Museums value Samoan treasures

By Talaia Mika • 30 November 2023, 8:30PM

A New Zealand-based museum, Te Papa Tongarewa and the Museum of Samoa are working hand in hand to map out how Samoan treasures have changed over the years.

A pilot project known as the "Mapping the Samoa Collection Workshop" that focuses on the Measina Samoa Collections aims to empower collaboration to enhance understanding of the preservation of Samoa's rich cultural heritage.

In an interview with the Samoa Observer, Head of New Zealand Histories and Pacific Cultures, Togialelei Dr. Safua Akeli Amaama stressed the significance of the Samoan culture and the project's hope to preserve that significance for the future.

"Keeping in mind, these measina were made over 100 years ago so what are we creating now, what are our people practicing, and what are the contemporary practices that our people are having? she said.

"Not only here in Samoa but also overseas. What does it mean to be Samoa in the 21st century so things like language, glossary and terms and sometimes we use the same terms but the material has changed over time.

"So what we'd like to understand is what's important for Samoa now? What should we be looking to collect that represents our lives today whether it's digital, a lot of Samoans are very high on the uptake of Facebook for example.

"Then we got the modern designs of garments, different designs that people are creating, how are people making ietoga now. I know it will be quite different from how it was a 100 years ago.

"Why has the iesina not featured as strongly anymore? Just different ways of understanding the change in our culture, way humans live but also understanding the migration of our people and what they take with them but also maybe things they're not utilising as much to the countries they're moving to."

Focusing on the measina Samoa collections, Togialeleo explained that they have about 2,500 measina objects. She added that it was a chance for them to have a look at what Samoa has, and try to understand the audience engagement, which also involves a digital component that was discussed in Thursday's workshop.

"And so we've got a range of items and collections from iesina to ietoga and toimaa and so forth. It was a chance for us to try and map the collections across the archipelago but also try and understand how people are engaging with measina in the 21st century," she added.

The focus of the project will be on developing digital mapping to support information access for the public, as well as enhancing catalogue records and associated biographies and enabling communities to access museum resources.

The team comprises Togialele, Dr Sean Mallon (Senior Curator of Pacific Cultures), Grace Hutton (Collection Manager of Pacific Cultures), Kirsty Cox (Manager, Digital & Collections Information Systems), Gareth Watkins (Collections Data Manager), Adrian Kingston (Head of Digital Channels) and Alexander Gordon (Research Assistant).

Te Papa Project is funded by the United States Embassy's Public Diplomacy Grants Program to carry out this pilot in collaboration with the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum.

The Ministry of Education acknowledged Te Papa and its leadership team for the opportunity to cultivate strong partnerships in the area of cultural heritage preservation.