#Samoa Polynesia

[folkfashion]

Samoan man, Samoa, by Careena Tipoti

[lizard-reads-the-world]

🏝️Pacific Islander Books🌺

Okay, here it is! In "Asian and Pacific Islander" the second group often gets overshadowed, so here it is... a Pacific-only book list. This is of course by no means comprehensive. I tried to cover as many areas as I could find literature for. I've marked queer and disability rep based on book blurbs, but I have not read most of these (yet!). Feel free to comment if you know more!

Novels

Leaves of the Banyan Tree by Albert Wendt classic novel, Samoa The Adventures of Vela by Albert Wendt mythology epic, Samoa Scarlet Lies (series) by Lani Young romance, humor, Samoa (🏳️‍🌈 side character) Mata Oti: Eyes of Death by Lani Young zombie thriller, Samoa Telesā (series) by Lani Young YA paranormal romance, Samoa Scar of the Bamboo Leaf by Sieni A.M. YA contemporary, Samoa ♿ Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel literary novel, Samoa They Who Do Not Grieve by Sia Figiel literary novel, Samoa Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier Pacific fantasy, Guam author Turtle Under Ice by Juleah del Rosario YA contemporary, Filipina-CHamoru-American A Mansion on the Moon: A Guam Love Story by C Sablan Gault historical romance, generational, CHamoru (Guam) Lei and the Fire Goddess (series) by Malia Maunakea MG mythology adventure, Kānaka Maoli (Hawai'i)

House of Many Gods by Kiana Davenport generational novel, Hawai'i Song of the Exile by Kiana Davenport historical novel, Hawai'i The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera classic children's novel, Māori All That We Know by Shilo Kino contemporary, Māori ♿ The Pōrangi Boy by Shilo Kino YA contemporary, Māori How to Loiter in a Turf War by Coco Solid contemporary semi-autobiographical, multiple Pacific characters 🏳️‍🌈 The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach fantasy mystery, Māori 🏳️‍🌈 Kāwai: For Such a Time as This (series) by Monty Soutar pre-colonial epic, Māori Auē by Becky Manawatu contemporary novel, Māori Dawn Raid by Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith MG historical 1970s, Samoan-Aotearoa Falling into Rarohenga by Steph Matuku YA fantasy, Māori The Imaginary Lives of James Pōneke by Tina Makereti novel, historical, Māori 🏳️‍🌈

The Bone Tree by Airana Ngarewa novel, Māori Dirt Poor Islanders by Winnie Dunn novel, Tongan-Australian The Shark That Ate the Sun by John Puhiatau Pule literary novel, Niue [read here] Breadfruit (series) by Célestine Hitiura Vaite novel, humor, Tahiti Island of Shattered Dreams by Chantal T. Spitz historical novel, Tahiti Kalyana by Rajni Mala Khelawan novel, Fiji, Indian diaspora Maiba: A Novel of Papua New Guinea by Russell Soaba classic novel

Short Stories

This Is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakauwila short stories, Hawai'i Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau'ofa short stories, Tonga The Unpainted Mask by Steven Edmund Winduo short stories, Papua New Guinea

Poetry

‘Āina Hānau / Birth Land by Brandy Nālani McDougall poetry, Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Hawai'i) Ocean Mother by Arielle Taitano Lowe poetry, CHamoru (Guam) from unincorporated territory (series) by Craig Santos Perez poetry, CHamoru (Guam) Coconut Milk by Dan Taulapapa McMullin poetry, Samoa 🏳️‍🌈 Rangikura by Tayi Tibble poetry, Māori Goddess Muscle by Karlo Mila poetry, Tongan-Aotearoa Civilized Girl by Jully Makini poetry, Solomon Islands [read title poem here]

Nonfiction

Polynesian Panthers: Pacific Protest and Affirmative Action in Aotearoa New Zealand 1971 - 1981 edited by Dr Melani Anae, Leilani Tamu, Lautofa Luli Hine Toa by Ngahuia Te Awekotuku memoir, Māori activist 🏳️‍🌈 Mau Moko: The World of Maori Tattoo by Ngahuia Te Awekotuku From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii by Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask Desert Warrior by M.B. Dallocchio memoir, CHamoru (Mariana Islands)🏳️‍🌈 No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies by Julian Aguon memoir, climate essays, CHamoru Don't Ever Whisper by Giff Johnson biography of Darlene Keju, Marshall Islands anti-nuclear activist [author not Pasifika] Samoan Queer Lives by Dan Taulapapa McMullin 🏳️‍🌈 Pasifika Heroes series by David Riley and Michel Mulipola illustrated legends/biographies, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands

