Issue , 2019
Issue 17 – Wan Solwara
[ssba]Features
Grandma’s Panipopos
My grandma had hands that could knead love into Panipopos Sew consideration into pe’as for white sunday And slap sense into the back of my head because I’d giggle at how she said “Luisa aua ke fiaboko” I could see her pride in the way she’d curl ribbons on the ula loles, waddle up to […]
Advice from my dad:
“It’s not always what you say, it’s how you say it” When you ask me if I’m algood, the tone in which it is asked will dictate my response. I watch to see if the curves of your mouth betray a sly smile, or if your eyes stay hardened as they look back […]
by Paula Makisi
Without the Ocean, what are we?
School Strike 4 Climate 15/03/2019 Papatūānuku and Tangaroa transcend time, lives & worlds. They interlock and intertwine as one – with deep rooted whakapapa to all worlds. As protectors of the earth & seas, our guardianship has failed. The human race have polluted & destroyed this earth and its oceans. Now, climate change is […]
Uncomfortable places: skin.
Where are you from? My list was always ready: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, puppy dogs’ tails, a little Spanish, maybe German, and—almost as an afterthought—half Samoan. An unwanted fraction. But you don’t seem like a Samoan. I thought you were [insert other ethnicity]. A smile. A sense of accomplishment. A watered seed of […]
by J Avia
In The Manner
I had a chat to PhD student Ashleigh Feu’u about her gender identity and navigating life and academia as a fa’afafine. How do you define your gender identity? First and foremost, these are my personal views and not a generalisation of all fa’afafine views. There are many ways individual fa’afafine identify themselves, […]
Hula Le’a Wale
‘Everything ancient was once new and though our structures were denied age no amount of dismantling, disassembling, desecrating or disrespecting of our right to be can deny us our ancientness, our ability to stand with thousands and thousands.’ – Emalani Case Like myself, Dr Emalani Case started learning hula from a very young […]
The house that John brought
Have you ever posted on IG in admiration of your parents or grandparents, who sacrificed so much to immigrate to New Zealand for you… but also mocked someone for speaking broken English in a foreign accent? Have you ever thanked the Lord for the food on your plate, but not Tagaloa for perfecting the tides […]
Papua Merdeka – Free West Papua
CW: Violence, Genocide, Rape What’s happening in West Papua? West Papua, with the independent nation of Papua New Guinea in the east, constitute the island of Papua in Melanesia. It is situated approximately 200 km north of Australia, covered in rainforest, and is a biodiverse and minerally rich land. There are over 250 […]
The Nuclear Pacific
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? (Spongebob Squarepants) What lives in a concrete dome on Runit Island with the potential to leak into the Pacific Ocean? (Nuclear waste) The Pacific Islands have a dark history of nuclear exploitation. After World War II, the nuclear arms race was afoot. Major military powers […]
Through Blood, By Blood
If you’re standing before a crowd, speaking to hundreds of school students striking for better climate action outside Parliament steps, it’s probably not a good idea to look around. I felt adrift in a sea of signs and hundreds of students chanting. Then I saw it. One sign in the crowd that […]
Reclaiming Style
Fashion is a form of expression. How you dress is a projection of your personality, what you believe in, what you like—and, for most, dependent on ease of comfort. Fashion is also community. Fashion is conscious consuming. Fashion is supporting your mate’s start-up jewellery biz. Fashion is wearing Pacific jewellery, a sei in one ear, […]
Ferry
CW: Mental Illness, Suicide, Substance Use 1. I’m thinking about my first solo swim at Mawhitipana Bay when I was five. A huge adventure for little limbs, quite quickly I was pulled into deeper waters, but despite the salt in my stomach there were so many days after school I would wade through the […]
by Anonymous
SAFE – The fragility of male masculinity.
