taimalieutu kiwi tamasese the family centre po box 31050 lower hutt aotearoa new zealand

Taimalieutu Kiwi TamaseseThe Family Centre

PO Box 31050Lower Hutt

Aotearoa New Zealand

Pacific Perspectives on Child-Rearing and Socialisation

Victoria UniversitySchool of Psychology

10 August 2007

Actual and projected Pacific populations 1945 to 2051

Year Pacific Population

1945 2,159

1956 8,103

1966 26,271

1976 65,694

1986 127,906

1996 202,236

2001 231,801

2011 300,000

2031 450,000

2051 599,000

Source: Krishnan (1994) and Cook (1999)

DEMOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND

• The Samoan ethnic group is the largest Pacific ethnic group in New Zealand, numbering 115,000 in 2001 and making up half the Pacific population. Cook Islands people make up the next largest group, numbering 52,500, followed by Tongans 40,000, Niueans 20,100, Fijians 7,000 and Tokelauans 6,200.

• Over half (58%) of Pacific people living in New Zealand in 2001 were born in New Zealand, Cook Islands people and Niueans were the most likely to have been born in New Zealand (70%).

Source: Pacific Progress, Statistics New Zealand 2002

• Pacific peoples have a much younger age structure than the total population, with a median age of just 21 years in 2001 compared with 35 years for the total population (the median is the middle figure when the population is ranked from youngest to oldest). The median age of New Zealand born Pacific people is just 12 years, compared with 37 years for the overseas-born.

Source: Pacific Progress, Statistics New Zealand 2002

HISTORY

• 1848, 8 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi NZ sought approval to take over Samoa

• 1878, another approach was made by NZ for Samoa

• 1888, Cook Islands was declared a British protectorate

• 1889, Tokelau was declared a British protectorate

• 1889, Niue was declared a British protectorate

The Family Centre, PO Box 31050, Lower Hutt, New Zealand

• 1899, The partitioning of Samoa, Cook Islands and Niue were given to NZ as a consequence

• 1900, Tonga signed a treaty of Friendship with Britain and Tonga became a British protectorate

• 1914, NZ military takeover of Samoa declaring it the first Allied victory of the First World War

• 1914, NZ established a military government in Samoa until 1920 suspending Civil Rights


• 1918, the influenza epidemic brought on the ship Talune killed 20% of the total population

• 1920, Great Britain accepts the mandate for Western Samoa and gave NZ the responsibility for the mandate

• 1921, Western Samoa Act created Western Samoa as part of NZ territory

• 1920/1928, wide spread dissatisfaction with NZ rule in Samoa, the growth of the Mau Movement


• 1928 NZ sends in 2 War Ships to Samoa to quell the Mau, this had recent precedents, an Australian War Ship and NZ Troops had been employed against militant Indian strikers in Fiji

• 1929 Black Saturday

• 1957, Samoa attained self government

• 1962, Samoa attained independence. The Treaty of Friendship was signed


1950s and 1960sPACIFIC ISLAND MIGRATION TO

NEW ZEALAND

• Post war manufacturing strategy

• New Zealand industrial development led to a high demand for migrant labour

• Labour migration sought from the South Pacific

• In-migration from the Pacific became a key element of change in New Zealand’s population composition.


1970sECONOMIC RECESSION

• Reversal in terms of trade for primary commodity producers

• Domestic market also fell• Rising unemployment• Migrants often seen to be competing with

“New Zealanders” for available jobs• Overstayers unfairly identified with Pacific

Island community• 1976 dawn raids• Migration system trapped Pacific Island

workers into the lowest segments of the Labour market


1980’s and 1990sSTRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT

PROGRAMME

• Opening up of whole economy• Removal of import protection and licensing

and reduced tariffs • Impact on domestic producers• Increased unemployment• Vulnerability of Pacific people to this re-

structuring in low wage and low skilled manufacturing jobs

• Continued re-structuring, recession and high unemployment have restricted upward economic and social mobility for Pacific people


FURTHER CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

• Monocultural nature of legislations and policies

• Monocultural nature of social services provision including Housing, Health, Education, Labour and Social Welfare

• Absence of legislation and monitors on provision of services for Pacific Peoples


O ALO MA FANAU O POUTU O AIGA MO LE LUMANAI

Aiga

Faasinomaga - Identity including Land and LanguageTupuaga - Genealogy - Lineage of BelongingTofiga - Heritage and Responsibilities

Itu Lua Itu Faleagaga Faaletino


DEFINITIONS OF SELF

• Samoan person exist in relationship to other people.

