‘Arts’ of Moana Oceania and Tok Stori Tuesdays
Lagi-Maama Academy & Consultancy was commissioned by Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s arts regional trust, in January 2020 to carry out a scoping research on the ‘Arts’ of Moana Oceania.
January - May 2020
This research was to address the current knowledge gap within and across the cultural (including arts) sector and develop a more cross-cultural approach and understanding around what ‘art’ is.
We often hear about the value of ‘art’ and the importance ‘art’, but for many of our island nations, ‘art’ is not our word. Moana Oceania peoples are forced to fit our ways of knowing into a ‘general’ Western frame, that in turn isolates and ignores our ‘own specific uniqueness’.
If we are to genuinely understand and advocate for how the arts are valued by all 17 other island nations with communities in Aotearoa, we need to first know what art is from their various Indigenous world views. This means looking critically at the status quo of the cultural sector within and across Aotearoa and acknowledge that all people do ‘art’ – but it is organised, performed and created differently within and across different cultures.
We reached out to individuals from 15 of the 17 identified Moana Oceania communities and were gifted knowledge from the following 9: Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tonga, Rotuma, PNG (Mogei), Solomon Islands (Mala‘ita), Kiribati and Hawai‘i.
This research was carried out from late January to the end of May 2020 and was a means to start shifting the axis in the right direction.
See the following for:
1. Overview by Lagi-Maama https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Arts-of-Moana-Oceania_Scoping-Research-Overview.pdf
2. ‘Arts’ of Moana Oceania papers listed below from the 9 nations which were gifted by:
a. PNG (Mogei) – Dr Michael Mel - https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Art_Body_-In-And-Through-The-‘Eyes’-Of-The-Mogei-In-The-Highlands-Of-Papua-New-Guinea.pdf
b. Niue – Dr Nuhisifa Seve-Williams and Ioane Aleke Fa‘avae - https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/The-two-heavens-of-the-tufuga_Creative-expressions-of-tufuga-Niue.pdf
c. Solomon Islands – Dr Kabini Sanga - https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/moana-oceania-solomon-islands/
d. Fiji – Dr Tarisi Vunidilio - https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Indigenous-iTaukei-Worldview_by-Dr-Tarisi-Vunidilo.pdf
e. Kiribati – Kaetaeta Watson & Louisa Humphry - https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Te-Rabakau_Kiribati.pdf
f. Rotuma – Fesaitu Solomone - https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Arts-through-the-lens-of-a-Rotuman_Fesaitu-Solomone.pdf
g. Hawai’i - Dr Manulani Meyer, Meleanna Meyer, Maile Meyer - https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Hawaiian-Art-and-Philosophy-poster.pdf
h. Tonga – Maui-TāVā-He-Ako Professor Tēvita O Ka‘ili, Pā‘utu-‘O-Vava‘u- Lahi, Adriana Lear & Hūfanga-He-Ako-Moe-Lotu Professor ‘Ōkusitino Māhina - https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Ancestors-of-Tongan-Arts_Sio-FakaTonga-‘Ae-‘Aati-FakaTonga_Tongan-Views-of-Tongan-Arts.pdf
i. Cook Islands – Mary Ama with Caren Rangi, Selina Vainerere-Patia, Tuaratini and Jarcinda Stowers-Ama - https://www.tetaumatatoiaiwi.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cook-Islands_Taku-Ipukarea.pdf
Tok Stori Tuesdays
“Tok stori, a form of discursive communication, is an everyday occurrence in the Western Moana Oceania region. To speak of tok stori is to invoke a way of negotiating with the social world. In tok stori, storying is something one does together: a story is constructed by speakers and listeners. Tok stori takes place when people interchange and exchange, creating a collective experience in which the development of relationships is both an accompaniment to, and a purpose of, storying. Group activity which develops knowledge is the stuff of life in Western Moana Oceania societies: this truth is embodied in the everyday nature of tok stori." — Dr Kabini Sanga
Check out this blog for more on tok stori by Dr Kabini Sanga & Dr Martyn Reynolds: https://www.dlprog.org/opinions/talking-about-tok-stori
What we were gifted as part of the ‘Arts’ of Moana Oceania research came in different forms and sizes and have all been published online above. However, we felt that a platform needed to be created where our holders of knowledge could speak to the richness and uniqueness of what they gifted. This is what initiated our live zoom ‘Tok Stori Tuesdays’ with support from Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi. These took place weekly on Tuesdays from the launch of the research project on Tuesday 30 June, 2020.
What People Are Saying
“And finally, have the capacity to sit down and string together some words to express my deepest soul felt gratitude for the Tok Stori sessions that Lagi Maama ran. I have been craving for this type of platform for many years and to be in the presence of such greatness, to receive and experience the generous sharing of our peoples from across our great Oceania Moana, was both humbling and uplifting. I have not been able to stop thinking about many offerings, words, imagery … for me, it was pure poetry in motion and an extra grounding that I have needed to continue my work both in the institution that I’m working for and in my own creative practice.”
— Grace Vanilau
“After I had my session I had many young Fijians contacting me which resulted in so many different conversations outside this circle – which I really want to say vinaka vaka levu to our Tuesday tok stori that has kind of awakened the interest in our young Fijians who are asking these questions about ‘art’, but there hasn’t been any forum to have this discussion around ‘what art is’ defined from an iTaukei perspective. Another area I wanted to share as part of my feedback was what I shared during my session the ‘3 A’s – Arts moves, Art speaks and Art connects. This stuck because ‘art’ is something that is within us, something that has been passed on from our ancestors, and something that should be celebrated.”
— Dr Tarisi Vunidilo
My three takeaways involve (1) shared acknowledgement and gratitude of our beloved Pakipika, that brings us together at this perilous time - it has been such a deep comfort for all of us; (2) Tok Stori is what we do so well- (has been such an uplift!!) as in, this is such critical means for us to share, to express, to see one another; (3) Auamo Kuleana is what grounds us all to one another, that we are for one another, in this safe space!”
— Meleanna Meyer
“To hear Meleanna Meyer talk about this is the way she communicates – this is the way she creates her knowledge and I want us to see our ‘art’ as a site of knowledge production – this is a form of writing, this is our way of sharing our knowledge and it should be in the same level as writing, academic writing or all the other ways people have used especially in academia to marginalise those who could be sharing their knowledge through art – and of course writing is a form of ‘art’ it’s just been elevated through colonialism to the form that it is now the dominate way we do things.”
— Maui-TāVā-He-Ako Professor Tēvita O. Ka'ili.
“I can’t thank you & Barbara enough for these Lagi Maama sessions – ever so enlightening & I am almost always in tears at the sheer distance of mystery dissolving – it becomes so moving & truly inspiring.”
— Seini Taumoepeau