Anthologies

Indigenous Pacific Islander Eco-Literatures anthology, climate focus (🏳️‍🌈several contributors) Vā: Stories by women of the Moana anthology, Pacific women Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia, anthology Sista, Stanap Strong! anthology, Vanuatu Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia anthology, Kiribati, Palau, CHamoru, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, more An Ocean of Wonder: The Fantastic in the Pacific spec-fic anthology Hiwa: Contemporary Māori Short Stories edited by Paula Morris

Footnotes below:

Many of these will be indie/small press titles. I've tried to ensure they are available somewhere, even if it's just Kindle. A few (the Papua and Solomon Islands ones) you may need to inter-library loan.

Some authors have more books than listed, so please look into their full bibliography. Witi Ihimaera and Albert Wendt especially are pillars of Pacific literature and have many publications.

There are more Māori authors than listed here! But I wanted to keep a balanced list.

I have left out children's picture books of which there are many, though some may be locally published.

I included Sia Figiel for her contributions to Samoan literature despite her recent... troubles.

I am not PI, I just make lists. Feel free to correct any mistakes I've made or add more to the comments!

[willknightauthor]

POLYNESIAN METAL

Found another Polynesian metal band. Holy fucking shit 💀

There's something about it. It's like Mongolian metal: a cultural combination that makes perfect sense in retrospect.

[gonetoforks]

Taupou Mikey! Taupou Mikey!!! His outfit made out of plants you can see in the og screenshot reminded me of a taupou’s outfit so of course I had to draw him in one. He looks so pretty 🥹

[miss-kuki-nz]

Are there any WWE fanfic writers out there who write for Polynesian readers??.

[matriarchy-au]

Three Samoan girls wearing traditional Samoan clothing, c. 1899

[captainmartinisblog]

A(nother) Date That Will Live In Infamy?

Saturday 1st March 2025 – Los Angeles to Paris and London!

After a brief stop-over in the Air France Business Lounge at LA Airport, the second leg from Los Angeles to Paris turned out closer to 11 hours and very different from the first leg.

For a start, while it was the same Air France plane, it was a new cabin crew; and unlike the delightful Tahitian-French team on the first leg, this lot were mostly male and clearly from France!

On the world’s stage meanwhile, President Trump and Secretary Vance had just made the biggest diplomatic balls-up in US political history, insulting Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy and virtually picking a fight in a live TV press briefing from the Oval Office. But President Zelenskyy would not be intimidated, standing his ground and winning praise from around the world in what was nothing short of a political car-crash!

Meanwhile, and back on the re-fuelled plane, Andrew now had a new seat assignment at 11E and everything seemed fine, except his privacy door didn’t close! He wasn’t thrilled with the food either because he was still served the set lobster and citrus starter, even after he had made it plain he didn’t want it! Actually, it was quite nice……

However, gone was the helpful and personable Polynesian touch of the first leg; now we were back in the ‘real’ world – at least, the French one! It was all a bit strange to be honest; taking off around 9pm local time, dinner was served an hour or so later and at the leisurely pace of Air France – but without much of the finesse of the first leg.

Meanwhile, not wanting to watch anything ‘heavy’ in the way of entertainment from the fairly extensive film catalogue, I selected the Amazon flick ‘Red White & Royal Blue’ through dinner and then settled down to sleep for about 4 hours, waking to watch another (short) movie, ‘Enchanted’, during which the plane ‘woke up’ and breakfast was served. None of the ‘Dine how and when you want’ of Qatar Airways from 3 weeks ago, you might note!

Anyway, flying so far eastwards, and having taken off at 9pm Friday evening in LA, it was now 4.45 on Saturday afternoon when we landed at Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport, where we had to find our gate and lounge to wait 4 hours for our 1-hour final flight to London – this time, on a different plane!

Any of you who have experienced Charles de Gaulle Airport will know it is simply vast; it looks like something out of a dystopian sci-fi film and is notoriously confusing.

Perhaps more notoriously, part of the new Terminal 2E (our terminal!) collapsed spectacularly in 2004, just months after its opening, killing 4 people and injuring 3 others!

Fortunately for us though, our transfer wasn’t too complex; but to get from our L-gate to the next K-gate we still had to take a shuttle bus mini-tour of the airport’s entrails!

