My faith and family are foremost and I love to inspire and encourage through art and writing...
Books are available at: SSAB Apia, Samoa; SSAB American Samoa; SSAB Auckland, New Zealand or contact helenftauau@gmail.com (a.k.a. Helen Tauau Filisi)
I've just finished making up a bunch of cards which has been my most recent creative project as I find that I'm always using cards for various occasions.
I've given a bunch of cards away as gifts, and used them for bereavement donations from groups that I'm associated with.
Personalized birthday cards, special occasion cards like graduation, baby on the way, celebrations like weddings and anniversaries and the list goes on.
I'm so glad I've continued this as it's saved a whole heap of time and money scouring which cards would suit which occasion.
I've instead opted for generic cards that can be used for any occasion cards. They're fairly simple but have cute embellishments on them which adds a touch of drama, texture and it also looks like the artist knows what they're doing.
So if you're creatively inclined and want to make up some cards for yourself, you just need to buy blank sets of cards and matching envelopes they you look out for some creative papers, stickers, and glue to afix the artwork onto the card. Next thing you know, they're ready for distribution. All the best out there...
This week is another busy week with so much happening but got to drive my middle child to her first official day at AUT Auckland University of Technology in the start of her Uni studies.
She took a gap year off last year to take a break and then has jumped in, boots and all, to start her study Uni journey. It's something that my parents passed on to me about the importance of education but also being mindful of the importance our cultural heritage.
So happy for her as there's a lot of opportunities and much learning to be had at Uni. It reminded me of my Uni days that I really enjoyed in the independence of working towards a goal in mind and then achieving it with lots of doors that opened for me.
Now it's back to bussing or driving into the city most days for my family. In fact, all three of my children are studying in town which will make for an eventful year for all of them. As for me, I'm still working close to home and studying extra-murally as to keep the home fires burning.
I'm always on the lookout for my children and for our mum with my younger sister. Am also keeping up with our home in Samoa and ensuring that our guardianship of the land and second home is secure, as promised to my late father...
Yesterday, I had the privilege of joining a group of staff or "game" women who wanted to learn or join in the after lunch 'Hula' group that just started on campus.
I had had lunch with my older two and asked if either wanted to accompany me and the eldest decided to after having been taught Samoan siva (dance) by relatives and Tongan dance at high school for the PolyFest.
For me, I'd joined a church dance group as a teenager and had already been taught some Samoan siva, Niuean and Cook Islands drum dance so it was great to get back into the "swing" of things again and to swing those hips through lifting those heels!
In fact, Hawaiian hula dance is very different to Cook Islands drum dance and Tahitian dance with the different techniques that they use to sway their hips to the drums or guitar music playing. This is always good to learn in order to know the differences.
Yesterday, we had so many women from different cultural backgrounds giving it a go and by the time we finished our hour long session, we were all buzzing and sweating (doesn't help with no air con). So it looks like this might be my Friday after lunch buzz for getting my steps up and for enjoying Pasifika dance with other wahine toa (brave women)...
It's that time of year again with recruiting for my Tikanga (level 4) class which is a 36 weeks (one academic year) class.
Over the past few years, there has been a growing interest in learning more about tikanga (Māori protocols and traditions) and how it affects our daily lives.
Since taking the courses from Tikanga level 4 - 6, I've found from personal experience that it gave me more confidence and understanding of my own fa'aSamoa practices as a female matai (of chiefly status).
It helped me in the considerations that I had to take into account for my late father's funeral and memorial stone (one year commemoration) both in NZ and in Samoa. As I was the most engaged in my parents' lives both in NZ and Samoa, of all my siblings and a matai of over 20 years, I took it as a privilege to be able to support them in fulfilling their dreams of a second home in Samoa and in whatever they needed.
In fact, one of my greatest fears, growing up, was not being able to do justice for my parents' and especially my father's tribute. My studies in the course gave me the confidence to think through the protocols and traditions, especially in Samoa, and how to mitigate all the various pathways.
