The context for the 2008 Talanoa is ready to rumble and although a little heady for techno nerds, the ‘stuff’ is beginning to get some tasty flavouring.

Make the time and come on over. If you know any pakehas, palangi who must deal with the rabbles from Pasifika, forward them an invite it cannot but enlighten them to the context from which their pacific partners hailed.

If you’re from the Pacific and you’ve been in Australia for too long but still need to think about that Bigpond question:

What’s important about January 26th for Australians?

A day off to watch the cricket (eyebrow raised)

Then you’re just punching to turn up. You’re part of the ‘problem’

2008 Conference
Mana, Vanua, Talanoa
Abstracts received for some of the presentations

Welcome & opening event

The opening event will follow the expected structure of a traditional lotu ceremony, with negotiations to embody the complexities of PI migration. Participants are encouraged to flow the event (or go with the flow if you prefer!) and be respectful of the tapu of the land where we will gather, and the talanoa of the Barramatugal clan and Darug people who cared for it over many generations.

Roots and Routes: Who are we?!

This panel will explore the challenges that Pacific Islanders face when we move overseas, torn between commitments to the homes from where we came and the necessities of settling into new homes. This panel consists of first generation PI migrants, and will explore issues related to church, education, law, justice system, culture and so forth. Members of panel: Liva Tukutama, Filimone Olivetti, Vetinia Waqabaca, Alisa Peacock, Seini Afeaki, and others

‘Epeli Taungāpeau (nvakauta@gmail.com), “How can I be Tongan in a strange/promised land? Cultural and Theological Diversity in the MCNZ”

      This paper outlines the social and religious issues of a “TALANOA” that most Pacific Islanders, especially Tongans, face when they migrate overseas and made their home in a foreign land. Although the talanoa are not new, it is important to revisit these experiences to identify key reference points that impact on the lives of the individual in the context of their family and how these factors will ultimately shape and inform how Pacific Island migrants fit in their new society.

      Several factors influence an individual’s talanoa including social location, identity,dreams and aspirations and the integral place of faith, tradition and custom, life experience and the bible. This Talanoa outlines the journey to Aotearoa of a young nineteen year old Tongan male accompanied only by the talents, gifts and identity, and the discovery of the means to fulfill a dream by pursuing education success in NZ.

      This talanoa explores the “call” to ministry in the Methodist Church of New Zealand and the importance of faith and tradition in the process of migration to the land of the Long White Cloud – Aotearoa New Zealand. It discusses several issues and some of the solutions that Tongan members of the MCNZ encounter within the Church.

      The commonalities within the talanoa provide useful tools for the church’s people to explore the development of durable options/solutions and illustrate a possible way forward when working with Tongan families in the Methodist Church of New Zealand.

Eseta Meneilly (e.meneilly@yahoo.com.au), “Lacadrau Masi -- Weaving/Stitching the old roots with the new identity: A quilt in masi design”

Definitions:

laca – sail

drau – a hundred

masi – Fijian name for tapa cloth

lacadrau – a patchwork of scraps of material, of any size, used as blanket or throw-over.

      When ‘home’ is far away there is a sense of exile, of not wanting to be in this place, of not wanting to understand. What I experienced most was a feeling of cultural exile. When I first came across cassava and tinned tuna, six months after leaving Fiji with my Australian husband and three young Fiji-born children, I boiled the cassava, opened the tinned tuna and threw in with it onion, lemon juice and chilly. Then I ate the lot with my fingers. Suddenly I found myself crying. This ‘food of the poor’ critically became for me the link between everything that is past and present. And also that which is future.

      So I made a ‘lacadrau masi’ a patchwork quilt of stitched together squares of calico, hand-painted with masi designs. The lacadrau is an expression of the resources that are abundant in this new place. The masi designs are an expression of that which will always be a part of me. The colours are an expression of the links between my old roots and the new. The work is an expression of the things I have come to appreciate about life.

