This week is Tongan Language Week – Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e Lea Faka-Tonga. This is the second blog post for this week where the Pacific Cultures team highlight collection items that relate to Tongan language and culture. This is a kumete, a wooden bowl used in Tongan communities for the preparationRead more
This week is Tongan Language Week – Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e Lea Faka-Tonga. Over the next five days the Pacific Cultures team will be blogging about collection items from Tonga that relate to Tongan language and culture. The week is promoted by the Aotearoa Tongan Teachers Association in partnership with theRead more
Tauhunu As part of Cook Islands language week we are highlighting artefacts from the Cook Islands collections. One of the treasures we look after here at Te Papa is a stunning canoe that appears at the entrance of the exhibition Tangata o le Moana: the story of Pacific people andRead more
In my previous post about the Fiji collections, I included a few images of Fijian weapons from Te Papa’s collections. In this blog post I thought I’d take the Fiji weapon story a bit further and into popular culture. Here, I just want to highlight the small contribution Fiji weapons offered toRead more
Last week we were privileged to have Rod and Bev Ewins visit the Pacific Cultures Collections. Te Papa is on a list of New Zealand and Australian museums the couple are visiting as they research collections for a new book on the material culture of Fiji. Rod is a scholar and artistRead more
To celebrate le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Sāmoan language week) the Pacific Cultures curators are highlighting stories related to cultural treasures from Sāmoa. Senior Curator, Pacific Histories and Cultures Sean Mallon talks about the ‘alia. In the 1800s, the most prized and finely crafted sea going vessels were ‘alia.Read more
To celebrate le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Sāmoan language week) the Pacific Cultures curators are highlighting stories related to cultural treasures from Sāmoa. The third collection item for this week is a nōfoaga seu lupe (pigeon netting stool) that was used in the 1800s for the sport of pigeonRead more
The Pacific Cultures team and the Art team would like to acknowledge artist and curator Jim Vivieaere who passed away a month ago after illness. Jim’s involvement with Te Papa spanned many years and several projects including Art now: the first biennial review of contemporary art (1994). Art curator Christina BartonRead more
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.Read more
Musician Pauly Fuemana died yesterday after a short illness. He was 40 years old. Pauly is from a talented family of musicians, who were pioneers in hip hop and the music industry in South Auckland. He was frontman for the group OMC (Otara Millionaires Club) but is best known forRead more
