The Papalagi Never Have Enough Time
At the turn of the 20th century,/a Samoan chief named Tuiavii/spoke to his people about Western civilization. He believed that Westerners,/the “Papalagi,”/had become slaves to their technology.
In 1920,/a German writer,/Erich Scheurmann (1878-1957),/published a book of the chief’s speeches. The book was later translated into English/and became a bestseller.
We don’t know/if there ever was a real “Tuiavii,”/but his words give us a new way of looking at our lives.
1
The Papalagi love the round metal and the heavy paper,/and they love to drink a lot of liquid/made from fruit. But more than anything else,/they love what you cannot hold, yet exists/—time. They say a lot of foolish things about it.
The Papalagi are never happy/with the time they have. They keep complaining/that the Great Spirit has not given them more of it. They divide their day into small units. Each unit is given a name:/second, minute, and hour. Thinking about such childish things/only leaves me in confusion.
To the Papalagi,/however,/this seems to be extremely important. Men, women, and even small children/carry a small, flat, round machine. It seems that they can read the time/from this machine.
At the turn of the 20th century,/a Samoan chief named Tuiavii/spoke to his people about Western civilization. He believed that Westerners,/the “Papalagi,”/had become slaves to their technology.
In 1920,/a German writer,/Erich Scheurmann (1878-1957),/published a book of the chief’s speeches. The book was later translated into English/and became a bestseller.
We don’t know/if there ever was a real “Tuiavii,”/but his words give us a new way of looking at our lives.
1
The Papalagi love the round metal and the heavy paper,/and they love to drink a lot of liquid/made from fruit. But more than anything else,/they love what you cannot hold, yet exists/—time. They say a lot of foolish things about it.
The Papalagi are never happy/with the time they have. They keep complaining/that the Great Spirit has not given them more of it. They divide their day into small units. Each unit is given a name:/second, minute, and hour. Thinking about such childish things/only leaves me in confusion.
To the Papalagi,/however,/this seems to be extremely important. Men, women, and even small children/carry a small, flat, round machine. It seems that they can read the time/from this machine.