Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2012 May 1

= May 1 =

Gambier Islands
How come the Gambier Islands, mainly Mangareva have the same native population recovery as it's neighbors in the Tahiti and Easter Island which had native populations of around 6000 in 1880 and of 111 in 1877 respectively. The island population remains the same since it's decline in the 1800s.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 01:23, 1 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Tahiti and Easter Island both have viable economies, the latter's based mainly on tourism and the former's on a combination of tourism and its role as the commercial and governmental center of French Polynesia. As such, they have been able to support growing indigenous populations and have attracted immigrants.  By contrast, the Gambier Islands have remained economically marginal.  As a result, any natural increase has likely been negated by outmigration.  Marco polo (talk) 15:55, 1 May 2012 (UTC)

Kings of Easter Island
From the death of Kai Mako'i 'Iti and Maurata to the accession of Atamu Tekena there was a period of twenty years. Tepito is mentioned as a king between these individual but who is he and how does Jean-Baptiste Dutrou-Bornier's wife "Queen Mother" Koreto and their daughters "Queen" Caroline and Harriette or Alexander Ariipaea Salmon fit into this.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 01:36, 1 May 2012 (UTC)


 * A U.S. government report published in 1891, http://www.sacred-texts.com/pac/ei/ei00.htm that seems to describe the visit of a ship called the Mohican to the island (not sure which year but probably before 1883), says:


 * * "Maurata, the last of a long line of kings, together with all of the principal chiefs of the islands [and "the majority of the able-bodied men"] was kidnapped by the Peruvians [in 1862] and died in slavery. Since that time there has been no recognized authority. ... [Maurata's] nearest descendant is a sturdy old fellow (Fig. 2) called Kaitae, about eighty years of age."


 * * "In 1863-164 the natives were converted to Christianity by Frère Eugène, a Jesuit missionary. A Frenchman called Dutrou-Bornier had settled upon the island and ... lived with a common woman, who had been the wife of a chief, and he succeeded in having her proclaimed queen of the island, under the name of Korato. A system of espionage and intrigue was instituted by Queen Korato, guided by the Frenchman's instructions, which resulted in an open rebellion against the ecclesiastical authority. The missionary was finally compelled to leave the island... The Frenchman was killed in August, 1876, by being thrown from his horse while drunk, and Queen Korato and her two children survived him only a few years."


 * * "Mr. Salmon [a Tahitian] found upon his arrival [in 1878] that none of the natives had assumed authority over his fellows, and in due course that gentleman became to all intents and purposes the king of the island.. ... The total number of natives is at present 155... The population has been for several years at a standstill."


 * This seems to answer half of your questions: there was a kingless period after the slavers decimated the island's population and Maurata died. Koreto/Korato was declared queen through the machinations of her foreigner husband; both she and her daughters died before Atamu Tekana came on the scene. Alexander Ariipaea Salmon was a foreigner who stepped into a power vaccuum and became a de facto leader - or at least he claimed so to Europeans.


 * For the rest, this history from the Pasifika Media Association http://pacificmedia.org/pasifika-regions/rapa-nui says:


 * * "Ariki Atamu Tekena was the acting king when the Chilean Navy arrived on the island (his name, written as ‘Atamu Ari’ is the first of the chiefs that is listed on the Treaty)."


 * Their source is the master's thesis: Vaai Hanga Kainga – Giving Care to the Motherland: conflicting narratives of Rapanui by Santi Hito http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10063/1504/thesis.pdf?sequence=1


 * According to this, Atamu Tekana was the person that signed the 1888 treaty with the Chileans. I couldn't find anything on his authority for doing so or his relation to Salmon (though you might read the thesis; I didn't).


 * I also couldn't find anything on Tepito other than this note that the word is part of a second name for the island. http://books.google.com/books?id=g9ZogGs_fz8C&pg=PA251&lpg=PA251&dq=%2BTepito+rapanui
 * 184.147.123.69 (talk) 14:45, 1 May 2012 (UTC)

"People are much less accurate at throwing darts at pictures of JFK than at pictures of Hitler"
From, a claim that subconscious opinion of the target influences how well you can throw a dart at a picture. Truth ... or bull? Wnt (talk) 04:18, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Google Scholaring "throwing darts at pictures of JFK" got me this study from the University of Pennsylvania. It's published in a reputable journal with 335 citations, so it's safe to say it's scientifically rigorous. The results you're looking for are on page 6 of the PDF. 173.32.168.59 (talk) 04:31, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Does Law of Similarity has something to do with it? The link posted above has some information on this topic on p.709. Also see this. -- Supernova Explosion   Talk  04:34, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * And this. -- Supernova Explosion   Talk  04:34, 1 May 2012 (UTC)

Flags of Trans-Mississippi
Can you confirm that the hand-made images on this it.wiki article are truthful drawings of the historical flags of the Trans-Mississippi Department? Thanks in advance. --151.75.101.147 (talk) 06:40, 1 May 2012 (UTC)


 * They mainly seem to be banners of individual military units... AnonMoos (talk) 08:00, 1 May 2012 (UTC)

Online photography contest
Is there any site which holds online contest for photographers? A site where people can submit there photographs as part of a competition? -- Supernova Explosion   Talk  09:40, 1 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Hundreds. Maybe thousands. Start here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot/your-shot and here http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=online+photography+contest 184.147.123.69 (talk) 12:46, 1 May 2012 (UTC)

