The first-ever Fiji language week begins today with the theme Noqu Vosa, Noqu iYau Talei: My Language, My Treasure. The Pacific Cultures curators will be blogging daily with Fiji-related stories from the collections and exhibitions at Te Papa. This is a tabua, a type of Fijian cultural valuable, made fromRead more
If British ex-special forces soldier and survival expert Bear Grylls was marooned on a coral atoll, how would he survive? What resources would be available to him? What tools could he make, what would he make them out of, what would he eat? What challenges would face him? The peopleRead more
This week is Tuvalu language week and the theme is “Tuvalu tau gana ko tou lagaifakalaga Tuvalu, your language keeps your culture and identity afloat”. Over the past week curators from the Pacific Cultures team have highlighted key Tuvalu artefacts and stories from Te Papa’s collections. Today’s blogpost is fromRead more
This week is Tuvalu language week and the theme is “Tuvalu tau gana ko tou lagaifakalaga Tuvalu, your language keeps your culture and identity afloat”. Curators from the Pacific Cultures team are highlighting key Tuvalu artefacts and stories from Te Papa’s collections. It is busy at Te Papa right now, withRead more
Te ano – a little like volleyball, a little like murderball – is the national game of Tuvalu, played by people of all ages and genders. Here, Pacific Cultures Curator Rachel Yates explains the rules.Read more
A major of focus of Te Papa’s work is on documenting aspects of Intangible Cultural Heritage including oral histories and traditions, performances, knowledge around crafts, social practices, rituals and customs. Language is an important element of all of these activities. Regular readers of the blog will know that we haveRead more
Theme: Fakakoloa ‘o Aotearoa ‘aki ‘etau lea mo e hiva faka-Tonga. Enriching Aotearoa with our language and Tongan music. In this final blogpost for Tongan language week we have another guest contribution from the Tongan community. It is written by Kolokesa Mahina-Tuai who was a former Pacific Cultures curator atRead more
Te Papa’s Pacific Cultures staff have been blogging daily to mark Tongan Language Week. The theme for this year is Fakakoloa ‘o Aotearoa ‘aki ‘etau Hiva Fakatonga – Enriching Aotearoa with Tongan Music. However, today’s blogpost is from a guest writer, Suliana Grace Vea from Wellington. Malō e lelei! Ko hoku hingoa koRead more
Te Papa’s Pacific Cultures staff are blogging daily to mark the annual Tongan Language Week. The theme for this year is Fakakoloa ‘o Aotearoa ‘aki ‘etau Hiva Fakatonga – Enriching Aotearoa with Tongan Music. Today’s blog by Rachel Yates (Pacific Cultures curator), is inspired by Australian Tongan sisters’ Vika and LindaRead more
In this fifth and final blogpost of Te Epetoma o te Reo Māori Kuki Airani – Cook Islands Māori Language week, we look at five rare masks from Mangaia. Thank you for following, liking and sharing the blogs this week.Read more
In this fourth blogpost of Te Epetoma o te Reo Māori Kuki Airani – Cook Islands Māori Language week, we look at two drums from the Cook Islands acquired by the museum at the beginning and end of the twentieth century. The first is a pa’u mango (small skin drum) from the Cook Islands. In theRead more
Kia orana e kia manuia tatou katoatoa, In this third blogpost of Te Epetoma o te Reo Māori Kuki Airani – Cook Islands Māori Language week, Grace Hutton (Collection Manager Pacific Cultures) shares with us some wonderful images taken by George Crummer, a photographer who worked in the Cook Islands in the late nineteenthRead more
This week is Te Epetoma o te Reo Māori Kuki Airani – Cook Islands Māori Language week. the theme for this week is , “Tōku Reo Tōku Tango: My Language Is My Foundation”. As part of this weeks celebrations, Te Papa’s Pacific Cultures curators (and a guest writer or two)Read more
Welcome to the sixth blog of our series celebrating le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Samoan Language Week) from 26-31 May 2013. This is a tu’i ipu – a rattle used by Samoan fishermen when they are hunting sharks. The Samoan word for shark is malie. The tu’i ipu is made fromRead more
Pacific curator Sean Mallon provides an overview of the origins of mama rings from Sāmoa.Read more