CW: Speaking out It’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to cry. Recently, we have seen a push in awareness for mental health—specifically, male mental health. The stigma of male strength has been an obstruction. A hinderance. Trying to get males to be honest with their feelings and […]
by Anonymous
Te Namo Te Lumanaki
Malo ni, ulutonu mai, and welcome! We are privileged and honored to have the opportunity to share our Tokelau cultural heritage with the wider community. It is our aim to create a sustainable pathway for future generations of Tokelau students to come. Newly established in August 2014, Te Namo is the only Tokelauan Students association […]
by Nathan Lopa
Grandma’s Panipopos
My grandma had hands that could knead love into Panipopos Sew consideration into pe’as for white sunday And slap sense into the back of my head because I’d giggle at how she said “Luisa aua ke fiaboko” I could see her pride in the way she’d curl ribbons on the ula loles, waddle up to […]
Advice from my dad:
“It’s not always what you say, it’s how you say it” When you ask me if I’m algood, the tone in which it is asked will dictate my response. I watch to see if the curves of your mouth betray a sly smile, or if your eyes stay hardened as they look back […]
by Paula Makisi
Without the Ocean, what are we?
School Strike 4 Climate 15/03/2019 Papatūānuku and Tangaroa transcend time, lives & worlds. They interlock and intertwine as one – with deep rooted whakapapa to all worlds. As protectors of the earth & seas, our guardianship has failed. The human race have polluted & destroyed this earth and its oceans. Now, climate change is […]
Uncomfortable places: skin.
Where are you from? My list was always ready: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, puppy dogs’ tails, a little Spanish, maybe German, and—almost as an afterthought—half Samoan. An unwanted fraction. But you don’t seem like a Samoan. I thought you were [insert other ethnicity]. A smile. A sense of accomplishment. A watered seed of […]
by J Avia
In The Manner
I had a chat to PhD student Ashleigh Feu’u about her gender identity and navigating life and academia as a fa’afafine. How do you define your gender identity? First and foremost, these are my personal views and not a generalisation of all fa’afafine views. There are many ways individual fa’afafine identify themselves, […]
Hula Le’a Wale
‘Everything ancient was once new and though our structures were denied age no amount of dismantling, disassembling, desecrating or disrespecting of our right to be can deny us our ancientness, our ability to stand with thousands and thousands.’ – Emalani Case Like myself, Dr Emalani Case started learning hula from a very young […]
The house that John brought
Have you ever posted on IG in admiration of your parents or grandparents, who sacrificed so much to immigrate to New Zealand for you… but also mocked someone for speaking broken English in a foreign accent? Have you ever thanked the Lord for the food on your plate, but not Tagaloa for perfecting the tides […]
Papua Merdeka – Free West Papua
CW: Violence, Genocide, Rape What’s happening in West Papua? West Papua, with the independent nation of Papua New Guinea in the east, constitute the island of Papua in Melanesia. It is situated approximately 200 km north of Australia, covered in rainforest, and is a biodiverse and minerally rich land. There are over 250 […]
The Nuclear Pacific
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? (Spongebob Squarepants) What lives in a concrete dome on Runit Island with the potential to leak into the Pacific Ocean? (Nuclear waste) The Pacific Islands have a dark history of nuclear exploitation. After World War II, the nuclear arms race was afoot. Major military powers […]
Through Blood, By Blood
If you’re standing before a crowd, speaking to hundreds of school students striking for better climate action outside Parliament steps, it’s probably not a good idea to look around. I felt adrift in a sea of signs and hundreds of students chanting. Then I saw it. One sign in the crowd that […]
Reclaiming Style
Fashion is a form of expression. How you dress is a projection of your personality, what you believe in, what you like—and, for most, dependent on ease of comfort. Fashion is also community. Fashion is conscious consuming. Fashion is supporting your mate’s start-up jewellery biz. Fashion is wearing Pacific jewellery, a sei in one ear, […]
Ferry
CW: Mental Illness, Suicide, Substance Use 1. I’m thinking about my first solo swim at Mawhitipana Bay when I was five. A huge adventure for little limbs, quite quickly I was pulled into deeper waters, but despite the salt in my stomach there were so many days after school I would wade through the […]
by Anonymous
SAFE – The fragility of male masculinity.
CW: Speaking out It’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to cry. Recently, we have seen a push in awareness for mental health—specifically, male mental health. The stigma of male strength has been an obstruction. A hinderance. Trying to get males to be honest with their feelings and […]
by Anonymous
Te Namo Te Lumanaki
Malo ni, ulutonu mai, and welcome! We are privileged and honored to have the opportunity to share our Tokelau cultural heritage with the wider community. It is our aim to create a sustainable pathway for future generations of Tokelau students to come. Newly established in August 2014, Te Namo is the only Tokelauan Students association […]
by Nathan Lopa