Collection Guide
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Akin (David) Audiorecordings
MSS 0448
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Table of contents
Languages:
English
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: David Akin Audiorecordings
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0448
Physical Description:
2.8 Linear feet
(1 archives box, 12 card file boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1979-1997
Abstract: The audiorecordings of David Akin, an American anthropologist specializing in Kwaio culture of the Solomon Islands, includes
cassette audio recordings, largely in the Kwaio lanuage or Pidgin English, with a typescript index. The collection also includes
two annotated photocopies of Roger Keesing's
Kwaio Dictionary with notes and additional words supplied by Akin.
David Wallace Akin received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii in 1993. His doctoral thesis,
Negotiating Culture in East Kwaio, Malaita, Solomon Islands, analyzed the social life and customs in the Solomon Islands, and was based on Akin's extensive research of the Kwaio people.
Much of Akin's knowledge about the Solomon Islands came from his time spent with the Kwaio, where he spent 5 years volunteering
at the Kwaio Cultural Center, as well as from his correspondence with anthropologist Roger Keesing.
Akin has published numerous articles about the society and culture of the Solomon Islands, including:
Local and foreign spirits in Kwaio, Solomon Islands (1996);
Cash and shell money in Kwaio (1999); and
Concealment, confession and innovation in Kwaio women's taboos (2003).
Scope and Content of Collection
The David Akin Audiorecordings reflect Akin's extensive research of the Solomon Islands. The collection includes 207 audio
recordings containing information about the Kwaio people; two photocopies of Roger Keesing's
Kwaio Dictionary with annotations from Akin; two papers written by Akin about the Kwaio culture; and transcripts of selected cassettes from
the collection.
The collection is arranged in four series: 1) WRITINGS BY AKIN; 2) KWAIO DICTIONARY; 3) TRANSCRIPTIONS OF SELECTED RECORDINGS;
and 4) AUDIORECORDINGS.
SERIES 1: WRITINGS BY AKIN:
The first series in the collection, WRITINGS BY AKIN, contains two articles written by Akin in the early-1980s about cultural
aspects of the Solomon Islands. This series also contains a videotape index written by Akin that was filmed in 1982 and 1983
in the Kwaio language. This videotape index contains information about scenes from the Kwaio culture, including musical performances
and a ceremony. This series is arranged in alphabetical order.
SERIES 2: KWAIO DICTIONARY
The KWAIO DICTIONARY series includes two photocopies of the
Kwaio Dictionary, written by Roger M. Keesing. The two copies contain notes, dated 1979 through 1983 and 1988 through 1997, written by Akin
regarding Kwaio vocabulary and grammar.
SERIES 3: TRANSCRIPTIONS OF SELECTED RECORDINGS
The third series, TRANSCRIPTIONS OF SELECTED RECORDINGS, contains notes and transcriptions made by Akin from selected cassettes
in the collection. The majority of these transcriptions are in the Kwaio language and contain interviews with people from
the Kwaio community. The series is arranged in numerical order according to tape number.
SERIES 4: AUDIORECORDINGS
The final series of the collection, AUDIORECORDINGS, is made up of 207 audio recordings made by Akin in the 1980s and 1990s.
Even though the audio recordings are numbered 1 through 308, Akin only included 207 cassette tapes with the collection. The
majority of the audio recordings are in the Kwaio language.
This series also contains a cassette index, which lists the titles and dates for each cassette in the collection.
This series is arranged in numerical order according to tape number.
Audiorecordings may not be copied without written permission from David Akin.
Audiorecordings may not be used without written permission from David Akin.
David Akin Audiorecordings, MSS 448. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Kwaio language -- Texts
Kwaio (Melanesian people) -- Social life and customs
Ethnology -- Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Pidgin English -- Solomon Islands -- Texts
Akin, David, 1955- -- Archives