It's Cook Island Māori Language Week and Mama Piri highlights her favourite collection item – a 1960's Tivaivai. Much more than a decorative textile, this tivaivai tells the story of a family and the strong bond between the makers. Written in both Cook Island Māori and English.
![Mama Piri highlights her favourite collection item – a 1960\u0027s Tivaivai.]()
Mama Piri highlights her favourite collection item – a 1960's Tivaivai.
Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira.
Te karanga nei a Mama Piri, “I toku tae mai anga kite ngutuare pakau takere i Akarana, kua kite atu au ite tivaivai akaariari a Mama Kaitamaki. Ia matou te iti vaine Patipika, matou tikai te iti vaine Kuki Airani, e tua to te Tivaivai. E tua no te reira Taunga e tona kopu tangata. Me putuputu mai matou te Iti Vaine kite au Pange Tivaivai no tetai akakoroanga mei te akaipoipo, ka pou rai e tai mataiti me kare ka roa atu e oti ai ite anga ite mea ka anga ia. I roto i teia pange ka tua matou ia matou rai.”
“I roto i teia au pange ka tui matou ite au tuitui manea. Ko ta matou akaari anga teia i to matou taokotai anga. Ka tu’a matou i to matou marama mate turuturu tetai ki tetai. E tuatau tau katoa teia no te tua ite au kope te kare e tau kia tuatua ia i roto ite ngutuare. Ko te tuatau teia e patipati tauturu e te marama ai matou, tetai ki tetai. Ka koumumu koe ‘ite au mea te tupu nei kia koe e to’ou katoa i to’ou oranga. E tuatau katoa teia no te oronga tauturu kia matou rai mate turuturu atu.
"No reira, kare kote tutu manea ua ote Tivaivai ta kotou e kite ra, ka kite kotou i to matou vaerua. Ko ta matou turu teia ia matou na roto ite kara o te kakau ta matou ka tui. Ka akaari ia mai to matou vaerua tāokotai na roto ite manea, te piri e te unga o ta matou tuitui. Kote akaari anga te reira i to matou vaerua taokotai – mei te tuitui anga o te unga kakau e manga nui kia riro mai e tivaivai.
"Ite au Pange Tivaivai e Taunga tetai, nana e akateretere ite au angaanga katoa ta matou ka rave. Ka rave matou i tana au akaue anga. Tei reira Pange e tona Taunga, te reira Pange e tona Taunga. Tetai aronga ka anoano ratou i tetai au vaito no te kara o te pange, te vaito tiare no te mataora o te tua te ka akaari ia mai i roto i te reira vaito.
![Close up of the Tivaevae.]()
Close up of the Tivaevae.
Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira.
"E apinga oronga te Tivaivai. Ka oronga ia te reira penei ei akaruru ite kopu tangata kia vai taokotai e kia piri ua rai te kopu tangata. I tetai akara anga ka oronga te metua vaine ite Tivaivai ki tana tamariki ei akamatutu ite pirianga o tana anau. E anga katoa ia na te Tivaivai no te papetito, me kare ei akaari anga ite tuatau tumatetenga o te kopu tangata.
”Kote tu teia o te Tivaivai kia matou. Ei akaruru i ta matou peu, ite akaari anga i to matou parau i ta matou tivaivai e tetai atu au peu."
English translation
When I first came to the Museum, I spotted Mrs Kaitamaki’s Tivaivai on the wall. For us Pacific women, in particular from the Cook Islands, Tivaivai is a story. It's a story about the family itself. When women come together to make a Tivaivai for a special occasion, such as a wedding, it can take a year or more to make. And during this time we share.
We sit together hand stitching the finest hand stiches. This symbolises our connection as one community, one people staying close together. While we sit together, we learn from each other and we support one another. It is always special to us, because family issues are not widely spoken. But this is a time each woman can whisper about their own issues they are facing. And it is a time that we share and embrace each other, and we acknowledge that ‘you my friend are having that problem...so what can I do to help you'? It is done around the patchwork, around the Tivaivai making.
So it is not only the beautiful pattern that you see, it is also in our hearts. And we support each other with the colours and the patchwork that we sew. The finer it is sewn, the tighter the group is. It symbolises how we are one – as the Tivaivai is all bits and pieces, yet it is all sewn together into one.
We have a Tahunga, a woman who coordinates the whole Tivaivai. We follow her instructions on how she would have it done. Different families might have their own patterns. Some use more general patterns or details they like – a particular background or flowers to symbolise happiness.
Tivaivai are made as a gift. They are given to remind the person that ‘we are your family, we are here and we want you to stay close to the family.’ The mother passes it down to her children in the hope they will stay close with the family. They are also made for christenings or displayed at funerals.
This is what Tivaivai is to us. Keeping the culture together and keeping the values we have around our culture, and we express it through our Tivaivai, our artwork.
Further reading
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Post by: Piritupuna Marearai
Mama Piri (Piritupuna Marearai) is a Guest Educator Pacific for Auckland Museum. She leads onsite and outreach learning programmes for the Museum, and teaches Cook Island Māori language classes for Mānukau Institute of Technology.
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