Prime Minister Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa was presented last week with a hafted stone adze known in Samoan as a to’i fafau.

The implement, gifted Galumalemana Steve Percival of the Tiapapata Art Centre, was once the main tool used by tufuga before the arrival of steel tools. With ingeniously made stone tools, highly skilled tufuga or master craftsmen were able to build Samoan houses, fishing and voyaging canoes, and a myriad of ceremonial and household items.

When asked why she was being presented with the gift, Galumalemana referred to a project he is currently implementing titled “Rock-Paper-Scissors.”

The project is supported by the ACP-EU Enhancing capacity for the sustainability of Cultural and Creative Industries in the Pacific Project (CCIP) which aims to increase the contribution of the culture and creative sector to economic revenue, commercial engagement and its recognition in national economies.

Samoa’s rich cultural heritage is reflected in a range of traditional arts and crafts that reveal a close affinity the people living in these remote islands had with the natural world; on land and at sea.

Rock-Paper-Scissors aims to revive cultural memory and know-how of particular cultural products, learning what raw materials and traditional methodologies may have been used. In the project, “rock” refers to stone tools and clay, or more precisely, adzes and pottery, and “paper” looks to make innovative paper products that are inspired by siapo, the ancient bark cloth art found throughout Polynesia.

The iconic stone adzes of ancient Samoa, thousands of which are held in museum collections around the world, have long fascinated Galumalemana. The heritage artist and filmmaker has just arrived in Sydney to continue his research into adzes and other Samoan artifacts held in museums in the city before heading north to museums in Brisbane. His first visit was to the Australian Museum’s Pacific Cultural Collections Centre in Rydalmere.

The Australian Museum holds one of the largest Pacific collections in the world and the largest in Australia, with over 60,000 objects in total; 40,000 of these are held at the Rydalmere centre. The collection greatly impressed Galumalemana.

“I recently visited museums in the United Kingdom but the collection of adzes and other Samoan artifacts in Rydalmere are amazing. Taking time to admire some tanoa, it is difficult to comprehend how these functional and highly aesthetic objects can be made with stone tools,” he stated.