Once in the K-hall of Terminal 2E, we found the Air France lounge located in an out-of-the-way basement area that felt a bit like a huge 1960s hospital waiting room, even down to the cleaning lady with a smelly mop – though admittedly there was free booze, the showers were a relief and at least the internet worked, so perhaps I’m being picky. We were just very tired….

Unfortunately, our scheduled 4-hour layover became a tedious 5 hour wait for an Airbus A220 city-hopper that had “experienced technical issues” on its previous flight from Madrid. I daren’t think what the ‘technical issues’ were, we just wanted to get home to bed! The cabin crew on this one were nice enough, I guess, but with only about 40 minutes in the air, the complimentary cold snack in the somewhat spartan Business class had to be delivered pretty sharpish! And it was more fish for Andrew – salmon this time! The cream puff thing that came with the snack was surprisingly nice and light though.

We finally landed at an almost deserted Heathrow Terminal 4 at 9.50 in the evening and were through immigration and waiting for our taxi pick-up from Gary in a record 20 minutes – knackered but complete with all our luggage!

Our South Pacific cruise was an amazing adventure. Aside from missing 3 of our ports because of the weather, the places we did visit were fantastic and some of our excursions the stuff of dreams. As for Seven Seas Voyager and Regent Cruise Line, we were not so impressed; it was very good but very expensive and not as good as the company's advertising makes out!

In just over 3 months time, we’ll be tackling ‘trains and boats and planes’ when we return to Holland America Line and head for Alaska and the ‘Rocky Mountaineer’!

In the meantime, here's the link to an Index of my Cruise & Bermuda Holidays from 2013 to date.

[lovingtravelnet]

Discover Samoa: A Journey Through the Heart of Polynesia

Samoa, a captivating archipelago located in the heart of Polynesia, is a destination that offers a rich tapestry of culture, history, and natural beauty. With its pristine beaches, lush landscapes, and vibrant traditions, Samoa provides travellers with not only a picturesque getaway but also a profound experience steeped in history and local customs. From the moment one sets foot on this…

[rasmasandra]

Sensational Samoa

A Polynesian island country Samoa is officially known as the Independent State of Samoa. It is a Polynesian island country that consists of two main islands Savai’i and Upolu. There are two smaller, uninhabited islands Manono and Apolima as well as several other smaller and uninhabited islands. These islands are located 2,600 miles southwest of the US state of Hawaii. The capital and largest…

[bloomandbutterbakery]

[letternotekisses]

wait what’s the mauga lore tho all i know is he was not massive then he joined talon and now he is massive. is he like sigma or is he just goofy?

Lock in anon this might get long. Also this is what I remember from the wiki off the top of my head, so anyone feel free to correct me if I got something wrong x

When he was younger Mauga was part of a rebel group ran by his dad, combatting against the poor treatment of their home. Which is what sort of streamlined him to be the way he is - flippant towards the law and charismatically destructive, he also grew somewhat noticeable that way.

After being wounded in Polynesia (?), a medic from the rebel group performed emergency surgery and gave him a cybernetic heart to supplement his damaged organic one. He later returned to Samoa for more upgrades which in turn made him stronger but also came with the need for more maintenance. Some point after that he fought with Overwatch (which is where he pinched his chain guns.)

Mauga was invited to Talon after he sought out my man, aka Doomfist and challenged him to an all out fucking brawl, mainly because he was bored and the news of Akande killing his mentor had caught his attention. Neither of them took the loss, but ended it in a draw - ultimately impressing Akande who then extended said invitation alongside the promise of chaos and regular cybernetic upgrades for Mauga.

In terms of his character - Mauga is outwardly a big goof but I wouldn't let it fool you. He's referenced to be 'charismatic and cunning with the goal of living every day like it's his last'. He creates chaos just to thrive in the midst of it, chasing something that only just outruns him every day. And he loves it. He's much more complex than he seems and I think that's just why I like him so much. <3

ᴬˡˢᵒ, ᴵ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵏ ʰᵉ'ˢ ʰᵒᵗ.

[miss-kuki-nz]

One thing I loved and admired about Dakota is that not only was she from New Zealand like me, she was also proud of her Samoan heritage, and she always made it known that she was afakasi (half-caste). Not only did she represent NZ, but she represented the women of Polynesia, and she did it with so much mana and pride. ❤. I think a lot of people can relate to the fact that although there are alot of Polynesian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and so forth within the WWE and other pro wrestling companies, it hits different when a wrestler comes from their native country, like Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, etc. I mean, NZ isn't Samoa, but the main city of Auckland (where I live) has the largest Polynesian population in the world.

