The Potential of Vā An investigation of how ‘Ie Tōga activate the spatial relationships of the Vā, for a Samoan Diaspora community Benita Sharon Simati Kumar. Masters of Art and Design. 2011. Primary Supervisor: Dr. Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul “A dissertation submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Art and Design (Spatial Design)” Acknowledgements E muamua lava ona si’i le vi’iga ma le fa’afetai i Le Atua mo lona agalelei ma lona alofa ua mafai ai ona fa’ataunu’u lenei fa’amoemoe. First and foremost, I must thank God, for all that he has done for me. I have truly been blessed with his guidance and belief that with him all things are possible. To my supervisor, Dr Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul, who has supported me throughout my thesis with her patience and knowledge, whilst allowing me to explore my individualism as an indigenous researcher, thank you. I attribute the level of my Master’s degree to her encouragement and effort and without her this thesis, too, would not have been completed or written. One simply could not wish for a better or friendlier supervisor. Thank you to Fleur Palmer and Albert L. Refiti for their constructive criticism and comments, from the initial conception, to the end of this work. Without the support and active participation of Tina, Fleur and Albert in every step of the process, completion of this study would not have been possible. I would like to express my deepest respect and most sincere gratitude to Professor Tania Ka’ai, for her guidance, patience and encouragement at all stages of my work. I am greatly indebted to her assistance and understanding in all matters and concerns which have helped me endure my study period. Professor Ka’ai’s leadership of the Maori & Pasifika Wānanga series has also been instrumental to my research, and aided my academic development as a Postgraduate student. A very special appreciation is due to my parents, brother and sisters, who have given me their unequivocal support throughout, as always, for which my mere expression of thanks does not suffice. May God bless them in all their endeavours. To my best friend Ravneel Ritesh Nadan, I am indebted to you in more ways than you know. Thank you for helping me complete this journey in my life. Finally, I thank Terry for instilling in me confidence and a drive for pursuing my Masters. Contents 1.0 Abstract 2.0 Introduction 3.0 Theoretical Frameworks 3.1 The Vā – a Samoan concept 3.2 Fa’aSamoa: Samoan culture 3.3 Standpoint epistemologies 3.4 Migration to New Zealand: Diaspora 3.5 ‘Ie Tōga: Samoan ceremonial exchange 3.6 Traditional knowledge: Lalava & Lalaga 3.7 Display: Exhibition and collections 4.0 Methodology 4.1 Archival research 4.2 Current museum displays 4.3 Participation and documentation 4.4 Experimentation: Lalava & Lalaga 4.5 Mapping: Manukau south Auckland community 4.5.1 Le ageagea o Tumua 5.0 Design 5.1 Site: Otara Markets 5.2 Intervention: Celebration of ‘Ie toga- “Our Measina” 5.3 Exhibition of “Our Measina” 6.0 Conclusion 7.0 References 8.0 Bibliography 9.0 Glossary 10.0 CD1: Two-part animation ‘Our Measina’: ‘Ie Tōga parade CD2: Timeline animation of events 1.0 Abstract The Vā is our past, present, and future. As much as we might want to define the Vā – it certainly defines us. It does not appear as a physical form. It is never vacant. The Vā connects us all through our relationships as a space that always already exists, whether we think about it or not, and even when we feel discon- nected. It appears most strongly when we meet and practice Samoan ceremo- I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previ- nial exchange. ously published or written by another person (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements), nor material which to a sub- stantial extent has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institution of higher learning. The Samoan dictionary definesVā as “separated, be divided, estranged – on bad terms, space, distance between, and relationship” (Milner, 2003). For my thesis, Vā is a relational space whose potential for the creation of spaces of display I will test. My project seeks to discover ways of creating communities, Benita Sharon Simati Kumar which nurture fa’asamoa (Samoan ways) in the diaspora. The Vā has the po- tential to create spaces of display – not necessarily lasting buildings: in Samo- 2011 an culture, and Oceanic culture more generally, “space is indissolubly linked to time” (Tcherkézoff, 2008, p. 136). It is in these contexts that the project seeks to discover ways of creating communities, nurturing fa’asamoa, Samoan ways, in the diaspora. __________________________ The project examines the associations and ancestral connections of ‘Ie Tōga (Samoan fine mats) within their communities. It explores the relationships created through the exchange of historical ‘Ie Tōga, making visible their place in the Vā and how they activate it by presenting to us our past, present, and future. The design proposal is the creation of a space of display arising from the processes of Lalaga (weaving) and Lalava (according to Albert Reftiti in personal communication (2010), “stirring the Vā” is a literal translation of, Lala-Vā, lashing). In this case, the combination lead to a stirring and re- connecting of the relationships within diasporic space. The thesis will test the potential of Vā through various methods of experimentation, such as archival research, participation, documentation of images and mapping. 2.0 Introduction 3.0 Theoretical frameworks Like bundles of hay, coils of ‘Ie Tōga lie piled in our this term in a post-colonial global context, but it also raised ques- exhibited in the USA: Chicago(1893) , United Kingdom: London 3.1 The Vā: A Samoan concept garage. Never used or tampered with, this precious royal tions regarding its meaning for me as a diasporic half Samoan. (1940), and New Zealand: Wellington (1940). Current museum In 1911, Vā was defined in Pratt’s Grammar and Dictionary of the fabric lies dormant for the years to come, until the mats Did the same connotations come into play? How did the meaning displays provides visual images of present displays by Te Papa Samoan Language as “a space between” (p. 100). It refers to the will seize the day – to be opened, displayed, then rolled of Vā apply to a Samoan community no longer associated to Sa- Tongarewa/Museum of New Zealand in Wellington and the Auck- space between places or people and “connotes mutual respect in back up and moved to be stored in someone else’s home moan village structures, and were there different Vā relations that land War Memorial Museum. Participation and documentation socio-political arrangements that nurture the relationships between and treasured. could be adapted? gives accounts of my involvement with, and participation in, vari- people, places, and social environments” (Lilomaiava-Doktor, ous Samoan and more generally Pacific Auckland communities 2009, p. 12). The seminal definition in the last decades goes back I reflect on my own experiences of Samoan culture in New Zea- This exegesis is an overview of my investigation of how Samoan and events. Experimentation: Lalava and Lalaga is an account of to Albert Wendt’s 1996 ‘Tatauing the Post-Colonial Body’: land, and I recall memories of standing at the back of the church ‘Ie Tōga activate the spatial relationships of the Vā. It falls into the practical exploration in my thesis of the two traditional meth- kitchen hall, next to piles of ‘Ie Tōga, seeing them passed from three sections, Theoretical Frameworks, Methodology, and De- ods I explored in Theoretical frameworks. Particulary Lalava then Important to the Samoan view of reality is the concept of one side of the room to the other. Each time, an array of people sign. feeds into a Mapping process of location in the South Auckland Vā or Wā in Māori and Japanese. Vā is the space between, was revealed in the space as they admired the ‘Ie Toga, and I community. the between-ness, not empty space, not space that separates recall the pungent smell of dried pandanus leaves which filled the The Theoretical Frameworks chapter critically analyses the but space that relates, that holds separate entities and things room. It was hard for me to grapple with the significance of this literature on The Vā: A Samoan concept - a concept which feeds The Design chapter is my final proposal for a design intervention, together in the Unity-that-is-All, the space that is context, event and absorb what was going on. Only now, in my Master’s into the Samoan way of life: Fa’asamoa: Samoan culture. Stand- locating a specificSite in the Otara community, followed by my giving meaning to things. The meanings change as the year, 15 years later, do I realise the importance of ‘Ie Tōga for my point epistemologies then gives an overview of my position and reasoning for a Celebration of ‘Ie Tōga. It will be extended be- relationships/the contexts change. A well-known Samoan culture, community and the well being of fa’asamoa. ‘Ie Tōga, perspective in regards to this research; this concern is further tween the submission of the draft exegesis and the examination, as expression is ‘Ia teu le vā.’ Cher¬ish/nurse/care for the Vā, also known as ‘fine mats’, are to this day treasured by Samoans examined in Migration to New Zealand: Diaspora.