Featherwork and divine chieftainship in Tonga

Herda, Phyllis; Lythberg, Billie

doi:10.15286/jps.123.3.277-300

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The gifting also reflects the core Tongan principles of 'ofa (love and generosity), fatongia (duty and obligation), fetokoni'aki (reciprocity), and faka'apa'apa (respect). This practice is pre-Christian and recognises the privilege and importance of women in Tongan society that can be traced back in Tongan mythology, and was noted by early European explorers (Filihia, 2001;Herda, 1999). Meredith Filihia (2001) explains the genealogical link between koloa and Pulotu (the Tongan spirit world), illustrating the importance and longevity of koloa in Tongan culture: "When women fabricate koloa, the mana of Pulotu is woven into their mats and hammered into their barkcloth, thus making these goods valuable items to be treasured" (p. 387).…”

Section: Koloamentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The gifting of koloa has continued with the diasporic Tongan populations in their new home countries as a means to express and maintain their identity and tauhi vā (nurture relational spaces) kin relationships (Evans, 2001;Herda, 1999;Ka'ili, 2005). The importance of this gifting for maintaining transnational connections has been discussed by Ka'ili (2005) as being a means to nurture sociospatial relations, while recognising that different goods are more accessible in Tonga compared with diasporic contexts.…”

Section: Koloamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Engaging with Tapa and Ngatu

Fonua,

Fonua

et al. 2024

Art/Research International

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The making and gifting of koloa faka-Tonga (women’s valuables, also known as koloa) has been an integral part of Tongan identity and culture for as long as anyone can remember. Working collaboratively on tapa and ngatu provides space for discussions and understanding, and reflections of Tongan identity and culture. The practice of gifting koloa has continued outside of the Kingdom of Tonga as Tongans migrate for new opportunities, including Aotearoa New Zealand (henceforth Aotearoa NZ). Using two different examples, this article will explore, through talatalanoa, how Tongan family partnerships working with tapa/ngatu in contemporary ways are sites of intergenerational knowledge sharing through art practices in Aotearoa NZ. Sulieti Burrows and Tui Emma Gillies are a mother-daughter partnership of tapa artists who work and reside in Aotearoa NZ and use their time together to share stories and make tapa works depicting what concerns them in contemporary society. Also residing in Aotearoa NZ, Lavinia and Fire Fonua are a mother-son partnership who turn koloa into contemporary personal adornment, alongside Fire’s wife, Sonia. In this article, the four Tongan authors’ reflections on inter-generational knowledge sharing and practices related to koloa making and gifting are described and illustrated using examples of their work. Their diverse stories also reflect on Tongan material culture, and Tongan identity, and demonstrate how working on practices that centre koloa provides opportunities to consider what it means to be Tongan in Aotearoa NZ, and how Tongan ways of being, knowing, and doing are valued as tu’atonga.

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Section: Koloamentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Koloamentioning

confidence: 99%

Engaging with Tapa and Ngatu

Fonua,

Fonua

et al. 2024

Art/Research International

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“…In the struggle to title my most recent exhibition, my good friend, Samoan educator and artist, Pip Laufiso, prompted me to describe the body of work and the impetus behind it. I explained that, as part of the continuum of my research and exploration around Tongan koloa (Herda, 1999), I chose to focus solely on fala. It was then that Pip highlighted the connection between tala/fala and noa and suggested merging it to become falanoa.…”

Section: Introducing Falanoa-fofola E Fala Kae Talanoa E Kāinga-roll ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Interweaving Creative Critical Sense-Making through a Body of Koloa

Dyck,

Scott Fanamanu

2024

Art/Research International

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Storytelling through the arts is embedded in Pacific cultural ways and is meaningfully expressed by interweaving history, genealogy, cultural values, and beliefs. My investigation into Pasifika students’ success as Pasifika in visual arts was revealed through the students’ artworks and stories. Visual art teachers’ beliefs, attitudes and pedagogical practices were also examined to illuminate the critical role they play in affirming Pasifika student success as Pasifika. The inclusion of my own experiences and artworks as a visual artist of Tongan and German descent, grounds the research project and offers voice to my creative critical sense-making process. This article also presents an exploratory examination of falanoa, alongside Caroline Scott Fanamanu’s analysis, as an intergenerational arts-based research method, specifically in the context of my own body of koloa, a personal collection of treasured artworks generated across a 30-year period. Recognising my duality of distinct ancestral worlds, this article suggests that falanoa can be a valuable method for arts-based research, particularly in the context of creative critical sense-making, cultural preservation, and intergenerational knowledge.

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Weaving feathers of intangible and tangible knowledge: Historical records and human‐bird interactions in the Marquesas Islands

Pillay

2024

Archaeology in Oceania

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Birds fulfilled an essential role in ancient Polynesian cultures. They were prized for their bones and colourful feathers, fat, and protein; their cultural importance is further highlighted in Polynesian oral histories. This research investigates the dynamics of human‐bird interactions over time in the Marquesas Archipelago as known from archaeology, oral histories, ethnohistorical records, and museum collections. I analyse the range of avian taxa represented across the various datasets and their cultural uses. The results demonstrate that while some species are represented across one or more datasets, understanding the full extent of species’ cultural roles and use requires more than one thread of analysis, particularly for those taxa with limited or no archaeological signature. Two forms of managed resource use emerge from this study. One is tapu (prohibition of use), and the second is the conservative use of birds as a resource such as restricted feather collecting. Red feathers, represented in museum objects and historical accounts, highlight multiple taxa being used for specific adornment types. The combined analyses provide insights into the loss and persistence of species, as well as aspects of Marquesan cultural management.

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Featherwork and divine chieftainship in Tonga

Cited by 5 publications

References 9 publications

Engaging with Tapa and Ngatu

Engaging with Tapa and Ngatu

Interweaving Creative Critical Sense-Making through a Body of Koloa

Weaving feathers of intangible and tangible knowledge: Historical records and human‐bird interactions in the Marquesas Islands

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