In this course that I teach, we look at life protocols and traditions from a te ao Māori (Māori worldview) lens and then for each individual student the question is asked about how that translates into your own lifestyle.
I'd highly recommend it for any who are wanting to explore their cultural identities and learn more about protocols and traditions in our post-modern lifestyles through a Māori lens i.e. I've had Pasifika, Fijian Indian, Indian, Kurdish, urban Māori, European etc. join my class to not only learn about Māori worldviews but also about their own experiences and others within the class.
I've found it to be an amazing but also challenging experience in delving in deep to understand cultural paradigms, why they exist and how the might be helpful going forward. If any are interested in enrolling into the class please DM (direct message) me or email through: helen.tauau-filisi@twoa.ac.nz and all the best for the new year ahead...
Today, I was shocked to hear of the passing of Fa'a`nānā Efeso Collins who was a NZ Samoan list MP (Member of Parliament) who had just delivered his maiden speech upon entering parliament only days ago. He had been at a charity event when he collapsed and was unable to be revived.
It was so sad to hear about this news, as he was a rising star of the Pasifika albeit SamoaNZ community who advocated long and hard for Pasifika peoples and those not in the upper echelons of NZ society. It is indeed a sad loss to our community and my heart goes out to his wife and daughters and family of whom he dearly loved.
My memories of Efeso (as I knew him then) go way back to when I first started teaching English in 1990, at a high school in Otara where he lived. It was his final year at high school and my first year in teacher. I may have written about this before but upon learning that I had a Master's degree, I remember that he told me that he too was going to get a Masters degree when he finished school and he did.
I remember meeting with him at a students' budget dinner, once at Auckland Uni, where I had just started my first doctorate degree around 1997. He was then the first Pasifika (Samoan) President of the Student Union that had been mainly headed by Europeans. It was there that he started making his mark with interest in politics.
When I first became a panel member for the Pasifika panel for Auckland Council for one term (3 years), around 2015, I met Efeso again but this time he was an Auckland Councillor who had won his seat alongside Alf Filipino who is a stalwart of South Auckland local government. Having Pasifika representation at this level was so important for voicing the needs of the Pasifika population.
Probably the last time I met with Efeso was a couple of years at an Pasifika ECE Early Childhood Education function where he was the guest speaker and delivered his speech with many jokes. I went up to him later and had a brief discussion. I told him that I had voted for him as a mayoral candidate but I didn't think that Auckland or NZ was ready yet for a person of colour.
I last remember seeing him sometime last year, at a round about in Papatoetoe, as he contested the Papatoetoe/Manukau seat but didn't win it. I tooted my car horn and he was surprised to see me showing my support of him.
Efeso came from humble roots and demonstrated to many that it was possible for a Pasifika person to succeed with a hard work ethic and humility that wasn't afraid to voice his opinions in support of the most vulnerable.
He certainly will be missed in the legacy that he left in his family, friends, and the many communities that he found himself in. It was truly an honour to have been there right at the start to see him as a young Christian SamoaNZ man grow and challenge the heart of Auckland as a peoples' champion.
He journey here on earth has ended but long may his legacy live to encourage other young and bold Samoan and Pasifika men and women that the world is your oyster if you work with integrity towards achieving your goals. Gone but not forgotten. Ia manuia lou malaga Fa'anānā Efeso. God's blessings be with you...
Got the chance to finally watch the movie "Next Goal Wins" directed by NZ's critically acclaimed Director Taika Waititi. It's a movie that I've been anticipating to watch since last year but in all the busyness of the end of the year, I wasn't able to watch it until returning back from Samoa.
I wanted to take my children to watch it with me so we finally pooled our schedule and found some time during the holiday to watch it together and it was definitely worth the wait. In fact, I'd definitely highly recommend it as a family movie to watch together despite some of the stereotypes that it does portray.
