Relational Hermeneutics

Book excerpt: Relational Hermeneutics is a unique cross-disciplinary collection that aims to decolonise the mindsets of the Pacific people who have been shaped by the global neo-liberal frameworks of development that benefit only a few at the expense of many, fracturing the harmony and interconnectedness of life, and destroying and violating sacred spaces including the environment. By rediscovering the foundational Pacific understanding of relationality that govern and encompass all of life in the Pacific itulagi (lifeworld), the authors offer an alternative to the dominant colonial paradigms and reminded the Pacific people of how critical it is at this time of increased non-relational trends to discover relationality as a hermeneutical key to reframe the way we understand and interpret life.