Remembering Epeli Hauofa : His Life and Legacy

Epeli Hau’ofa (1939-2009) played a crucial role in reimagining
the place and status of the people of the Pacific Islands in the
global community. Tongan by name, Papuan by birth, Tongan,
Fijian, Canadian and Australian by education, and Fijian by
citizenship, he embraced the lives of everyone whose destiny
is wedded to Oceania. Yes, Oceania, a maritime continent
whose islands are woven into a thriving web of seaways.
Scholar, satirist and founding director of the Oceania Centre
for Arts and Culture at the University of the South Pacific in
Suva, Epeli Hau’ofa inspired an entire generation of fellow
Oceanians, from poets to politicians and artists to academics.
A trenchant critic of predatory development, he dedicated his
life to the promotion of Oceanian ways of creating and
transmitting knowledge.
Remembering Epeli Hau’ofa tells his story and it offers moving
insights into the enduring legacy of the thoughts and actions of
a man who, in the view of many of his contemporaries, was
perhaps “the finest Pacific Islander of our times”.
The editors Vijay Naidu, Claire Slatter and Eric Waddell were
contemporaries and close friends of Epeli Hau’ofa during the
latter part of his life. Vijay and Claire spent all their
professional careers at the University of the South Pacific, the
one in Sociology and the other in Political Science, and they
both reside in Suva (Fiji). Eric taught Geography at USP in the
early 1990s and was a frequent visitor to the University
thereafter. He lives in Québec (Canada).