Why isn't Kosovo a UN member/observer?
Why isn't Kosovo a member or observer of the UN? Yes I know that more than 50% of the world doesn't recognize it (In ASEAN, currently only Malaysia and Brunei recognizes it). I am also aware that there are other similar limited recognition states (such as Taiwan) that are not UN members (although Palestine's government is a UN observer). The thing is, the UN administered the region for almost ten years. Almost all other countries did not even go through that stage, but they are in the United Nations. There were already previous members when they were still not independent (Ukraine and Belarus were founding members of the UN while they were still part of the Soviet Union). If most UN countries don't recognize it, can't they at least grant it observer status? Palestine is also a partially-recognized state, recognized by only slightly more than half of the world's countries, but its government is a UN permanent observer (although they controversially applied for full membership some months ago as Palestine, I don't know if they were rejected or not). There is even a non-country that is a permanent observer in the UN. Why can't Kosovo be granted at least observer status? Does it have to do with Serbia, similar to how Taiwan can't join the UN because of China? Narutolovehinata5 tccsdnew 12:22, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Our article on International recognition of Kosovo has a wealth of information. The passage most applicable to your question seems to be that "It is expected that Russia's refusal to recognise Kosovo will prevent Kosovo from attaining a seat at the UN, as Russia is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council from which Kosovo will need unanimous approval." This is apparently sourced from this article by Reuters, although I can't personally find the part of the article that supports it. It's worth also pointing out that the situation concerning Belarus and the Ukraine being founder members of the UN was a special case, born of Russia's opposition to the membership of India and the Philippines, which were (at the time) effectively colonies of the UK and the USA respectively. This is dealt with in the article Soviet Union and the United Nations. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 14:03, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Historically, Russia has seen itself as the protector of Southern Slav states such as Serbia and Bulgaria, and thus would oppose Kosovo independence from Serbia. This goes back to the Russian-led Pan-Slavism movement that started in the 19th century and which, in many ways, was one of the tinders that ignited World War I.  -- Jayron  32  17:43, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Note however that may be referring to full membership while the op referred to observer status. Our United Nations General Assembly observers suggests only a United Nations General Assembly resolution is required, in which case the Security Council may not be involved and Russia and China's veto power may not be relevant. In any case, a 2/3 majority will I presume be needed for recognition as an observer, and since Kosovo is only recognised by 90 out of 193 (i.e. not even 50%) of UN member states, it's a moot point. Nil Einne (talk) 19:19, 1 May 2012 (UTC)

Taian teahouse page help
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taian — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.240.10.170 (talk) 19:16, 1 May 2012 (UTC)

The page for the Taian (Japanese teahouse) redirects to the search page for the word "taian." Please Fix — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.240.10.170 (talk) 19:14, 1 May 2012 (UTC)


 * The articles about Japanese tea houses Ochaya and Chashitsu don't contain the name "Taian". What evidence is there that this term is used to describe these? -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 19:24, 1 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Ah, I see there is a specific building (which is written as Tai-an in that article) mentioned briefly in Chashitsu. Is there enough to say about that building to warrant an article of its own? Right now I don't see a source in Chashitsu that covers it. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 19:30, 1 May 2012 (UTC)


 * I've deleted the link from the disambiguation (dab) page, since it is inappropriate to link to this kind of circular redirect. There is no article on this topic.  If someone creates an article, they can link it to the dab page.  Marco polo (talk) 19:39, 1 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Incidentally, this room is mentioned as "Taian" (without a hyphen, which I believe is the standard transliteration from Japanese), in Sen no Rikyū. In that article, the name of the room links to the dab page.  I don't know whether such links conform to best practice on Wikipedia.  I wouldn't create such a link.  There is an actual article on this tea room in the Japanese Wikipedia, but Japanese seems to be the only language with an article on the room.  Marco polo (talk) 19:46, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * The teahouse is also mentioned in the List of National Treasures of Japan (residences). Oda Mari (talk) 07:13, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

St. Vincent de Paul Church in Davenport California
Hello, I have a simple question. Which North Coast Swiss immigrant is credited with being the driving force behind the construction of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Davenport California? Thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.101.140.201 (talk) 21:36, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm trying to make sense of the phrase "North Coast Swiss immigrant", and failing. North Coast of where?" --ColinFine (talk) 22:10, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Technically, Switzerland does have a North Coast, insofar as there is a body of water lying on at least part of the northern limit of Switzerland. Though I suspect that the OP is refering to an immigrant to the North Coast region of California from some undisclosed place in Switzerland.  The context comes from Davenport, California, which while not actually in the North Coast region, is still in California.  I suspect that a Swiss immigrant to the North Coast of California later moved to Davenport and helped found that church.  I don't have an answer, except to clarify how I read the question.  -- Jayron  32  22:59, 1 May 2012 (UTC)


 * I've had a fairly thorough trawl through the bowels of Google, and can't find any mention of a founder. It seems to be notable for having been once photographed by Ansel Adams; also for having been constructed from the produce of the local cement works, and by the voluntary labour of the employees, in 1914 or 1915. Alansplodge (talk) 20:14, 3 May 2012 (UTC)
 * If you're still looking for an answer, try contact a local library or the church itself. --BDD (talk) 16:08, 4 May 2012 (UTC)