‘Anaseini Palu Vava’u Isitolo (aisitolo@hotmail.com), “Visions from a Tongan Tree”

      My artistic work was inspired by the traditional designs and motifs on the Tongan tapa cloth (ngatu), and I have been painting these motifs since the age of 17. I have always been fascinated by the origin and history of the motifs and designs especially the period focusing on the reign of HM Queen Salote Tupou III of Tonga, 1918-1965. My inspiration to continue painting these motifs onto pots, table tops and benches is motivated by the knowledge that the origin designs on the tapa were chiseled into the weapons used back in the ancient Tongan history by the Gods. Many of the older generations today reminisce about how peaceful and beautiful Tonga was during QueenSalote’s reigned. I have always been enthralled by the sight of the Tongan tapa.

      My aim is to promote through my art work Tongan history such as the contributions of HM Queen Salote III to Tonga, ancient tales and stories of my ancestors and the genealogy of my Tongan families. In Canberra, I have only seen tapas in religious and Tongan social functions or at Pacific Island festivals of some sort, and most of the time people don’t realise the designs are based on retelling of important events in the Tongan history. Through art exhibition I want to start creating awareness about the significance

of our Tongan culture to our identity where Australian based Tongans can come to realise the value of our traditional material wealth to the preservation of our Tongan history, genealogy and identity within contemporary Australian society. Roots and Routes: Who are we?! This panel will also explore the challenges that Pacific Islanders face overseas, focusing on the experiences of second generation PIs.

What issues attract, energize and/or trouble our young people? What issues draw together and/or distance the second gens from the first gens? Dare we talk about alcohol, love, body and sex in public for the sake of second gens? Where and what is our future? How may we connect second gens with our home islands? Should we? Why? The panel will address some of these and other questions.

Panel members: Mata Havea, Raymond, Nicole Freeman, Salesi Faupula, Dorothy Reid, and others

Katalina Tahaafe-Williams (katalinat@nsw.uca.org.au), “Multicultural Ministry as Tool for Racial Justice: A Reflection on the Roles and Responsibilities of Customs and Traditions”

Litiana Qiosese (lqiosese@adventist.org.au), “The Deuteronomy Model in a Changing World”

      I am a second generation Fijian woman currently residing in Sydney and am really interested in exploring the dissonance that is happening and continues to happen between our Island born and raised parents with their Aussie born and bred children. I am primarily interested in the challenges faced by our parents and their children due to the lack of mentoring that is occurring in our homes. I’m looking at this through the eyes of Christianity, focusing on the passage in Deuteronomy that talks about parents as the primary spiritual mentors for their children. I would apply this further to our cultural heritage and address perhaps the perceived loss of connection (in the young people) not just to the land but to its people, the language and na i tovo vaka Viti (attitudes and what make us Fijian).

      For Pasifika parents whose children grow up within urban contexts, there is often a tension of being islanders living in Australia. Can parents successfully transfer spiritual and cultural values to their children? The Deuteronomy Model may offer some insights. God has a Dream, We have a Problem, God has a Model, We have an Opportunity! Apelu Tielu (apelu.tielu@internode.on.net), “Thy Kingdom Come: God’s Kingdom on earth and implications for Church and culture”

      The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues implied by the kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed. Did Jesus mean for it to be established on earth, in this life, or was he talking about a kingdom in “heaven” where the “saved” would go after they die? If Jesus meant for it to be founded on earth, what type of kingdom would it be like, and what are the implications for church and culture? It is our contention that Jesus intended for the kingdom of God to be established on earth, in this life. And based on his teaching and life ministry, the kingdom would have no systems of power; that is, there would be no dominating element in it. In politics, no one would have more power than anyone else. In economics, no economic agent would exercise any influence on markets, and even charity would be incompatible with it. This would have implications for church and culture. For the church, it would need to apply these kingdom-principles to the way it does things within the church. Further, it can bring about kingdom-like practices to the wider community through its resources and its members, and therefore promoting egalitarian communities that Jesus envisioned. The implications for culture would, also, be profound, and in particular for the Pacific cultures with their traditional hierarchical power structures. Pacific cultures have managed to survive in diaspora for decades, but if they are to be faithful to the call of the kingdom of God, then the traditional power structures would have to come down at all levels of diasporic Pacific Island communities. Lynne Frith (lynne@wesleychurch.org.nz), “A view from the top table”

      Seating arrangements at the “top table” are significant indicators of hospitality and respect in the traditions of many Pacific nations.

