A Chief's Children's Book Weaves Fa'amatai And Proverbs

Saturday, 7 June 2025, 4:52 pm
Article: RNZ

Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai, RNZ Pacific Journalist

While many childrens books are written in Samoan, Alagā'upu Fa'asamoa ma Uiga mo Tamaiti may be the first to bring fa'amatai (the chiefly system) and traditional proverbs into a story made for young readers.

Authored by a renowned teacher and language and cultural expert in Aotearoa, Tauanu'u Perenise Tapu Sitagata, the book is written in Gagana Samoa (Samoan language) and English.

The launch was led by his children and grandchildren with support from Auckland Council and Auckland Library.

"I didn't want the children to miss out on the richness of the values," Tauanu'u said.

"Values about church, about family relationships, about brother and sister, about existing together, about helping each other.

"There's one that goes e lele lava le toloa ae maau i le vai - the bird flies, but will always go back to water because it's sustenance and it helps them in everyday life.

"Wherever we go, we always come back to our families. It is our home, and it is where we learned at an early age, and it is where we learned all the values that we have in life. So that's why those are the cornerstones of Samoan language and culture - the family, the church, the parents, relationship between people, respect. Try to capture in these sayings and these proverbs."

The book is brought to life by vibrant illustrations that mirror village life. "I was familiar with the words - the pictures really enhanced what the words were saying," the author explained.

"The skill of the artist is they asked me, 'What do you want to show in the pictures?' and I think the artist created something even more.

"We go back to the visuals of our path; the visuals of the family sitting around; the visuals of the parents talking to the children; the visuals of the church in the background where everyone goes."

Initially, the author said he viewed the project as "just another book," but soon realised there was little available for younger generations.

"Now it comes to me - my calling is to write for young people, from five to 18 or five to 20 or wherever. It's got to be in both languages, just to expose the richness of our language to our young people."

Tauanu'u stressed that while many Samoan youth are growing up in Aotearoa New Zealand, they still see traditional values.

"They still see the care and love of the parents. They still see the strictness that goes with, 'You are important. You're going to go to church and keep an upright life. You're going to go to school and you're going to learn, nothing else'.

"Sometimes young people don't go to church and they question the relevance. But somewhere along life, there's an experience will bring you back to the anchoring of your life - the support network of family, the support network of faith.

"Maybe we put too much emphasis on a nice house, a nice car. But some of the greatest people live in very simple houses. And everyone goes there because they get a laugh, they get food."

Oratia Publishing representative Peter Dowling said while this was a project that communicates Samoan values and the traditions, "the morals, the values that are communicated are universal, and that's one of the beautiful things about this book".

"It's a long-cherished dream of ours to have more books and creating more books in different languages that represent the communities of Aotearoa, especially Gagana Samoa and other Pasifika languages where there has been a dearth of resources."

Project lead from the Auckland Libraries Veronica Ligaliga said the first person that came to mind for this book was Tauanu'u.

"This project was an opportunity for us to give back to the community," she told the launch attendees.

"I wanted to create content that will not only honour Tauanu'u's contribution to the success of the debate, but a book that will become part of the local history of Tāmaki Makaurau.

"It's about creating connected communities from inside out. Auckland Council libraries is committed to increasing the representation of Pasifika languages and cultures in their collections, and this project is just another one of them."

Students were also present to support Tauanu'u, where they performed traditional siva Samoa..

One student they were grateful that they got to experience this alongside him, while another said they were happy to see him finally acknowledged and on a big stage too.

Samoa Language Week finishes on Saturday.

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