NAVIGATORS QUEST FOR A KINGDOM IN POLYNESIA

A debut nonfiction work explores the history of Samoan settlement.

The settling of Polynesia is perhaps the greatest achievement in human migration—and also one of its greatest mysteries. The timeline and manner in which people came to inhabit the scattered islands of the Pacific Ocean remain subjects for debate, even with the advent of modern research. “The story of the Polynesian’s great migration is a mystery that scientists have been trying to unravel for the last two hundred years,” writes Levi. “The Polynesian migration presents a narrative which, to be complete, must include why, where, how, and when it began. It has to answer the question of motivation.” With this book, the author focuses on the settlement of Samoa, particularly the Manu’a Islands—islands that the French explorer Louis-Antoine Bougainville referred to as the “Archipelago of the Navigators.” Levi seeks to document the ways in which the culture of Samoa and Manu’a was shaped by its remote geography and the various places its settlers may have stopped along the way. A Samoan Orator Chief, Levi is tasked with keeping and propagating the history, laws, language, genealogy, customs, and mythology of his people. The volume augments that traditional knowledge with historical accounts from other cultures—both ancient and modern—as well as scientific studies into the archaeology, genetics, and linguistics of Polynesia. The result is what the author refers to as an “aerial survey,” a bird’s-eye view that attempts to present a broad picture by taking all possible knowledge into account. (When discussing tiny islands surrounded by a vast expanse of ocean, it’s really the only view that makes sense.) The story that emerges is one of human movement: migration that did not end 3,000 years ago but rather continues among Samoans to this day.

Levi’s prose is balanced and engaging, as one might expect from a professional orator. He adeptly weaves together various threads of information, as here where he introduces a local tradition into questions about the presence of Lapita pottery across Polynesia: “Samoan legends frequently mention that ‘dark skin people with their bow and arrows and spears are frightful enemies,’ also mentioning different methods of fishing….Just when you think a discovery is going to clear up the puzzle, instead it adds another layer of complexity.” The book is not a purely scholastic one. Indeed, the author argues that theories of history that concentrate too myopically on scientific evidence may miss clues hiding in traditional knowledge. His argument is meandering and at times idiosyncratic, revealing his affinity for the ideas of James George Frazer and Joseph Campbell as well as Levi’s own Christian faith. This, coupled with his oratorical flair, sometimes leads to digressions. (For instance, his conclusion name-checks Beethoven, Croesus, and the Bible.) That said, the volume contains a great deal of insightful writing on Samoan traditions, mythology, and language as well as a number of potential theories about the “Navigators” and their motivations. For those interested in Polynesian history, this work has much to offer. Levi is the perfect teller of this tale, and it is a story worth hearing.

A captivating trove of ideas about the mysterious settlers of Samoa.