A red skirt made of coconut fibre that has been opened out over a black background.

Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands, an archipelago nation situated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, is made up of over 900 islands with rainforests, coastal environments, and coral reefs.

The people of the Solomon Islands are primarily Melanesian and the official language is English, however, pidgin English is widely spoken. Browse our Solomon Island collection and writing and knowledge from community members.

A round disc made of turtle shell that has been carved into a pattern.

Kapkap

Kapkaps, as ornaments like this are now called, are found in parts of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. These shell disks overlaid with delicate turtle shell filigree are much admired. Attached to a cord or woven band of fibre, they can be worn on the forehead, breast, or shoulder.

Tepuke (sailing canoe)

The tepuke is a type of sailing canoe that was once common in the Temotu province of the Solomon Islands. This tepuke is seven metres long, although a full-size tepuke can be up to twenty metres in length.

A carved wooden head figurine with inlaid shells

The Solomon Islands story of Tiola and the origin of the nguzunguzu

This is the story of Tiola, a banara (chief) in Solomon Islands mythology and the origin of the nguzunguzu, canoe prow figureheads used by the islands’ tribes.

A large group of people arranged for a group photo

Expedition to the Solomon Islands

Botany Curator Leon Perrie was part of an expedition into the jungle in the centre of Guadalcanal island in the Solomon Islands to document the plants and animals present. Leon's job was to help with the ferns.

The underside of a fern frond with orange spore spots in patterns covering it.

Solomon Islands expedition: The ferns

Botany Curator Leon Perrie describes his expedition to central Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands to document the ferns and lycophytes.

Canoe carvings of West Solomon Islands

Collection Manager Pacific Cultures Grace Hutton introduces us to Nguzunguzu, the guardians of war canoes from the Solomon Islands.

Fossilised tridacna shell that has been carved into patterns. It's a bit broken.

Tuhinga 15: Barava: land title deeds in fossil shell from the western Solomon Islands

Following fieldwork in the Solomon Islands and the tracing of residual traditional knowledge in Ranongga Island, a large fretworked Tridacna shell plaque, known as a ‘barava’ can now be reinterpreted as originally a land title deed.

A coiled belt made of hundreds of small red feathers and leather in the middle.

Tevau (red feather currency)

This is a tevau, a coil of highly prized red feathers from the Santa Cruz Islands in the Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands. In this region, tevau was a kind of currency often exchanged for services and goods such as canoes, root crops, turtles and pigs.

A carved wooden figure with a necklace and breastplate and cloth with designs on it.

Tuhinga 14: Menepo: the recent evolution of a traditional wood sculpture from Santa Cruz in the Solomon Islands

‘Menepo’, a traditional free-standing wooden statue from Santa Cruz in the eastern Solomon Islands.

Two pieces of blue tapa cloth on a black background.

Tapa from the Solomon Islands

The very diverse island cultural groups that make up the Solomon Islands create different kinds of tapa, for different uses. Read about how tapa are made and used in the Solomon Islands.

A carved wooden sculpture of two hands - one hand is holding a chalice and the other hand is holding a wafer over the chalice.

'The Great Elevation' chalice and host

This sculpture ‘The Great Elevation’ is an example of the integration of an indigenous Solomon Islands wood carving style with Christian symbols and motifs.

A hollow whale tooth with small holes drilled into it on a black background.

Tuhinga 17: Whale teeth artefacts in the western Solomon Islands

A small whale’s tooth from the Solomon Islands was found to have four very small holes drilled obliquely midway between its ends. This paper talks about the possible reasons for these holes and how the hypothesis was tested.

a black wooden bowl shaped a bit like a gravy boat with shell inlaid in patterns on it.

Rima sara'a (Bowl)

The shell inlay decoration of this wooden bowl suggests that it was probably made in the islands of the Southeast Solomons, a region that includes Ulawa and San Cristobal and the small islands in between.

Unidentified Solomon Island Man

A studio portrait of a young man from the Solomon Islands.

Toto Isu

This print was made by Ralph Ako, a printmaker and carver from Bareho Islands, Marovo, West Province, Solomon Islands. The print depicts a Toto Isu or Nguzunguzu, an anthropomorphic figurehead originally lashed to the bow of the canoe.

A black and clay-coloured painting of the head and shoulders of a soldier holding a gun.

Sniper, Solomon Islands

Sniper, Solomon Islands was based on sketches William James Reed made in 1946-4.

Tupe

This print was made by Ralph Ako a printmaker and carver from Bareho Islands, Marovo, West Province, Solomon Islands. The print features a large kakarita (mudcrab).

A watercolour painting of a man holding a spear

Inhabitants of Tikopia

Inhabitants of Tikopia. From: The Natural History of Man by James Cowles Prichard

Necklaces made from rodent, canine and dolphin teeth in circles inside each other on a black background.

Tuhinga 19: Cetaceans and citations: a survey of the English literature on the role of cetaceans in South Pacific island cultures

To support the development of our exhibition ‘Whales –Tohorā’, this review surveys material published in English on the practices, knowledge and beliefs of South Pacific people in relation to whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Browse our Solomon Island collections

Find out about Solomon Island art, tools, clothing, currency, and life held in our collections.