Rotuman on the Internet, by Alan Howard. Journal of Pacific Studies 40:373-407 (2017). Download PDF file.

Genetic Evidence for Modifying Oceanic Boundaries Relative to Fiji, by Gerhard P. Shipley, Diana A. Taylor, Antoine D. R. N'Yeurt, Anand Tyagi, Geetanjali Tiwari, and Alan J. Redd, Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints. 101, 2017. Download PDF file.

Taibobo: Dancing over the Oceans, from Rotuma to Torres Strait and Back Again, by Makereta Mua and Jeremy Beckett, Oceania 84:331-341, 2014. Download PDF file.

The Culture of Graves on Rotuma, by Jan Rensel and Alan Howard. Journal of The Polynesian Society
125 (2): 93-114, 2016. Download PDF file.

Genetic structure among Fijian island populations, by G. P. Shipley, D. A. Taylor, A. Tyagi, G. Tiwari, & A. Redd, Journal of Human Genetics 60(2):69–75, 2015. Download PDF summary of article.

Rotumans in Australia and New Zealand: The Problem of Community Formation, by Jan Rensel and Alan Howard, Journal of New Zealand & Pacific Studies 2(2):191-203, 2014. Download PDF file.

Report of online survey concerning views regarding Rotuman culture and language, by Alan Howard, Matt Bray, and Jan Rensel. Download PDF file.

Fara Way, from Stories of the Southern Sea, by Lawrence Winkler. Published as a Kindle book on December 26, 2013. PDf file of chapter.

The Valuation of Photographs: Rotuman Responses, by Jan Rensel and Alan Howard, 2013. Download PDF file of article.

Report on a Preliminary Survey of the Land Snail Fauna of Rotuma, by Gilianne Brodie, Froseann Stevens and Gary Barker, University of the South Pacific, 2012. Download PDF file of report.

Extreme Mortality After First Introduction of Measles Virus to the Polynesian Island of Rotuma, 1911. G. Dennis Shanks, Seung-Eun Lee, Alan Howard, and John F. Brundage, American Journal of Epidemiology 173(10):1211-1222; first published online April 15, 2011. Download PDF file of article.

Phonology and Syntax in Rotuma: A Reply to den Dikken, by Mark Hale & Madelyn Kissock, 11th International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics (2009)

From Marginalization to Mainstream? Rotuma and the 2006 Election, by Kylie Jayne Anderson. In From Election to Coup in Fiji: the 2006 Campaign and its Aftermath, edited by Fraenkel, Jon and Stewart Firth, pp. 185-203. Canberra: ANU E Press (2007).

The Critical Role of Language in the Construction of Rotuman Diasporic Identity, by Marit Vamarasi, Refereed papers from the 3rd International Small Island Cultures Conference
Institute of Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island, June 29–July 2, 2007 (2008: 69-73).
Download PDF file of article.

"Bring the Past to Present": Recording and Reviving Rotuman Music via a Collaborative Rotuman/Fijian/Australian CD Project, by Karl Neuenfeldt, The World of Music, Journal of the Department of Ethnomusicology, Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg, Vol. 49(1):83-103 ( 2007). Download PDF file of article.

Hiạ ou ra ta ma hiạ la fá: Owning Rotuman Education, by Victor Narsimulu. Pacific Rim Studies: Understanding the Pacific Islander 1:25-35 (2007). Download PDF file of article.

When a Generation Goes Missing, by Fred Wesley. Fiji Times Online, Sunday, June 15, 2008. Download PDF file of article.

Hospitaleity: a Helava Way, by Rev. Seforosa Carroll, Dreadlocks Vaka Vuku, Special Issue: Proceedings of the Pacific Epistemologies Conference 2006. Editor: Mohit Prasad Published by the Pacific Writing Forum for the School of Language, Arts and Media, Faculty of Arts and Law, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji, pps. 41-47. Download PDF file of article.

Presenting Rotuma to the World: The Making of The Land Has Eyes, by Alan Howard, Visual Anthropology Review 22(1):73-95, 2006. Download PDF file of article.

Factors favoring and disfavoring obsolescence in the South Pacific: A case study of Rotuman, by Marit Vamarasi. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 172 (2005), pp. 79-90. Downlod PDF file of article.

Contextualizing Histories: Our Rotuman Experience, by Alan Howard and Jan Rensel. Pacific Studies 27(3/4):11-36. (2004). Download PDF file of article.

Metathesis in Rotuman, by Hans Schmidt. In Issues in Austronesian Historical Phonology, ed. by John Lynch. Canberra 2003: Pacific Linguistics 550, p. 175-207, 2004. Downlod PDF file of article.

Restraint and Ritual Apology: The Rotumans of the South Pacific, by Alan Howard, in Keeping the Peace, edited by Graham Kemp and Douglas P. Fry. New York: Routledge. pp. 35-52, 2004.

Ethnobotanical importance of the coastal plant species of Rotuma Island, by Rejieli Ragafuata Rigamoto, in South Pacific Journal of Natural Science, 20:30–33, (2004). Download PDF file of article.

Loanword Strata in Rotuman, by Hans Schmidt, in Language Contacts in Prehistory: Studies in Stratigraphy: Papers from the Workshop on Linguistic Stratigraphy and Prehistory at the Fifteenth International Conference on Historical Linguistics, Melbourne, 17 August 2001, pp. 201-240 (2003). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Co. Download PDF file of article.

