Ep. 35: Marks of Identity with Jacob Fitisemanu and ’Inoke Hafoka

This episode features educator and city councilperson Jacob Fitisemanu along with community leader and educator 'Inoke Hafoka. They discuss some of the background to a recent community tatau/tātatau event that took place in Utah. We learn some of the background to the history of Ocean peoples in Utah and move into the beginning of this group’s tatau journeys with tufuga Li'aifaiva before the pandemic took off, which finished two years later once travel restrictions eased. We discuss ideas and concepts of identity and mobility through the desire for continued relevance of tatau/tātatau in a US diaspora context. We confront some common perceptions and the role of going ‘nerd mode’ to learn more and challenge prevailing ideas with more complex and pluralistic understandings. We also engage with the importance of context and the significance of having access in one’s place of residence where community building can occur through collective participation in ancestral ritual events.

Terms: Apisā ('sacred home/house', set apart sleeping quarters or ritual setting), Tapua'i (to set apart, protect, make 'sacred'), Au/Hau (Tattooing chisel comb in Sāmoan/Tongan), Tatau/Tātatau (Sāmoan/Tongan language for tattoo, etymological origin of the word tattoo in English).