Sharing and service in Pacific communities - Ecumenical Diakonia: New Challenges, New Responses

An elaboration of certain elements of traditional Pacific communities which are also very much of the essence of the community of faith could benefit communities that have lost these tenets and thus also help to enrich our ecumenical life of sharing and service.

A substantial number of Pacific islanders continue to live in such traditional communities,(1) although they are being encroached upon relentlessly by modern development, Western political and economic systems, the mushrooming of small "paradises" (hotels, golf courses, sandy beaches) and thriving cities where traditional values are challenged, discarded and forgotten.(2) Over the last hundred and fifty years or so, colonial governments and churches have made marked inroads into the very being of the Pacific people and in many ways shattered the cohesiveness of community life, replacing it with capitalistic individualism. The Pacific people have been dominated for so long that they have become, to use Paulo Freire's term, "domesticated"; and at the same time they have lost their own identities.

A new wave of Pacific leaders, however, both in the secular world and in the churches, has awakened to the need for a Pacific island identity, rediscovering their own cultural heritage and attempting to protect their traditional communities. The Pacific people need to re-establish, nourish and grow a community that is tryly Pacific and indigenous while maintaining its integrity in the world community. This has obliged the churches in the Pacific to reread the Bible and to engage in a theological process of contextualization, drawing upon aspects of their cultural heritage that can explain to them more about their life, their being and their relationships to the divine.

The following account seeks to unfold some traditional elements of traditional Pacific community. In recent years communism has collapsed in Eastern and Central Europe, and, while capitalism continues to assert itself, it is clear that this political and economic system cannot solve all the world's problems. Perhaps the world can look to the traditional communities of the Pacific as an alternative way forward for the next century.

Pacific communities: four examples

The Kiribati Islands maniaba. As my friend and I sit cross-legged inside the maniaba, we are experiencing activities at the nerve-centre of sharing and dialogue.(3) Traditionally in a Kiribati village, the maniaba is a central open house, built in the middle of the village. It serves as a meeting place for all the villagers, including the elders who make decisions for the village. For villagers and visitors alike it is a centre for meal-sharing, care-giving and entertainment. Each family brings in their meal which they serve and share with other members of the village and visitors. After the meal, visitors are entertained with traditional dances and then garlanded with beautiful flowers and given gifts as tokens of the community's appreciation for the visit.

Nowadays the maniaba has also become the centre of village worship, where the whole community sings, prays and reads the word of God together. As a community and educational centre, it is a place for both intellectual and spiritual empowerment for the people of God and their mission. The maniaba serves as the centre of communion for the community. The shared meal becomes a point or a "table" where members of the families serve and share whatever they bring for the community gathering. It is the table where everyone is both guest and host -- a point of reciprocal service and sharing.

During this meal different families and groups stand from where they are sitting and share their traditional dramas, songs and dances which relate biblical stories or traditional stories with Christian teachings or Christian applications. At this point the "worldly" and the "other-worldly" tasks are united, for there is no separation of the secular from the spiritual. Here people are reminded that the poor and the neglected are to be accepted and fed as equally important members of the community. Those members who are absent because of sickness or other reasons are prayed for and visited with food from the maniaba.

The Samoan fale.(4) The fale or fale tele ("great house") is a symbol of Samoan village life and community. Its construction is geared towards community unity, relationship, participation and partnership. Its round or oval shape represents the unbroken chain (no beginning, no ending) for those who congregate in it, thus symbolizing unity. Its openness, a house with no wall, symbolizes inclusiveness: the extension of what goes on inside the fale to those outside in the community. What goes on in the fale reflects the life of the whole community and its concern for the wellbeing of all.

The fale tele is used for gatherings of the whole village or for district officials. It serves three functions: as the fono, a meeting place for different groups in the village for the welfare of the people; as the tapuaiga, a place for worship or supportive actions for any undertaking by the village community; and as the malaga, a place for entertaining villagers and guests, for the common meal which is brought in and shared among the members of the community. In all three of these functions unity, fellowship and relationship are central themes. Only here can family members come to meet and discuss their differences, worship together or entertain and be happy together without feeling isolated or outcast. Perhaps one of its most important functions is as a place for reconciliation. The fale tele brings together or acts as the place of refuge for different parties.