Au

A Pasifika Undertow Theology of Diplomacy

Abstract

More than half of Pasifika is still colonised. The entire Northern Pasifika is under the Compact of Free Association, making its inhabitants political subjects of the United States of America. Although countries like the Cook Islands, Niue, Tuvalu, and Tokelau celebrated their independence from Great Britain, they remain dependent territories of Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Maohi Nui, Rapa Nui, Hawaii, Guam, Kanaky, West Papua, Wallis and Futuna, and American Samoa were directly colonised by France, Indonesia, and the USA. This situation creates a structured and controlled diplomacy where Pasifika administrative institutions are puppets.
In Tuvaluan navigational knowledge, undertow currents are referred to as au. Au, as a verb, refers to two critical realities: firstly, the moving of undertow currents that move opposite to the waves and water on the surface, and secondly, it refers to the impenitent and conscientious shaping of something, like the pruning of tree branches. Combining the two meanings in a navigational space, au is a defiant movement to reshape situations. Based on a communal theology of undertow, this chapter aims to reorient Pasifika diplomacy within the community.