Melanesians in North Queensland: The retention of indigenous religious and magical practices

The pacific islands labour trade: Approaches, methodologies, debates

“…Some early results were published in the mid-1970s which demonstrated that Peter Corris quite underestimated the retention of traditional religious and magical practices, and this makes a difference to any interpretation of plantation life considering the extent to which Melanesian magic and religion were intertwined, and the degree to which the spirit world and the temporal world are one in Melanesian thinking. 55 Without going into detail, Moore's use of oral evidence in conjunction with conventional documentary sources was crucial in his explanation of the Kanakas' plantation experience: he is able to delve more deeply than previous studies into their private, as distinct from working, lives -into such matters as leadership, magic and religion, housing, diet and health. 56 Moore's work also has a sound statistical basis missing in the earlier monographs since he had the benefit of Ralph Shlomowitz's economic and demographic analyses.…”