Tag Archives: Pacific

Queen’s service medal for font designer Joseph Churchward

8 June 2010 – 3.37pm
Churchward Newstype Boldest Sketch

Churchward Newstype Boldest Sketch; Te Papa; Purchased 2008

The 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours list included Samoan-born font designer Joseph Churchward. Since the 1960s, Churchward has hand-created over 570 typefaces (fonts), the greatest number designed by any individual in the world.

Click on the image to watch the video interview with Churchward on TVNZ:

Joseph Churchward sketching at his desk

As a way of documenting Churchward’s work, in August 2008, Te Papa acquired about 1000 examples of Churchward’s font designs. Now, the Pacific Cultures collection houses 42 samples of Churchward’s typefaces.

View more of Churchward’s amazing typefaces on Te Papa’s Collections Online:
http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/Search.aspx?term=joseph+churchward

By Safua Akeli | Posted in Collections Online, History, Pacific | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (3)

Avatar and the Pacific language connection

9 February 2010 – 12.27pm

It seems the language of the Na’vi, the indigenous people of the planet Pandora, may be the latest addition to the family tree of Pacific languages. In recent publicity surrounding James Cameron’s blockbuster film Avatar, it was revealed that the development of the Na’vi language was influenced by Maori language. As reported by Charlie Gates of The Press “Cameron used language expert Paul Frommer, of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, to mould the alien language, mixing Maori with languages from Europe and Africa.”

In the Pacific, there is a ‘family tree’ of languages. When groups of people left their homeland and settled in new places in the Pacific, their languages began to change. Over hundreds of years, languages became quite distinct from the original language, or ‘proto-language’, of those languages left at home.

By comparing the sounds, words, and sentence structures of modern Pacific languages, linguistics researchers can trace historical relationships between different Pacific peoples and create what you could describe as ‘family trees’.  They can even reconstruct proto-languages that no longer exist. This gives us insights into the lives of the people who spoke those languages, sometimes thousands of years ago.

The connections between Pacific Islands languages have been important for telling stories here at Te Papa. In the exhibition Tangata O le Moana: the story of Pacific people in New Zealand language is an important strand of evidence highlighting the connections between Maori and their Pacific ancestors. For example, vaka, va‘a, and wa‘a are all words for canoe in various languages of the eastern Pacific. The Maori term is waka. Similarly fale, hale, ‘are and the Maori word whare are terms for house.

Next time you come to Te Papa visit the language barrel interactive in the Tangata O le Moana exhibition. Line up similar words in four Pacific languages, and listen to hear how they are spoken. You won’t hear Na’vi but you can decide for yourself whether Maori really is the proto-language of the native peoples of Pandora.

See the original news article

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/3248069/Avatar-language-based-on-Maori

By seanjmallon | Posted in Māori, Pacific | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

Awesome artworks arrive in PlaNet Pasifika

10 December 2009 – 3.01pm

You may have noticed when you go to L4′s Discovery Centre, PlaNet Pasifika that there are always very cool and beautiful artworks in the space. They usually hang from the high ceiling. These artworks are created by children from various schools all around New Zealand. Staff go out to certain schools and work with them on creating amazing artworks especially for this area.

The artworks up at the moment were created by thirty students from Room 5 at St Bernadette’s Primary School in Naenae, Lower Hutt. These were formally launched at PlaNet Pasifika, Te Papa on Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 9.30am.

                              St Bernadette's School Culture group performing an item                    

The launch involved a blessing of the artworks and a performance from the school’s culture group to celebrate the students’ achievement. 75 representatives from St Bernadette’s came along to this special ceremony.

                                      Students with their artworks suspending from the ceiling                           

The artworks were inspired by traditional myths and legends from the Pacific Island communities in New Zealand – Tonga, Fiji,  Samoa, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Cook Islands and Niue.

Tell us what you can see in the picture – what is one of the stories behind it?

                                                             Proud moment

It was truly a wonderful experience to see the St Bernadette’s children, teachers and the caregivers arrive at Te Papa, all dressed up in their dance outfits carrying pate (Cook Island drums) and other musical instruments. It was clear that the day was going to be fun, exciting and memorable.

To the manuhiri’s (our guests’) amazement,  they were welcomed into the warmth and calmness of PlaNet Pasifika by the Te Papa whanau, with the beautiful sounds of putatara (conch shells) and pukaea (trumpets). This put a smile and tears of joy to many of our visitors.

Morning tea for our St Bernadettes friends

Morning tea for our visitors

Following the Blessing ceremony everyone joined together for morning tea.  We presented a small gift to the school, and each student was given a certificate of achievement to mark the special occasion.

gift presentation

A gift from Te Papa presented to the Principal of St Bernadette's school

I am proud of the beautiful artworks that the students have produced. I am greatful for the time, commitment and effort that both St Bernadette’s school  and the Te Papa staff put into this project and I am proud to be involved in such a magnificent project. What a joy….

These artworks will be on display here until October next year – come and see them.

By lutelangi | Posted in Pacific | Also tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Porcupine fish on Petone foreshore

19 August 2009 – 2.04pm

I had a call yesterday from Wellington’s Dominion Post newspaper needing an expert to identify some fish found washed up on the Petone foreshore.  Andrew Stewart, Te Papa’s fishes collection manager, identified them as porcupine fish - you can view the article here.

Porcupine fish Allomycterus pilatus, NMNZ P.35109; 185mm SL. Photo: A. Stewart, Te Papa.

Porcupine fish Allomycterus pilatus, NMNZ P.35109; 185mm SL. Photo: A. Stewart, Te Papa.

Andrew says that the porcupine fish lives around in-shore reefs, especially along our northern coasts where divers commonly see it underwater.  Most specimens are captured accidentally by dragnets or found dead on the beach, but occasional specimens are caught by recreational anglers.

 Porcupine fish are related to pufferfishes, and have a similar ability to blow themselves up like a ball by swallowing water (or air), which makes the spines stand out erect from the body.  Though this makes it hard for predators to swallow them, Andrew says that he has found porcupine fish in the stomachs of long-snouted lancets.

The toxin common to the fish in this family is tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin that can cause paralysis and death in a very short timeframe. This has also been found in sea slugs found recently on Auckland’s Eastern beaches and was reported to have been the cause of death of two dogs.  So heed the warning and DO NOT TOUCH!

We have specimens of porcupine fish in Te Papa’s collection but, for me, the most intriguing is the puffer fish helmet in the Pacific collection.

Puffer fish helmet, 1900s, maker unknown. © Te Papa.

Puffer fish helmet, 1900s, maker unknown. © Te Papa.

The helmet is part of a war costume from Kiribati and was collected by Albert Ellis and his wife in the 1930s and gifted to the museum by their grand-daughter.

A warrior kitted out in this would have made a fearful sight, but the helmet wouldn’t have given the wearer much protection against weapons like these!

Rere (hand weapon), maker unknown, Kiribati, part of the Oldman Collection.© Te Papa.

Rere (hand weapon), maker unknown, Kiribati, part of the Oldman Collection.© Te Papa.

See more of Te Papa’s fish and Pacific collections on Collections Online.

By janekeig | Posted in Collections Online, Fish, Pacific | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
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