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Rotuma

Rotuma Island is part of the Rotuma Group, which includes several smaller islands in the South Pacific Ocean, around 650 kilometres north of Fiji.

In 1881, Rotuma officially ceded to the United Kingdom and became part of the British Empire as part of the Colony of Fiji. It is now a self-governing dependency of Fiji after its independence in 1970. The Rotuma Group is divided into seven districts, each with its own chief.

Acquisitions: ‘apei and monuma from Rotuma

In 2021, we acquired a Rotuman ‘apei sala (white mat) and monuma (blouse) for the Pacific Cultures collections. Then Curator Pacific Cultures Dr Rachel Yates reflects on the acquisition.

Fakpeje: Mạnu’ ne kav ta

‘Amnäk ne gasav ne fäeag Rotuạm ta, la a‘pumuạ‘ạkia fäegat ne hele‘uen la peak pạu ‘e laloag ne rän te‘. Jacki Leota-Mua ne garue ‘e Te Papa ma kạutạunạ‘iạg Rotuạm ne Niusirạgi (NZRF group), hö‘ạkia ‘os a‘häe se ‘os ‘ạtmot ta Rotuma, ne fu sousou ‘e Fiti la hạila‘oag ma mäel tarạu fol ma saghul (500kms). ‘Oris ‘amnạki la sạkiroa rere ne foh kav fak Rotuma. 

Rotuma’s kava ceremony

Public Programme Specialist Jacki Leota-Mua and members of the Rotuman community transport us to Rotuma, 500 kilometres north of Fiji, to discover more about the island’s kava ceremonies.

Little-known lives: Rotumans in 19th-century Aotearoa New Zealand

Senior Curator Pacific Histories and Cultures Sean Mallon shares two rare stories of Rotuman travellers who found their way to New Zealand in the early 1800s, and how a contemporary Rotuman artist has remembered one of them.

Rotuma in our collections

Browse our taonga (treasures) and photographs of Rotuma on Collections Online.