Pacific Perspectives on ChildRearing and Socialisation
Victoria University
School of Psychology
10 August 2007
Taimalieutu Kiwi Tamasese
The Family Centre
PO Box 31050
Lower Hutt
Aotearoa New Zealand
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
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• 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
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• 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
The Family Centre, PO Box 31050, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
1950s and 1960s
PACIFIC 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.
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1970s
ECONOMIC 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
The Family Centre, PO Box 31050, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
1980’s and 1990s
STRUCTURAL 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 restructuring 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
The Family Centre, PO Box 31050, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
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
The Family Centre, PO Box 31050, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
O ALO MA FANAU O POUTU O AIGA
MO LE LUMANAI
Aiga
Faasinomaga - Identity including Land and
Language
Tupuaga - Genealogy - Lineage of Belonging
Tofiga - Heritage and Responsibilities
Itu Lua
Itu Faleagaga
The Family Centre, PO Box 31050, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
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.
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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 Aiga
Goals of Child Rearing
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tomai
Agavaa
Anava o aiga
Silasila mamao
Silasila lata mai
Silasila ise ‘ai
Skills
Abilities
Heritage of families
Vision
Nearer sights
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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”.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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 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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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