O le pale o laei Samoa the crowning glory of Samoan adornment : examining the changing role of tuiga in Samoan culture

From its origin as the personal adornment of Samoan Kings and high-ranking chiefs (ali’i), to its co-option by European colonial collectors in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to symbolic representation in the work of contemporary Samoan gallery based artists, and finally, its contemporary re...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. Verfasser: Si'ilata, Elisheva Talei Manumalo (VerfasserIn)
Format: Abschlussarbeit Elektronisch Software E-Book
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: [Auckland, New Zealand] University of Auckland 2018
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Online-Zugang:e-Thesis University of Auckland
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Zusammenfassung:From its origin as the personal adornment of Samoan Kings and high-ranking chiefs (ali’i), to its co-option by European colonial collectors in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to symbolic representation in the work of contemporary Samoan gallery based artists, and finally, its contemporary reclamation in the 21st century as a symbol of cultural identity in Samoa and the diaspora, the tuiga has always played an important and significant function within Fa’a Samoa or Samoan culture. The aim of this thesis, is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the changing role of tuiga in Samoan culture through time. It asserts that the tuiga was a distinctly rare and important form of traditional Samoan adornment and that it was one of the most valuable forms of measina (treasures) in pre-colonial Samoan culture. In its earliest form the tuiga was an embodiment of mana, as it occupied the head, the most sacred or tapu part of the body. As it rose to prominence in Samoan culture as a celebrated ceremonial adornment used not only by high chiefs, but by their taupou and manaia, the tuiga took on new meaning. The tuiga was also subjected to European influence with the settlement of Europeans in Samoa from the early 19th century onwards. The intervention of colonial collectors greatly affected the trajectory of tuiga in the 20th century. Today Samoan artists recognize the tuiga as a symbol that is ripe for artistic exploration in gallery-based practices. This aspect is also mirrored in the use of the adornment as a 21st century emblem of national and cultural identity in Samoa and particularly for the Samoan diaspora in New Zealand, Australia and America. The central research concerns of this thesis are to examine the changing role of tuiga in Samoan culture and through time, and to provide a succinct and comprehensive cultural biography of this unique and distinctive adornment form
Beschreibung:"A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Museums and Cultural Heritage, the University of Auckland, 2018." (Titelseite)
Beschreibung:1 CD-ROM (IX, 157 Seiten) Illustrationen 30 cm