      For a feminist palagi/pakeha ordained woman in Aotearoa, working in a multi-ethnic setting, this and other traditional customs present significant challenges and opportunities.

      While there is a growing body of literature arising from the experiences of ethnic diversity in Christian community, much of it emerges from the migrant communities within the church. It can be dangerous ground for a palagi to reflect upon the traditional practices of such communities. The risks of causing offence and thereby damaging respectful and trusting relationships are inherent in the discourse. This may explain the relative silence of palagi women in cross-cultural theological discussion.

      This paper examines my experience as a feminist palagi ordained woman, over 10 years as Parish Superintendent in Wesley Wellington Parish, which comprises English speaking, Fijian, Samoan, and Tongan congregations.

      The intersections and contradictions of culture, theology, differing expressions and expectations of what it is to be Christian in Aotearoa, power and status, and pastoral relationships are some of the issues to be addressed daily in this context.

      The paper is offered as a gift both to the parish and to the community of women theologians in the Pacific.

Sylvia ‘Akau’ola Tongotongo (sylviaa@wesley.school.nz) & Ali’itasi Aoina Toleafoa (aliitasit@wesley.school.nz), “We are what we eat: A Wesley College Perspective”

      The title alludes to a gastronomy (the art of good eating) praxis of ministry.

      The context of this presentation is Wesley College, the oldest secondary school in Aotearoa New Zealand and the only Methodist Church school.

      What theological treats are offered at the banquet table?

      What culturally is on the bill of fare?

      Does it make for good eating?

The following is presented for consideration:

1.   That the ‘needs’ as outlined in the Talanoa Oceania 2008 brief (TOb’08) are specific to a migrant population.

2.   That many New Zealand born Pacific Islanders (NZ PIs) celebrate living out from ‘under the shadow’ (TOb’08) of said ‘needs.’

3.   That many NZ PIs rejoice in the oceanic depth and breadth of talanoa already shared and experienced, personal and communal, past and present. This is what grounds us.

4.   Further talanoa and deeper grounding continues but from a different sea and by new fishermen - ‘fishers of people’.

a.   The ripple effect - an identity - vanua, fenua, fanua, whenua is re-shelled anew, courage is re-cast afresh, deep sea traditions and a new found direction is re-navigated by the Christ star of hope as well as compass. A direction no longer cast by the ‘shadows’ of a net that serves to keep us caught up, but to point us onwards.

b.  The reference to stars and compass is a coming together of the old with the new. We cannot know where we are going if we do not know where we have come from. It is the old - traditions, culture, family upbringing and so on that enable us to be where we are, in ways that are life giving.

c.   Inherent in the continuing talanoa is the collective mana of faith, belief, tradition, culture and ancestry, at the waters edge respecting all who break upon New Zealand shores - tapu, transforming, re-creating, healing and all in the name of the one Creator.

5.   So what theologically is gastronomically served up at Wesley? What is on the cultural fare?

6.   Positive/practical examples. Recognition of Talents – Adults and Students.

7.   The Challenge:

How do we grasp the opportunities that present themselves?

The best recipe is what you create!

The ingredients: Creativity, Vision, Commitment, Determination, Sustainability,

Leading the way (taking people on board, and not leading the way going alone).

Talanoa: Language and identity

  Many islanders who live overseas see themselves as Pacific Islanders because they speak one of the native languages of the Pacific Islands. We live in foreign lands, and one of the things that connect us with our native homes is our languages. In this regard, our languages shape who we are.

  At the same time, it feels as if we are 1 or 2 generation(s) away from losing touch with our native languages. What would this mean with regard to our identity? Do we need to preserve our native languages when we are in foreign settings?

  These are some of the concerns that this panel will address, with the awareness that languages have the capacity to develop, grow and/or die away.

Members of Panel: Siosiua H. Fonua, Uani Havea, Tevita Finau

Winston Halapua (winstonh@stjohns.auckland.ac.nz), “Moana Methodology of

Leadership”

      How can the Oceanic people express the immense love of God in a dynamic way which will honour the integrity of Creation? The Moana Methodology uses talanoa to address this question.

