Two Women Two women were pulling Two women were pushing Pulling pushing Pushing pulling You took my husband, you maile. Eat shit Save me, mercy But who could have mercy on a woman who sneaks into a fale like a rumour and steals a man as if he was a pair of jandals? Two women were punching Two women were kicking Punching kicking Kicking punching Like WWF - village styles Who cheer their hero to fight fight fight And blood doesn’t matter. It’s not real. Is it? You can sleep with him at night Bu...

Inner bark imperfections spoil Samoans had no mats Arrives a Fijian dowry Siapo mamanu Siapo ‘upeti Smooth wooden beaters Dyes sapped from trees She was a stately woman Seldom speaking, often inspired I remember watching her Dividing space, placing symbols Rubbing dye from o’a Kolone Fai’ivae Leoso Died in 1970 Awaiting a revival Siapo going cheap Old forgotten designs Repeated and rearranged On textured flat u’a Twelve notes in an octave Make a balanced mosaic A woman makes a cut One continu...

Tentacles climb over over Over over Mary Mary who cannot see Not hear, not feel And not fear Come fe’e, come She calls him Like he is a pig pig pig I see one who is old and grey Grey and fragile Falealupo calling So off he goes to find This old man falling Into death he is lying In a fale embraced by his wife Begging for time time time Crying beneath the graceless moon Sleep overcomes her So Fe’e slips slowly under The old man’s bed Embraces him And loves him And loves him And leaves him dead.

Two women were pulling Two women were pushing Pulling pushing Pushing pulling You took my husband, you maile. Eat shit Save me, mercy But who could have mercy on a woman who sneaks into a fale like a rumour and steals a man as if he was a pair of jandals? Two women were punching Two women were kicking Punching kicking Kicking punching Like WWF - village styles Who cheer their hero to fight fight fight Blood doesn’t matter It's only Hollywood You can sleep with him at night But you can’t stay ...

To properly explore the art of Fatu Feu’u, a little background music may be appropriate. It helps if you take a limited number of tapa motifs; treat them as if they were musical notes in an octave and there you have the makings of multiple melodies and harmonies. And just like the beats in a bar dictating the musical tempo, so too, size and frequency of motifs determine the rhythm in a tapa grid. With the grid providing a stave for composition, Feu’u has not only used and re-used motifs he ha...

It’s 7am. Friday. Before coffee. Before even pulling back the curtains, I’m on the phone. Dialling Michel Tuffery. After several rescheduled interviews courtesy of Michel’s heavy workload, this is our last shot. He answers sounding fresh and lively. I’m wondering if he’s in another time zone. But it’s vintage Tuffery bubbling down the line – dynamic, articulate and enthusiastic. We met in February at the Christchurch Pacific Arts Festival where Michel and his brother, Sheyne, were the main bi...

Two Women Two women were pulling Two women were pushing Pulling pushing Pushing pulling You took my husband, you maile. Eat shit Save me, mercy But who could have mercy on a woman who sneaks into a fale like a rumour and steals a man as if he was a pair of jandals? Two women were punching Two women were kicking Punching kicking Kicking punching Like WWF - village styles Who cheer their hero to fight fight fight And blood doesn’t matter. It’s not real. Is it? You can sleep with him at night Bu...

Tentacles climbed Over over over over Over over over over Mary. Mary who could not see not hear not feel & not fear Come fe’e. Come she called him like he was a pig pig pig I see one who is old – old & grey, grey & fragile. He wants to come to us So fe’e went off to find the old man of Siumu. Old & grey, he was lying in a fale embraced by his wife crying in the dark Slowly fe’e crept under the old man’s bed and when the moon took his wife Fe’e embraced the man & left him & left him & left him...