Pollen Fertility Status in Coastal Plant Species of Rotuma Island, by Rejieli Ragafuata Rigamoto, in South Pacific Journal of Natural Science, 20:30–33, (2002). Download PDF file of article.

Where Has Rotuman Culture Gone? And What Is It Doing There? by Alan Howard and Jan Rensel, in Pacific Studies 24(1/2):63-88 (2001)

Traditional Rotuman Fishing in Temporal and Regional Context, by Melinda Allen, Thegn Ladefoged, and Jonathan Wall, in International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 11:56-71 (2001). Download PDF file of article.

Rotuma: The Changing Nature of Customary Authorities: A Discussion On Customs Changing In Changing Circumstances, by Aubrey Parke, in Journal of Pacific History, 35(1):101-108 (2000).

Pacific-Based Virtual Communities: Rotuma on the World Wide Web, by Alan Howard, in The Contemporary Pacific 11(1):160-175 (1999).

Rotuma, by Alan Howard, in The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Vol. 9, Australia and the Pacific Islands, edited by Adrienne L. Kaeppler and J. W. Love. New York: Garland Publishing Inc. pp. 817-823 (1998).

Youth in Rotuma, then and now, by Alan Howard, In Adolescence in Pacific Island Societies, edited by Gilbert Herdt and Stephen C. Leavitt. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press (1998).

Exotic and indigenous: Ceramic sherds from the island of Rotuma, by Thegn N. Ladefoged, Jonathan Wall, Philippa Black, and William R. Dickinson, in the Journal of the Polynesian Society, Volume 107(3) (1998).

Une Profondeur qui S'arrête à la Surface de la Peau: Ordre Social et Corps à Rotuma, by Alan Howard and Jan Rensel, in La Production du Corps, edited by Maurice Godelier and Michel Panoff. Éditions des Archives Contemporaines. Amsterdam: Overseas Publishing Association. (1998). English version.

The Place of disabled persons in Rotuman society, by Jan Rensel and Alan Howard, in Pacific Studies 20(3):19-50 (1997).

From Thatch to Cement: Social Implications of Housing Change on Rotuma, by Jan Rensel, in Home in the Islands: Housing and Social Change in the Pacific, edited by Jan Rensel and Margaret Rodman. University of Hawai'i Press; pp. 27-54 (1997).

Ritual status and power politics in modern Rotuma, by Alan Howard and Jan Rensel, In Chiefs Today: Traditional Pacific Leadership and the Postcolonial State, edited by Geoffrey White and Lamont Lindstrom. Stanford University Press. Pp. 119-149 (1997).

Rotuma, by Alan Howard and Jan Rensel, in Fiji in Transition, edited by Brij V. Lal and Tomasi Rayalu Vakatora. Vol. 1, Fiji Constitution Review Commission Research Papers. Suva: School of Social and Economic Development, The University of the South Pacific. Pp. 153-177 (1997).

The Effect of Rotuma's Methodist History on the present Church, by Rev. Jione Langi, in Mai Kea Ki Vei?: Stories of Methodism in Fiji and Rotuma, edited by Andrew Thornley and Tauga Vulaono. Proceedings of the Fiji Methodist History Conference, Davuilevu, 10-13 October, 1995. Fiji Methodist Church (1996).

The ethnopharmacopoeia of Rotuma, by Will C. McClatchey, in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology 50:147-156 (1996).

A survey of the benthic marine algae of Rotuma Island, by Antoine D.R. N'Yeurt, in Australian Systematic Botany 9(3):361-490 (1996).

Speak of the devils: discourse and belief in spirits on Rotuma, by Alan Howard, in Spirits in Culture, History and Mind, edited by J. Mageo and Alan Howard. Routledge Press; pp. 121-145 (1996).

Money, sovereignty and moral authority on Rotuma, by Alan Howard, in Leadership and Change in the Western Pacific, edited by Richard Feinberg and Karen Watson-Gegeo. London School of Economics Monographs on Social Anthropology, No. 66; pp. 205-238 (1996).

Rotuman seafaring in historical perspective, by Alan Howard, in Seafaring in the Contemporary Pacific Islands: Studies in Continuity and Change, edited by Richard Feinberg. Northern Illinois University Press; pp. 114-143 (1995).

The evolutionary ecology of Rotuman political integration, by Thegn Ladefoged, in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 14:341-358 (1995).

Rotuma in the 1990s: From hinterland to neighbourhood, by Alan Howard and Jan Rensel, in the Journal of the Polynesian Society 103:227-254 (1994).

Martyrs, progress and political ambitions: reexamining Rotuma's "religious wars," by Alan Howard and Eric Kjellgren, in the Journal of Pacific History 29(2):131-152 (1994).

Traditional Use of Curcuma Longa (Zingiberaceae) in Rotuma, by Will C. McClatchey, in Economic Botany, 47(3):291-296 (1993)

The impact of recent resource diversity on the sociopolitical structure of Rotuma: A geographic information system analysis, by Thegn Ladefoged, in The Evolution and Organization of Prehistoric Society in Polynesia, edited by M.W. Graves and R.C. Green. New Zealand Archaeological Association Monograph 19 (1993).

The Fiji connection: Migrant involvement in the economy of Rotuma, by Jan Rensel, in Pacific Viewpoint 34(2):215-240 (1993).


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