Recording Kastom

Recording Kastom brings readers into the heart of colonial Torres Strait and New Guinea through the journals of zoologist and anthropologist Alfred Haddon, who visited the islands in 1888 and 1898.

Haddon's published reports of these trips were hugely influential on the fledgling discipline of anthropology, but his private diaries and sketches have never been published in full. The diaries record in vivid detail Haddon's observations and relationships, and his close collaboration with Islander communities to record a huge body of cultural knowledge. This knowledge remains of vital importance to Islander communities, and to scholars in a range of disciplines.

This edition assembles a rich array of photographs and drawings. An introductory essay provides historical and cultural context, and a preface by community members explains the significance of the journals to Islander communities today.

About the Authors

Anita Herle is Senior Curator (World Anthropology) at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. Her research interests include museum anthropology, the early history of British anthropology, art and aesthetics, with a particular interest in the Torres Strait, Vanuatu, Fiji and Canada.

Jude Philp is Senior Curator of the Macleay Museum at the University of Sydney. Her research interests include museum anthropology, 19th century Pacific history, historic taxidermy, the commerce of natural history, and Pacific Islander material culture.