• Samoan being therefore has meaning only in relationship and derives its wholeness, sacredness and uniqueness from family, village, genealogy, language, land, culture and environment.

• Self comprises of the spiritual, physical and mental elements or working in a totality.

• Tofiga.• Tupuaga.• Faasinomaga.


Pacific Families in Aotearoa New Zealand

• Pacific cultural located families.

• Bi-cultural families.

• Westernised families.

• Generation gap families.

Source: The Family Centre, 71 Woburn Road, Lower Hutt, Aotearoa New Zealand

O le Lagaina o Tomai ma le Agavaa o AigaGoals of Child Rearing

• Tomai Skills• Agavaa Abilities• Anava o aiga Heritage of families• Silasila mamao Vision• Silasila lata maiNearer sights• Silasila ise ‘ai Goal and success

oriented

Source: The Family Centre, 71 Woburn Road, Lower Hutt, Aotearoa New Zealand

A women’s placenta is buried ritually in the earth, as is the umbilical cord or pute. The

umbilical cord of a child of the fishing guild is ritually thrown to the sea accompanied by chant. Another word for blood is palapala

(mud) or eleele (earth). These are some of the core symbols of the Samoan religious culture, which underlines intertwining links

between man and earth, man and sea, man and the sun and the moon and stars.

Source: Samoan Values, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, Presented at the Symposium on Pacific Ethics and Values, 10-12 September 1999, Wellington, New Zealand

FaaSamoa should not speak in the language of the tornado, lest it fails to reach the heart and soul of young people. Because of FaaSamoa is founded on Alofa it has to speak in the language of calm, consideration and courtesy.

Alofa is fundamental to the parent – child relationship as it is to the Matai and family relationship and the Alii and Tulafale relationship. Perception of this fundamental link can cause problems.

Source: Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, FaaSamoa Speaks to my Heart and Soul, Pasifika Medical Association 3rd Health Conference, 8 September 2000, Auckland New Zealand

There are young people who refuse to speak and behave courteously, who refuse to bow their heads and say tulou, who refuse to sit on the mat cross-legged and speak, who refuse to sit outside the fale and seek direction from chiefs and orators, because these rituals and courtesies are perceived as demeaning.


You are courteous because alofa as St Paul says is considerate. When you bow and say tulou it is because of regard for people. People are neighbours and created by God in his image. When you sit on the mat cross-legged and speak you are paying homage to your heritage. When you sit outside the fale and take instruction from the matai this gesture originates from the proverb “the road to leadership is through service”. From service comes blessings and good fortune. The courtesy, the rituals and the gestures are not demeaning because they are a public celebration of alofa.


If the message is fundamentally wrong the young will turn away. If the medium is flawed the young will resist. If FaaSamoa cannot reach the heart and soul of the young then, when the immigrant parents die, the bond is broken


The Message from Raising Children

It is distressing to read reports from New Zealand, Australia and America, of Samoan parents abusing children or their wards. Of fathers abusing mothers and family. Of mothers and seniors abusing the young. What does Samoan culture say about abuse of children? As a young child I remember the strong reaction of the elders of my family in Safotulafai when an older person was ready to resort to the rod. The elders would emphatically intervene. “Do not come down hard on children lest you break their spirit. It is easy to remedy stupidity, but it is difficult to raise a broken spirit”.


In some cultures disabled children are looked down on and discriminated against. This is not the case in Samoan culture. I want to cite a case which even though it may sound idyllic, establishes the norm.