Anyways, Thank you Dakota!! 🥰😭.

[samo-nkey]

I fucking cannot with you

THE COUSINS!!

Me and my friends made this really silly gf theme mixed w a bit of our culture, augh my sheilas

Shermie, Nana, Marty and the twins in leis drawn by: @bigmanpiwi

Ford, Samo, the triplets that look like alvin and the chipmunks, and Hera were drawn by: @samo-nkey

[mychemicalbutterflies]

💜 Purple lighting Mikey is a Blue Moon butterfly (Hypolimnas bolina) !

Some facts about these butterflies:

H. bolina is found in Madagascar in the west, through to South and Southeast Asia, Cambodia, the South Pacific islands (French Polynesia, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa, Vanuatu, and Fiji), and occurs in parts of Australia as far south as Victoria during summer and autumn, Japan, Taiwan, and New Zealand. Appearances in New Zealand appear to be linked with favourable winds during April–June migratory periods in Australia, with the butterfly being recorded in 1956, 1971, and 1995 !

To the west the female H. bolina is monomorphic, mimicking species of the oriental and Australasian danaid genus Euploea. Eastwards H. bolina is frequently polymorphic and most forms are then non-mimetic. In areas where it resembles Euploea the butterfly has usually been designated a Batesian mimic ! (Source)

[captainmartinisblog]

Countdown to the South Pacific!

Saturday 1st February 2025

The 3 months since the last cruise in 2024 seem to have flown by and it’s a new year and already time for another cruise! This time, Andrew & I are off together to explore for the first time some of the most popular destinations in the South Pacific – namely Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Bora Bora and Tahiti.

But with just a week to go, we've already been advised that our planned visit to Port Vila, Vanuatu has been cancelled because of the devastation caused by the earthquake that occurred last December and instead, we are visiting a place called 'Mystery Island'!

I doubt that we'll be singing "There is nothing like a dame!" on the sands (the musical 'South Pacific' was filmed in Hawaii by the way) but there might be the odd strains of "Bali Ha’i" along the way!

However, our 2-week cruise begins in Auckland, New Zealand and we'll have an overnight there before joining our ship, 'Seven Seas Voyager' of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, another luxury line we haven't tried yet.

At 42,363 gross tons, 'Seven Seas Voyager' is a nice size with plenty of room for its 700 passengers and we're looking forward to some fine food and exceptional service!

When we get to Tahiti, we'll have a couple of nights there before the long trip home. But first, we've got to get to Auckland, New Zealand and to do that, we're flying with Qatar Airways this time - one of the best, or so we're told! Well, we shall see! Keep following; our travels begin in just 1 week’s time on 8th February 2025!

[rjzimmerman]

At U.N. Conference, Countries Inch Toward Ocean Protection Goal. (New York Times)

Excerpt from this New York Times story:

Remote coral atolls in the Caribbean. Habitat for threatened sharks and rays around a Tanzanian island in the Indian Ocean. And 900,000 square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean around French Polynesia.

These are some of the millions of acres of water now set aside as part of an international goal to protect 30 percent of the ocean by 2030. More than 20 new marine protected areas were announced at the third United Nations Ocean Conference, which ended on Friday in France.

Countries and territories pledging new areas included Chile; Colombia; French Polynesia; Portugal; Samoa; Sao Tome and Principe; the Solomon Islands; Tanzania; and Vanuatu.

“Protecting the ocean is beginning to become fashionable,” said Sylvia Earle, a marine biologist and oceanographer who served as chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the 1990s, at an event celebrating a network of protected areas around the Azores.

The new designations come at a time when the United States, which sent only two observers to the conference, has moved to reopen the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument to commercial fishing. The country is also seeking to unilaterally authorize mining of the seafloor in international waters.

France, which hosted the conference with Costa Rica, pushed for a moratorium on deep sea mining, with four new countries pledging their support this week, bringing the total to 37 countries.

Less than 3 percent of the ocean is currently fully protected from “extractive” activities like commercial fishing and mining, according to the Marine Protection Atlas.

In order to reach the goal, the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, also known as the High Seas Treaty, needs to be enforced with at least 60 countries ratifying it. At the conference, 19 new countries ratified the treaty, bringing the total to 50 individual countries plus the European Union. Once active, the treaty would provide a pathway toward protecting stretches of the ocean beyond individual countries’ borders.