Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Culture CompassEpisodes
Episodes of Culture Compass
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Our elders are the keepers of our cultural keys. But what happens when they don't share it?Rotuma, an island of Fiji, is home to an ancient traditional headdress called the Suru. But the knowledge of this artefact only lies with a select few e
Rising sea levels are swallowing up traditional homes. So, how do you preserve a culture, when the land it’s tied to is slipping away? Some of the most affected nations like Tokelau and Tuvalu are taking proactive steps to document and record
Ferocious vocals and loud guitars, metal is the perfect way to let out your frustrations – and it's found an unlikely home in the Pacific.
Papua New Guinea is a country of steep valleys, raging rivers, thick rainforest — and not to mention the Pacific Ocean – that makes traversing the country a precarious task. So when people migrate from their villages to the capital Port Moresb
"Once those drums play, I'm home."It's a long way for Michael Chow to travel to visit his family on Bipi Island in Papua New Guinea. But when he hears the beat of the garamut – the slit drum from his island – it's as if he is really there.Acro
"I would love to see young people, after seeing our videos, do videos about their own native language, because we have 800 plus different languages in Papua New Guinea which are slowly dying out because we are not preserving it."Emily Papa has
Across the Pacific, rugby is considered the national sport. But nowhere is this passion more on display than in Fiji.When players take the field, they embody the warrior spirit of their ancestors. Fans travel for hours just to cheer their team
Far away from their island homes, our artefacts, tools and art are pinned to the walls of museums across the world – ensnared in the grip of colonial institutions. How did they get there? And more importantly, how do we get them back?
Across eight new episodes of Culture Compass, host Seiuli Salamasina von Reiche is still unpacking the big questions that keep us up at night.You'll hear stories from all over, like how a group of Rotuman artists unlocked ancestral knowledge h
"It’s about empowering the people.”Reggae has become so significant for music lovers across the Pacific it’s more than just mellow sounds – it's almost a spiritual experience.Every island has their own stories to tell, from growing up in the s
In all tales of Pacific cultures, we're shown as voyagers, connecting with the elements and ocean to navigate the seas.Our ancestors were travelling to trade, to deepen our understanding of the world and to build connection. Every island had t
We're known as movers and migrators but trekking away from the islands doesn't mean we lose our cultures in the diaspora.
Like a lot of Pacific Island cultures, we breathe life into our stories through movement and dance. But there's something different about Hula — the poetic fluid movement and mesmerising music. It tells a story of survival.
In the New Ireland province of Papua New Guinea, the men of the village sing to sharks to catch them to provide food for the village. But as marine life faces threats from commercial fishing and environmental challenges, can this time-honoured
Is hair ever really – "just hair"? Across the Pacific, each nation has its way of respecting and celebrating the hair on our heads. It plays a role in our culture and dress, and it becomes important at different stages of life and death.
The "organic" industry might seem new but it's as old as our farming traditions. In fact, half of the world's organic agricultural land is in Oceania, with nations like Samoa and Papua New Guinea leading the way.
"It's just like an early morning coffee. People wake up, take a shower, they brush their teeth, they're go and grab betelnut."Betel nut – or buai – is everywhere in Papua New Guinea.Buai is the seed of the Areca nut, wrapped in betel leaf… and
If you thought we only had one season of stories of revival, and survival and connection across the Pacific – boy were you wrong!We're back with another eight episodes looking at even more customs like why we all have our own ways of honourin
Joy, hard times, old times and changing times – Pacific Island musicians capture it all in song.And it's not restricted to what you might call "traditional" music – we fold in the musical influences of wherever we end up in the world.The resul
Home is more than four walls and a roof, it's what happens inside that makes it special.All across the Pacific you see sophisticated designs that reflect cultural protocols and family structures.We've even got our own master builders and archi
Think shells. Think stone. Think pandanus leaves woven into mats so delicate you could mistake them for silk.These are the items that hold value for us. It's a different kind of currency.It takes time, skill and cultural knowledge to make thes
If you grew up in the Pacific Islands, you probably have some understanding of which plants are useful and which ones to avoid.Before we had western medicines we knew that plants save lives, and all across the Pacific we know exactly which one
It’s clear that kava is expanding far beyond our Islands. Kava bars are popping up around the world, as far away as New York City and the Rocky Mountains in the USA. That’s creating jobs in the Pacific and economic opportunity for Pasifika peo
For thousands of years, we voyaged the ocean between islands, using the stars to find the way as the birds warned us of storms ahead.This is how we travelled across the Pacific before planes, before satellites, before people arrived on their o
"Our practice was quiet for a moment. It was quiet for a generation, it wasn't eradicated. And now it's back. And it's loud. And it's here, it's in your face — literally, on your face! And now we're just living that practice every day."Moale J
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