How would you explain Germany to people of the Pacific?

Tok Stori | Geschichten-Austausch is a digital storytelling space that invites German people to share their individual and collective understanding of German culture and identity through questions based upon key Pacific cultural ways of understanding.

By Lisa Hilli, shi Blank, Abhay Adhikari & Übersee-Museum Bremen CC BY-SA 4.0

Funded by the Digital Culture Programme of the German Federal Cultural Foundation

Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media

This prototype was developed as part of the NEO Collections project. Funded by the Digital Culture Programme of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation). Funded by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media).

Between November 2021 and February 2022, a Papua New Guinean artist and three German historians began a dialogue to explore the concept – How would you explain Germany to the Pacific? What followed were difficult and illuminating conversations, that opened a space of empathy, which led to questions of curiosity and understanding.

So why would Pacific people, especially from former German colonies want to know about Germany?
That’s up to Pacific people to decide.

One intended aim of Tok Stori | Geschichten-Austausch (as a prototype) is to give Pacific people the choice of what they would like to know about Germany by appealing to Pacific people’s cultural values and ways of understanding. The other aim is to get as many German citizens as possible to share stories publicly about their unique and shared German identity, culture, and history, so that both German and Pacific people can learn about each other.

Tok Stori is a Melanesian concept that means spending time and connecting with someone through a conversation, a dialogue or storytelling and actively listening and relating. It implies a mutual or reciprocal relationship in sharing. We want to encourage Geschichten-Austausch among German people.

As part of the NEO Collections project, Tok Stori | Geschichten-Austausch is the result of a collaborative digital residency that engaged artists from the Pacific Islands region to develop a prototype for an online exhibition on the Pacific hosted by the Übersee Museum.

Prototype collaborators for Tok Stori | Geschichten-Austausch are Lisa Hilli, Etta Grotian, Lisa Korge, Tobias Goebel and shi Blank.

Family Question 1

Who do you classify as people in your family?

Cowrie shells, Samoa, before 1906

Pacific families are often centred around clans and villages, as well as your immediate family.

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Family Question 2

What are important moments for your family to gather?

Pandanus mat, Samoa, before 1906

Many Pacific people and families gather and sit on woven mats to socialise. They are also used to sleep on especially after a big meal or to just pass the time.

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Family Question 3

How far back can you trace your ancestry? Parents, Grandparents, Great grandparents, Several generations

Rebbilib, Marshall Islands

An important device used to help memorise and assist Marshalles Islanders in ocean navigation. Similarly, Pacific people often recall their ancestry by memory.

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Family Question 4

Has your family always lived in Germany? If not, where did they migrate from?

Drua, Fiji

One of the largest seafaring vessels for travelling vast distances across the Pacific Ocean, with the iconic crab claw sail. Made entirely of natural materials and not a nail to be found.

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Family Question 5

Who is someone in your family that is important to you and why?

Lei Nehi Palaoa, Hawaii

Finely plaited human hair is often used or gifted by family members to make important body adornments such as this Necklace worn by nobility of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

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Spirituality Question 1

Do you have a family tradition of religion or spirituality practice? Explain why or why not?

Coconut ladle with cross, Papua New Guinea

It's common to see Western symbology incorporated within Indigenous desgins from the Pacific.

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Spirituality Question 2

I feel a sense of connection to the spiritual or a greater power when I …?

Bilas, Papua New Guinea

Bird feathers worn on on the head in some Papua New Guinean cultures can symbolise a spiritual connection to higher and intangible beings.

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Spirituality Question 3

What type of spiritual beliefs did German’s have pre-Christian times?

Lunet / Livika, Papua New Guinea

The haunting sound of this friction drum representing a bird call was believed to be the nexus between the physical and the spiritual world.

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Spirituality Question 4

Can you think of any physical or intangible things that are considered sacred to German folks?

Kuru (ear pendant), Aotearoa

Found only on the south island of New Zealand, pounamu (jade / greenstone) is treasured and of spiritual significance to the Māori.

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Spirituality Question 5

What are your thoughts about German missionaries travelling to the Pacific to share their ideas of spirituality?

Church hat, Cook Islands, before 1907

Worn specifically by women in Kūki Āirani (Cook Islands), especially if you're attending church on Sunday.

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Culture Question 1

Is Oktoberfest a cultural event for German’s or tourists?

Tuna Fish carving, Papua New Guinea

Sometimes Pacific art made specifically for sale can be misinterpreted as being authentic and end up in museum collections.

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Culture Question 2

What is your favorite German expression or idiom? Explain what this means?

Fue, Fiji

A regal item carried by Samoan tulafale (talking chief) during ceremonial speeches.

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Culture Question 3

Do you have a strong connection to a particular place in Germany? Describe where this is and why?

Obsidian, Papua New Guinea

Much of the obsidian collected on Manus Island was traded from elsewhere, particularly areas where volcanoes are active.

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Spirituality Question 4

What are some typical German musical instruments?

Garamut, Papua New Guinea

Large slit gong drums are played with a wooden striker and used across the northern parts of Papua New Guinea part of a dance or in duet with another garamut to sonically communicate a message.

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Spirituality Question 5

Are there any specific German rituals or customs related to birth or death?

Pan Pipes, Papua New Guinea

Made from bamboo, the serenading sound of pan pipes in the Solomon Islands customarily ushered in a birth or death.

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Food Question 1

Explain why pretzels are important to Germany?

Tuluma (fishing tackle box), Tokelau Islands

Used by able bodied men whilst at sea and carved entirely of wood, a Tuluma was used to keep fishing tackle and personal items dry.

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Food Question 2

What is the origin of beer in Germany? Does it have an origin story?

Pohaku Ku'i Poi (pounder), Hawaii

Made purely from stone (basalt), these pounders were are used for making poi, pounded kalo (Taro) that was steamed or baked. A primary food source for Hawaiian's.

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Food Question 3

Are there certain foods or drinks that are used for special or ceremonial purposes?

Kava bowl, Fiji

An important item used in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga for the preparation, drinking of Kava, served by a coconut shell cup.

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Food Question 4

Is there a specific type of utensil you would only find in a German kitchen?

Coconut scraper, Papua New Guinea

An essential item found across most Pacific Islands, used to grate the coconut flesh to create coconut milk for cooking.

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Food Question 5

A favorite meal from my childhood is ...?

Women's Fishing Basket, Papua New Guinea

How many meals were made from the fish collected in this basket and brought home to eat for a family in the Solomon Islands?

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Tok Stori | Geschichten-Austausch Lisa Hilli, shi Blank, Abhay Adhikari & Übersee-Museum Bremen CC BY-SA 4.0

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Get a PDF of all the questions and submitted answers - handy when you want a digital zine on-the-go. Best saved as an A5 size.

Download the PDF (~2mb)