My crown is wild. She does not apologize for taking up more room. She has not been pruned or plucked in 5 years since my entry into these walls of learning. She has seen me through it all. It is her time  to release, to heal, to change.   

 

ia tatalaina, ia fa’amalolo, ia suiga is a ceremonial ritual created based on intuitive activation, indigenous Sāmoan beliefs and is kaupapa led. Every decision made has an important significance and reason. The act of shedding my hair is a reclamation to pre missionary Sāmoa when women would wear their hair shaved or short. By doing this at the time of Atoa le masina, known as the full moon, becomes a time of spiritual harvest, transformation and renewal for new beginnings. This is a representation of shedding the oppressions, boundaries and hurt that has impacted my life.   

 

Anapogi is a form of Sāmoan meditation that involves isolation and fasting of food, sex and worldly distractions so that the person can contemplate the harmonies to gain spiritual insights. These insights and ancestral encounters are called Moe manatunatu. This ancestral guidance, healing and 12pm - 12am fasting was implemented during the lead up and throughout the releasing of my hair.   

 

The physical and spiritual parts of this activation are attempts at healing the pain of colonisation that both my ancestors and I have inherited. This event acts as healing for the guests who have been there with me through my trials and triumphs. It hopes to heal the future, changing the dominant cultural structures, to counter-balance and create alternative ways of operating in this patriarchal world.

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