An elderly couple, Fauolo and Kise took on Ieti who was their grandchild. Ieti was intellectually and physically disabled. He was difficult to look after. Bathing, dressing and feeding were onerous chores. The way the old gentleman and especially the old lady cared for Ieti remains graphically in mind for it personified a saying in Samoan: “E pele i upu, pele i ai, pele i aga, pele i foliga”Meaning:“Fondly in word, fondly in feeding, fondly in gesture, fondly in body language”

There was never a word or deed which reflected condescension or impatience. Ieti’s parents who lived on the other island proposed that they should take him back. “We sent him thinking he would be a help but his condition has deteriorated and he has become a burden on you”.

Fauolo and Kise wept and said“We would rather die than part with Ieti”

So Ieti remained with Fauolo and Kise until his death at age 21 years. Shortly after Ieti died, Fauolo died. The family believed that Fauolo’s death was hastened by grief.


O au o matua fanau

• O lona uiga, o le faatumutumuga o le alofa o matua, o a latou fanau. O le faatumutumuga o le faamoemoe o matua, ia taunuu lelei fanau. Afai e le alofa le tautala ma le amio a matua, o lona uiga ua le maua le agaga ma le autu o le mau Faalavelave’vae “o au o matua fanau”.

Source: Aia Tatau a Tamaiti ma Tu ma Aganuu a Samoa, Tusia e Filifilia Tamasese mo le Mafutaga a Tina PIC Waitakere, Aukilani, 20 Aperila 2006

Ia piipiiama, vaevae manava

• Vaevae manava – O lona uiga o ia upu, “vaevae le manava o le tina ona maua lea o lou tagata”. Ia Piipiiama – E te taofiofi le ama o le vaa ona to’a lea o le vaa ona ua galua po ua soona gaioi se isi I totonu o le vaa. O lona uiga o nei upu tima’I, o le mea muamua o le alofa. O le mea lona lua, ia faautauta.


Ia ola taofiofi

• O lona uiga, aua e te soona tautala pe soona fulufulu lele aua e mau eseese tagata, aiga ma nuu. E au ina vevesi ma vavao le tuaoi tagata, tuaoi matai ma le tuaoi nuu pe a le taofiofi le tautala ma le amio.


O le ala I le pule o le tautua

• O lona uiga, o lou agavaa e taitai isi tagata e maua mai lou iloa tautua isi tagata. O le faamanuiaga e afua mai I le tautua lelei I le agaga lelei. E taua le agaga lelei, aua e mulimuli ona taunuu mai ni faamanuiaga a le matai, le aiga po o le nuu foi; e mulimuli ona taunuu mai ni faamanuiaga o le suafa matai ma isi faamanuiaga, ae muamua ona maua le faamanuiaga ona ua faamalie le loto talu ai le galuega lelei e faia I le loto lelei.


O le gasese o le faiva o tamalii

• O lona uiga, e le o le faiva o tamalii o le faamafulifuli ma le faamaneenee. O le faiva o tamalii o le gaioi ma le gasese. O lona uiga, e ave le faamuamua I le tautua. E te le maua se faamanuiaga I se matai maualuga po o se gafa maualuga, e te maua le faamanuiaga I le tautua lelei I le loto lelei.


E su’e mai taitoalua ma tane o aiga I e faatuina aiga

• O lona uiga, mo teine, o e iloa lalaga le fala, tolo le gau, fai le lolo, pusa le suavai. Mo tama, o e iloa le faiva o le faaeleeleaga ma le faiva o le gataifale, ma le taulaga e fai I le matai ma le nuu. O le isi agavaa e faatauaina, o e faatupuina le fealofani I totonu o le lotoifale o le aiga ona o le tautala ma le amio.


taimalieutu kiwi tamasese the family centre po box 31050 lower hutt aotearoa new zealand

Documents

new zealand1928 nz

new zealand1950s

new zealand1918

new zealand1899

median age of new zealand

pacific progress

nz military takeover

partitioning of samoa