“FROM THESE LANDS” — Enduring Traditions

By Samoa News [email protected] Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The new exhibition “FROM THESE LANDS” at the NMNH Smithsonian Museum seeks to share “our natural cultural heritage” of the Pacific. It speaks of legacies connecting the past, the present and the future. This particular exhibit, Enduring Traditions, was created in collaboration with local artist Regina (Reggie) Meredith Fitiao, who in 2014, with tattoo master Su’a Uilisone Fitiao studied the Smithsonian Museum’s collection of Samoan tapa, ‘siapo’, dated as 19th century cloths. It points out that the techniques and patterns of Pacific Island bark cloth or tapa were almost lost due to colonization, but generations of artists kept the practice alive, the exhibit notes, and states that “today, collaborations between the museum and Indigenous artists continue the tradition, while preserving the past.” “By connecting and documenting these pattern relationships, it enabled us to see more clearly the importance of motifs themselves, as representations of a deeply rich and living heritage that continues to thrive.” — Regina (Reggie) Meredith Fitiao and Su’a Uilisone Fitiao.   [photo courtesy of Reggie & Wil Fitiao]   Editor’s Note: The late renown Master siapo maker Mary Pritchard often spoke of siapo making as a living art, where its breathe, its heartbeat, came from the people who made it — from planting the bark tree, finding the dye sources; to harvesting; to creating and painting siapo; and, to its use. Section: FeaturesTags: Enduring Traditions View the discussion thread.