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The Pacific Islanders have a deep affiliation with the sea. Islanders around the region are believed to have powers to call turtles, sharks and manta rays from the sea and communicate with their ancestors through them. The conch shell is often used as the mediator.

Ancient temples can be found throughout the Pacific. Known as marae in most parts of Polynesia or heiau in Hawaii, little is known about the stone structures but they are believed to be sacred areas used for religious purposes. Today, all temples have disintegrated leaving just the stone bases hidden in the bush although in Hawaii, many have been cleared and restored to show their former glory.

The Trilithon in Mua, Tonga, once the superpower of the Pacific, was the largest standing structure in ancient Pacific and aligns perfectly with both sun and stars. Huge stones and megoliths are scattered around the Polynesian islands marking sacred religous foundations from where the priests would bekon the spirit world.

Ancient art lies in rock engravings and rock paintings, found at various spots in the Pacific. Other forms of ancient art expressions used in Melanesia imndluded the carving of wooden statues both omn the perimetre of a village or on the outside of houses.

Traditional dance is one of the few remaining traditional customs of the Pacific Islanders. Melanesians, Micronesians and Polynesians all used these dance performances to pass the legends and great events from generation to generation. These dances are great visual spectacles and are performed regularly at most resorts by the local villagers. The dances are powerful and graceful at the same time and include such movements as the spear dance, the fan dance and the sitting dance. Polynesian dance differs from Melanesian beimng more graceful with women dancers at the fore. Cook Islands and Tahiti are renowned as the most elegant dancers, performing to a fast up-beat dance beat. However, the most complex dance is the Hawaiian Hula although it was originally a religious male dance. Today, hula is widely used in many dance performances and has been romantisised by grass skirts and swaying hips. The Samoan fire dance, now performed throughout the Pacific to enthral tourists, is one of the great spectacles of the region. The war chant of the New Zealand Maori is well documented and the wobbling of the tongue was used to show manhood and aggression. Traditional dance was performed as a means of conveying a story or historical event to its people and the meaning of the words and songs hold as much importance to the act as does the movement. Drumming is commonly used to hold a beat along with hand clapping, foot stomping and bamboo flutes.

The unusual practice of firewalking upon red hot stones is performed by Fijians from the island of Beqa - the islanders were given the gift of piower over fire by their ancestral god and today retain their power for both healingh burns and to earn money at tourist performances.

Finely woven mats are an impotant gift at all important Pacific funtions, notably for birth, marriage and funerals. In Tonga, mats are still commonly worn around the waist in day to day life as well as to mark notable events.

Kava is the traditional ceremonial drink throughout the Pacific used in ancient times used by chiefs and the high priests to mediate with the spirit world. Whilst strictly consumed in some islands for traditional ceremonies only, others such as Fiji and Samoa allow social drinking amongst common people.

Pacific Islanders are renowned for their huge feasts, cannabilism and extremely large people. Dalo roots, cows, pigs and vegetable leaves are piled high over heat retaining black rocks and covered with banana leaves, old mats and finally a good layer of earth. The food cooks slowly in this undeground oven and can feed an entire village.

Traditional villages are still very strong in the Pacific where chiefs and village elders rule the village with most people living ion large extended families in a open style house. Families eat, sleep and work in these rooms creating a communal family environment. Visiting a traditional village has become a popular tourist excursion and one that has a lasting impression. Thatch traditionally hand crafted houses are still common.

Village life for men evolves around subsistance farming and fishing whilst the women stay mostly at home, weaving mats, tending children and cooking the food. In Melanesia, women are generally subservient to men, whilst in Polynesia men and women have equal status.
The coconut in the Pacific is considered the tree of life. It gives food, drink and sweets, provides shelter in roofing, has a great source of fire in its husk, gives exceptionally strong sinew for tying things together, and the leaf makes for brooms, baskets, hats and fans. In more recent times its oil has been sought for sopas and perfumes and can combsut providing a clean fuel for engines.

Fishing is one of the major forms of subsistance life for the South Pacific Islanders. The shallow lagoons are ideal for catching small fish, octopus crabs and lobsters. Canoes are used to fish in the deeper waters beyond the breaking reef

The Pacific Islanders were great sea-farers, navigating the ocean using the stars, currents, sea colours and cloud patterns. Large outrigger canoes were used to travel between the islands for trade, warfare and colonisation, some carrying up to 100 people. Canoes are still crafted by hand and are used by many Polynesians for fishing in the lagoons.

Pacific Islanders are great crafts people, working with wood, pandanus leaves, coconut sinew and Tapa. Handcrafts are sold in small boutique shops and at local markets and make excellent souveneirs and provide valuable income for those living on outlying islands and remote villages.

Tapa is a tradtional cloth made from the bark of the Mulberry Tree. The bark is pounded into pulp, flatened like paper and once dry, decorated in stenciled dye, keeping to traditional patterns unique to the region and family. Tapa is still a vital part of gift bearing and Fijians still wear the cloth at all important ceremonies. Contemporary artists are using the cloth as an art medium.

Much of what we know today about the migration of the people across the South Pacific comes from the different styles of pottery used by the original inhabitants. The great migration across the South Pacific commenced around 4000 years ago from South East Asia, first reaching Vanuatu and New Caledonia, then Fiji and subsequently expanding to the smaller islands of Polynesia, eventually reaching Hawaii and New Zealand. Pottery remains an important part of Pacific culture.

Body tatooing, occasionally from head to toe as in The Marquesas Islands, was a common form of art throughout the Pacific and depicted one's family lineage and hierarchy in the village. In Samoa, the traditonal method of tatooing is still very common amongst men and women. The word tatoo and the artform originates from the Pacific.

Kava drinking is an integral part of Fijian life and apart from daily drinking by men as a nightly get-together it is consumed at village fund-raisings to business meetings. Any new visitors to a village is welcomed through the Kava ceremony and many resorts hold nightly sessions for their guests.

Outrigger canoeing is an extremely popular sport in Po;ynesian islands, most notably in Samoa, Tahiti and Hawaii where you'll see canoeists training around the town harbours most evenings. Canoe festivals and races are great events and include the Faitasi Race in Samoa where giant canoes are rowed by over 50 people. Other popular sports include Kiriti (a local adaption of Cricket played enthusiastically in Samoa, Futuna and Nauru), Netball (which both Fijians and Cook Islanders excel at) and Volleyball.

Rugby is the main sport in the South Pacific, with touch rugby in the village and 7-a-side games in the stadium being almost a religious activity. In 2005, Fiji won the Rugby World Cup in the 7's code. Football is a growing sport and most popular in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands.

This Hotel Picture Guide is brought to you by South Pacific Picture, the photographic division of Pacific Travel Guides. This leading independent travel publisher is based in Fiji and aims to provide unbiased travel information to help potential holiday-makers plan their trip to the South Pacific. We do not sell individual hotels, tours or packages - we simply provide an overview to help you make the decision and provide links for you to make further enquiries and bookings. All the pictures in this website have been taken by us and try to show a true representation of our destinations. No picture has been staged - all were taken as presented.

Our small team of researchers travel around the south pacific on a regular basis to update our guides and to ensure their accuracy. Please feel free to contribute your own travel experiences to pass on to fellow travellers.

If you haven't been able to find what you're looking for in our website, you might want to try the following specialist websites:

The definitive, most informative hotel guide to the South Pacific:


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One of our most useful holiday planning websites is our unique interactive picture maps showing pictures of beaches, scenic attractions and hotel locations from around the south pacific islands:


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Last Updated
08 January 2010
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