Open talanoa on PI methods of leadership

Moderator: Veiongo Mafi

Sela Mafi Taufa (Sela.Taufa@anu.edu.au), “Respect and Dignity of Samoan women:

Conversation between Pafuti Sera Taufa and Tuimavave Kathleen Fruean from the Alo-o-Mata’afa royal household”

Maria Kerslake (contact: fei_taulealea@xtra.co.nz), “Changing role of the church in Samoa: A layperson’s view”

Out of the womb: reflections on women and theology from the Pacific and Pacific Diaspora

In the early 1990’s Tongan theologian, Sr Keiti Ann Kanongata’a articulated a revolutionary theology from the perspective of Pacific Island women using the metaphor of birthing. Keiti Ann observed way back then that Pacific women’s theology was in the process of birthing. She also warned “to stay forever in the womb would be fatal”.

Oceanian women’s theology is well and truly past the process of birthing – or is it? A decade later following the establishment of Weavers in Suva, another vision was born, Manahine Pasefika. Its primary objective was to “make Oceanian women’s voices heard through publications’. Manahine also widened the circle to include Oceanian women in diaspora. This panel will explore through story and experience to test whether Pacific women and theology are actually out of the womb (or is their tendency to crawl back into the womb for safety) and if they are how well are we faring in the Pacific and Pacific diaspora. Are there gaps in our experience or tales untold?  This panel comprises Oceanian women from the Pacific and the diaspora, with varying backgrounds, experience and age.

Panel Members: Sef Carroll, Iakati Hui, Lisa Meo, Meleane Pouvalu & Fei Taule'ale'ausumai

Ilaitia Tuwere (ilaitiat@stjohns.auckland.ac.nz), “Sa Meke Tiko Na Vanua [The Vanua {land} is now dancing]”

This paper seeks to explore the nature and function of the Fijian meke or dance. This meke or dance has nothing in common with the dance of the White races. It is a language in itself that speaks about differing subjects that are related to the Vanua. There are mekes on war, the fields, the woods, storms, calms, rains, the heavens, gods, devils, travels by land or sea, men and women etc. The approach used will be a doxological approach that seeks to describe the Fijian mekes as songs of God’s creation –  here understood as Vanua. It is an exploratory paper that hopefully will have implications for Christian worship in general. Meke essentially is  movement in different  ways and rhythm. Through this language of meke, this paper will move on to explore the idea that God the Creator is “Movement” par excellence.

Nasili Vaka’uta (nvakauta@gmail.com), “Tālanga: theorizing a Tongan mode of interpretation”

      This paper reconsiders the task of (biblical) interpretation from a Tongan standpoint, and thus focuses on the concept of tālanga. Tālanga (tā-langa/tala‘anga) is one form of talanoa that involves critical engagement between two or more parties. Its basic goal is to offer alternative perspectives on any subject of interest. Tālanga is about orality, multi-voicedness, and dialogue. It presupposes community and otherness, and endorses openness and freedom of expression. These and many other aspects of the concept will be discussed alongside interrogating the claims and assumptions that shaped Western/colonial approaches.

Tevita Finau (tfinau@gmail.com), “A perfect match: Church and State in Tonga” [Ongo ‘olive ‘e ua kae mālohi ha fonua]

      This talanoa engages the fact that history is written by the winners and heroes, that is, the “big and mighty.” In the case of Tonga, the Church and the State are the big and mighty. It is for their interests that the history of Tonga is written and constructed.

      This talanoa will take a different approach. I will explore what the history of Tonga looks like from the perspectives of what the “big and mighty” like to think of as the heathens, pagans, primitives and uncivilized.

      This talanoa will look especially at the mutual ambitions of King George Tupou I and the Rev John Thomas, through the eyes of the victims of the processes of evangelization and the unification of Tonga during the 19th Century.

Litia Radrekusa (lroko@unwired.com.fj), “Going home: A spiritual experience”

      My birth name is Litia Cegumaitoga ROKO. I was born in 1971. My journey begins when I and my brother are left by my parents in the late 70s in Fiji and bought up by my extended families of aunties and uncles and grandparents.

