Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
Open every day 10am-6pm
(except Christmas Day)
Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
Watch Mata Atonio talk about how adornment influences her life as a Sāmoan woman, and finding out the names of some of the women photographed in Sāmoa who remain unnamed.
“One thing that I have seen around in our tour, around Te Papa, that was good to see all those photos from back in the day. I actually took some of the photos and I sent it to my friends in Sāmoa, and they said, ‘Oh, we know who that is.’”
– Mata Atonio
Sāmoan
Māori
English
Tofilau Mata Atonio was born in Iva, Savai‘i, Western Sāmoa and is a chief in her family. She lives in Wellington and is a long-time staff member at Woolworths Kilbirnie where she works as a Checkout Supervisor. She is a Union Delegate and has been a prominent advocate in campaigns associated with the Living Wage Movement Aotearoa.
Alongside other staff, she is known in the store for wearing a sei behind her ear as part of her checkout uniform and for her warm relationships with regular shoppers, including acknowledging birthdays or marking moments in-store over the loudspeaker.
She is a mother and grandmother and has long supported local schools and cultural initiatives in Wellington’s eastern suburbs.
Watch Kate Ngatokorua talk about how adornment influences her life as a Cook Islands woman, and the Western trope of Pasifika women being perceived and portrayed as anonymous exotic dusky maidens.
Watch Losalio Milika Pusiaki talk about how adornment influences her life as a Tongan woman, and the Western trope of Pasifika women being perceived and portrayed as anonymous exotic dusky maidens.
Watch five interviews with eight Pasifika women examining the trope of the sensual ‘dusky maiden’ and the cultural significance of flowers in the Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Pacific Islands. Explore further through blog articles responding to the films, Te Papa collection images, and Pacific writing and media.
