Today in the Pacific Cultures Collections storeroom, we were visited by some of Wellington’s hip hop historians. The visit was in preparation for their hosting of a historic Back of House Hip Hop Tour this coming Sunday 2 November. As part of Family Fun:  Aotearoa Hip Hop 101 special guest hip hopRead more

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Whale’s tooth on a braided necklace

Tabua (pronounced “tambua” – the b has a ‘mb’ sound) are pierced and braided whales’ teeth, originally taken from the lower jaw of sperm whales. Fijians consider them to be kavakaturanga (chiefly items). Pacific Cultures curator Sean Mallon highlights some personalised tabua from the collections.Read more

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This past week has seen an important and ground breaking collaboration between The Conch – an internationally successful Pacific Visual Theatre Company lead by Nina Nawalowalo and Te Papa. Through the Conchus Youth and Advocacy programmes The Conch is engaging the potential of theatre to affect social change, to serveRead more

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“Taofi mau i au measina: Hold fast to your treasures” is the theme for Sāmoan language week 2014. We hope you have followed our tweets and Instagrams over the last few days. To close off this week we look at tatau (tattooing) – one of Sāmoa’s most well known cultural treasures. ThisRead more

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“Taofi mau i au measina: Hold fast to your treasures” is the theme for Sāmoan language week 2014. Indeed, looking after cultural treasures is a significant part of Te Papa’s role in the community. We develop collections of cultural artefacts from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from the very old to theRead more

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Herbert Ian Fetaiai Bartley, Te Papa Audience Engagement Facilitator writes: Working at Te Papa for 5 years, I still get really excited visiting the Pacific Collection Store room. Each time, I always spot something I have never seen before and ask our knowledgeable Pacific Cultures team loads of questions. A lotRead more

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Pacific Cultures curator Rachel Yates, highlights the work and initiatives of Tokelauan community group, Te Lauhigano Tokelau from Porirua, New Zealand. The Tokelauan population in New Zealand is significant; the last census details from 2006 inform us that Tokelauans are the sixth largest Pacific ethnic group in New Zealand.  6,819Read more

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This week is Niue language week. The theme for this year’s celebration is: Leveki mo e Fakaaoga e Vagahau Niue: Treasure and Use the Niue language. Pacific Cultures curators have been posting blogs related to Niue throughout the week and highlighting treasures from Te Papa’s collections. Today’s blogpost is by RachelRead more

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This week is Niuean Language Week. The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Leveki mo e Fakaaoga e Vagahau Niue’ | ‘Treasure and Use the Niue Language’. Pacific Cultures curators will be posting blogs related to Niue throughout the week and highlighting treasures from Te Papa’s collections. Today’s blogpost isRead more

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This week is Niuean Language Week. The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Leveki mo e Fakaaoga e Vagahau Niue’ | ‘Treasure and Use the Niue Language’. Pacific Cultures curators will be posting blogs related to Niue throughout the week and highlighting treasures from Te Papa’s collections. To start usRead more

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This week is the first-ever Fiji language week with the theme Noqu Vosa, Noqu iYau Talei: My Language, My Treasure. The Pacific Cultures curators have been blogging daily with Fiji related stories from the collections and exhibitions at Te Papa. Today’s second to last blogpost is from Rachel Yates (Curator PacificRead more

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