      My parents were to go to Australia and work to which they did as illegal immigrants until a national amnesty in 1980 allowed them to become permanent residents of Australia. At the age of 10, our parents came back for us and we returned to Australia to a completely new big wide world. Herein begins my story.

      Growing up in this new world and being exposed to domestic violence and a brother who was involved in the Juvenile Justice and Adult System has led me to believe more than ever how we need to continue to connect our children to their culture and identity to help them to function as balanced adults for the future. We as parents need to facilitate the process- we hold the key. If we do not, then our culture and identity is lost forever.

      After having three wonderful children and landing a job opportunity in Fiji, living away from home for nearly 20 years, I began the journey back to my people. A journey that was to change me forever as I began to find out why our people are- the way we are. 

      I can truthfully say that I knew who I was, as an adult. This is a spiritual journey that changed me forever. This is where I found myself and who I was at the age of 33. This is when I began to grow as a person with cultural pride and a strong identity. This is my presentation.

Angie Elia (angie@asdah.school.nz), Rosi Fitzpatrick & Sarai Stephens, “P.I. stands for Performing Informatively”

      This paper comes out of a wider project funded through the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) which focused on identifying successful literacy teaching approaches for struggling adolescents. Our own inquiry has been concerned with the extent to which the scope and sequence of literacy skills (McDonald & Thornley, 2005) can positively impact on the learning of Pasifika students in secondary schools. The fluidity of the model helped teachers to practice elements in incremental steps until confident enough to add other elements of the model to their “kete of knowledge”. The hooks that saw our adolescent Pasifika learners shift in their literacy practice was instrumental in helping us to become adept at assisting our Pasifika learners to confidently navigate the ‘oceans of texts,’ they encounter in a high school setting.

Vanua: Home in Diaspora

Home (vanua, fenua, whenua) is embodied experience and memory. Home is a recurring theme  for  PI  migrants  manifested  in  questions  such  as;  where  is  home?  What  does  it mean to be at home? How does one feel at home in diaspora and in the homeland? How does one settle on foreign soil and/or re-inhabit the vanua on return? How are belonging and  identity  negotiated  in  the  homeland  and  diaspora?  The  panelists  will  explore  these questions   from   their   own   experiences   highlighting   different   understandings   and experiences  of  the  notion  of  home  as  well  as  strategies  of  negotiating  identity  and belonging.

Panel Members: Clement Paligaru, Peleti Lima & Sef Carroll

Peniamina Leota (penileota@lesamoa.net), “Tagata o le Fanua: A Samoan Theological Reflection”

Fei Taule’ale’ausumai (fei_taulealea@xtra.co.nz), “The Pacific Diaspora”

Pacific Island Women ministers: is really a cultural problem or is it a "male" problem? Declining mainline churches, growing Pacific Island Community Churches and Evangelical congregations. Are we getting more happy clappy to the detriment of issues of gender and justice? Are we becoming too content to give our all to an Americanised Christianity to the detriment of our Pacific Island cultural traditions and heritage. These

questions and more will be discussed at Pacific Diaspora. Come and have your say.

Sela Mafi Taufa (Sela.Taufa@anu.edu.au) & Sioana H. Faupula, “Molumalu mo e Ngeia ‘a Fafine Tonga”

The main issues to be discussed in our paper are:

•   Explaining the etymology of Molumalu and Ngeia

•   Acknowledging the kudos of Tongan knowledge and epistemology

•   Explaining the practices of these two values within the country of origin

•   Tracing examples of women who exemplify the “Molumalu moe Ngeia a Fafine Tonga” over time

•   Examining traditional frameworks versus western frameworks where cultural values must be contextualised in order to develop a more appropriate methodology in studying and researching the Tongan diaspora

•   The issues for Tongan women in practicing and implementing the values of ‘Molumalu’ and ‘Ngeia’ with their Australian-born children Laiseni Liava’a (twina24@yahoo.com.au), “Mana ‘i Tonga”

Talanoa seeking mana and vanua

This panel will help the conference imagine what might be awaiting us in the future.

Members of Panel: Winston Halapua, Nasili Vaka’uta, Tevita Finau, Jione Havea

Closing event

The closing event will be organized during the conference by Mata Havea, Dorothy Reid & 2nd Gens