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).