BYUH ohana and community members display their artwork at the first BYUH AAPI Art Exhibition
To kick-off of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May on campus, Michael Ligaliga, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Culture, Language & Performing Arts, said, “It’s time to reflect on the migration stories [of the first Asian American and Pacific Islanders] and celebrate their courageous efforts to leave the confidence of their native homes to navigate in unknown political, social, environmental and cultural identities, [starting with] the first documented Asian Americans who arrived in America in 1597.”
The exhibition was organized by Line-Noue Kruse, a Pacific Studies associate editor and coordinator in the Faculty of Culture, Language & Performing Arts, and curated with the help of Jacob Jackson, an associate professor in the Faculty of Arts & Letters. For this exhibition, four Pacific Islander artists Elijah Lemusuifeauali’i, Julius Tafiti, Malositoa Teo Tafiti and ‘Ulise Funaki displayed their cultural works.
Ya Yun Lin, a senior majoring in fine arts from Taiwan, also displayed the work she created for the annual Bachelor’s of Fine Arts exhibition. Lin created her 29 painted differently-sized portraits of women smiling by combining both acrylic and oil paints.
Traditional instruments
Community member Malositoa Teo Tafiti said he started making Polynesian drums three years ago and exhibited two of his recent toere or pake drums, which are slit log drums he made using Pacific rosewood or milo wood. “The milo wood is a red ochre wood, but with time it will turn browner,” he said as he explained the difference in the color of the two toere displayed.
Malositoa Teo Tafiti shared, “I have been drumming at [the Polynesian Cultural Center] since I was younger. So I just figured it [out] all myself, because I know what it’s supposed to sound like [and how it] looks like. So I just did it [and repeated the process].”
Malositoa Teo Tafiti said there are different sizes of drums, such as the lomo that is 70 feet long, or the Cook Island drums. However, he said he chose to make the Tahitian toere because it is commonly featured, especially during Tahitian performances with fast dances.
‘Ulise Funaki, an adjunct lecturer in history, anthropology and Pacific Island Studies, presented four fangufangu, or nose flutes. He said one of them was made by Semisi Fakatava, another one was carved with the legend of Maui and one had symbols from his family village of Fua’amotu, Tonga.
Funaki said he learned how to make a fangufangu from Semisi Fakatava, a worker in the Tongan village at the PCC.
“[A few years ago,] I would volunteer in the Tongan village and take the opportunity to learn more about my Tongan culture. Semisi taught me a lot, showed me how to play the fangufangu and make one,” said Funaki. The fangufangu made by Fakatava served as a model to Funaki as he made his own and continues to play the instrument, he said.
Bamboo is used to make a fangufangu, said Funaki, and the size of the stick is important. He said he spent two to three weeks making the fangufangu with the legend of Maui, which took him the longest to create. “The bamboo stick I used for this fangufangu is very long, so shaping it and sanding it down to have the right look and sound was taking a lot of time. Drawing on it was long as well because it’s a burning drawing [which is also known as pyrography],” said Funaki.
Traditional wear and weaponry
Elijah Lemusuifeauali’i, a BYU–Hawaii alumnus and cultural specialist, displayed a Samoan siapo or tapa cloth he made in two weeks with “a lot of late nights for [an approximate] 100 hours,” he said. He also showcased Samoan necklaces, Fijian hair combs and five of his eight Fijian clubs, which he said took him a year and a half to make altogether.
Lemusuifeauali’i said all of his traditional art displayed was created in the last three years whenever he had time. “I’ve done a lot of studying and talanoa with different people, especially in the Fijian community, like Fijian experts and cultural experts. I was trying to make sure that these [Fijian weaponry and combs] are as authentic as possible,” said Lemusuifeauali’i.
He explained he used the ironwood found here in Hawaii, which is similar to the traditional wood normally used for Fijian clubs.
Lemusuifeauali’i added he watched his grandmother making siapo and experimented with making them by himself.
To make a siapo, Lemusuifeauali’i said he used the bark of a paper mulberry tree that he pounded, glued and assembled together to get the desired thickness, length and width. As for the designs, since the siapo displayed in the exhibition was an order from a lady in New Zealand, he said, “Each of the patterns is very specific to her and her family and what she plans to use it for.”
Lemusuifeauali’i explained the importance of understanding the designs and patterns throughout the Pacific, given their abstract representation. “It’s more of their perspective, the idea of how they see the designs and patterns and what it means to them, [rather than the actual copy of it],” he said.
Some of the patterns on the displayed siapo are the “ali ali au,” or black small triangles for the trochus shells, which represents wealth, status and unity, and a flower for the banana flower, which represents the connection to the land, said Lemusuifeauali’i.
Julius Tafiti, a member of the community, displayed his single and double fireknives. He said, “[My dad] was one of the fireknife makers [in Oahu], so people would order them all the time. Growing up I got to watch him make them and now that he’s older, he kind of let me fill the orders.”
To make a fireknife, Julius Tafiti said takes him three to four hours in total. “I cut the knives with a grinder and shape the blade all by hand,” said Julius Tafiti.