After the movie we went to catch a bite to eat at the local Denny's and got to debrief about the movie and it got positive results from all four of us. Especially in its portrayal of American Samoa although I must say that there were scenes that didn't quite match the location i.e. some of those scenes looked like they were shot in Oahu, Hawaii (one of the airport scenes) and possibly NZ with some of the grassy soccer field scenes? ha ha - just too much green grass for Samoa with the trees in the background.
We were particularly happy with the positive positioning of fafafine i.e. Samoa's third gender which we thought was well portrayed but also sensitive in the sense of some of the difficulties that they face and try to overcome within the various worlds.
I'd definitely watch it again, and would like to thank Taika Waititi for bringing this story of American Samoa to the light. It is an underdog story but it also shows some of the sacrifices that individuals living on a small island make when wanting to play on an international field.
I'm so glad that I was able to take my family a few years ago to visit American Samoa in that they were able to see the differences with Upolu/Savaii or Samoa as it is now known. The American accent was one of the first differences that they became aware of and then the use of the American dollar although they are only a territory.
Hopefully, it's a movie that can encourage more of our diaspora (living outside of the motherland) Samoans to visit Samoa and/or American Samoa to see where their ancestors came from and to hear and see the Samoan language and culture in action. Much like this movie portrays...
It was neat to wake up to a beautiful day in commemoration of our National Waitangi Day holiday as commemorated every 6th of February since the signing of our founding document of the Treaty of Waitangi or Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840.
It was neat to see that Google in its daily search engine graphic added its own illustration in celebration of this special day.
Last night, on a national news channel I watched as many converged onto Waitangi, a place that I had taken my children to on various occasions. It holds special significance to many but it is also a contentious place for some.
At present, in New Zealand, there is some controversial legislation that is being crafted by politicians, who are currently in power, that questions the principles of the founding document and look to rewrite them in some fashion, however, there are many who do not agree with any changes and this is being scrutinized at the moment.
The renaming of government departments in taking away their Māori name on signage etc. was also a contentious topic of this present government which seeks to do away with the indigenous language on government departmental signs and replace them with English only signs.
A movement that makes no sense when these signs have been already established for over a decade and disestablishing them would only mean wasting funds that could have been used elsewhere. However, the deeper contention is that it displays racist agendas and rhetoric of recognizing only 1:3 of NZ's official languages i.e. English and not Māori.
There's an even more deeper sinister understanding in having read the book "Caste The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson (2020) which concurs that such acts are really of a caste system wanting to ensure that their worldviews are entrenched in legislation that favours them and takes little account of the indigenous peoples of the nation.
It's going to be interesting, going forward, as there were many protests and debate by tanga whenua (indigenous peoples as Māori) at Waitangi even before the day had begun. It reminds me that we have come a long way but there's still a long way to go in our national race relations...
Having a great long Waitangi weekend (although Monday's not really counted because it's a normal day) but some are taking Monday off and extending the weekend to return back to work/school on Wednesday.
I started the weekend with a neat brunch with a good work colleague at a newer local restaurant called "Percy" which seems to be a purpose built restaurant right in the middle of a light industry zone.
So that the clientele were quite mixed with tradies, in their high vis' uniforms, who were dropping in for a quick bite to eat or take away. There were business people in their suits and ties. Mom's and couples with babies etc. It was quite an interesting place to be at and looking forward to taking my children out there too.
The scene outside was beautiful with a man-made lake surrounding the perimeter of the restaurant at one corner with some taking a scenic tour around the grounds after their meal. I quite liked the different ambience of the place with hardy outdoor furniture for those wanting to eat outside of the main restaurant.
Inside there were booth like seats with thick coordinated cushions, places for singles to eat and tables for groups and couples. I also liked a place for working individually on laptop compatible workspaces which makes this place pretty special.
All in all, a nice start to the long weekend even if it isn't really as long for some...
