Joe Naufahu at the 'Game of Thrones' Season 6 Premier
Joe Naufahu at the Season 6 Premiere of "Game of Thrones" check out Joe Nafahu hosting Fresh Saturday 23rd of April 10am on TV2.
Fifth Harmony at Wrestlemania 2016
Check out the girls of Fifth Harmony and their amazing rendition of America the Beautiful at this year's Wrestlemania!
Humans Of The Islands - Nastajia Bourke
Nastajia Bourke
Tongan / Irish
Sommelier
35 yrs,
#TalkingKrit - Hurricanes and All Black Victor Vito
Check out the uso Krit Faanene Schmidt in #TalkingKrit where he catches up with Hurricanes and All Black player Victor Vito!
The usos catch up on life - from moving to France to the New Zealand flag and everything in between.
Humans Of The Islands - Jaukae Kamel
Florence Jaukae Kamel
Bilum Fibre Artist
Goroka, Papua New Guinea
I am Florence Jaukae Kamel, I was born and raised in Goroka. I am a single mum with five children and I have 3 grandchildren.
My mother taught me how to weave and I started weaving when I was a small girl, like 6 or 7 years old. But I didn't take it very seriously. Then one day I was looking through an encyclopedia and I saw the carpet snake and I thought 'I really like those colours'. The carpet snake had a zigzag pattern which is more like the K K design we have here in some of the bilums in PNG. I thought, 'that will look nice for a small dress'. My ancestors have been using the bilum as a baby carrier and food carrier and also as a container craft.
I wanted to be different and I started making bilum dress/outfits. I come from a small town and whenever somebody is getting a haircut everyone will want to do the same.…more
Minnesota Research Shows Potency of Kava Against Lung Cancer
Sometimes the most simple and elegant solution to a problem has actually been known for a very long time. We saw an example of this last year in the University of Minnesota’s pancreatic cancer drug, derived from the traditional Chinese tea ingredient known as the Thunder God Vine. This year, University of Minnesota researchers explore another ancient plant’s capacity to solve modern-day problems.
Source: Biotech Calendar
The plant in question is formally named Piper methysticum, though many know it as kava. Kava roots are a common ingredient in traditional beverages on the islands of the South Pacific like Vanuatu, Fiji, and Western Samoa. Kava has been linked previously to the prevention and treatment of lung cancer, and with good reason: although smoking rates in the South Pacific islands are comparable to those of the United States, lung cancer rates are 90 to 95 percent lower in the islands.
(Ground kava root, ready to be mixed with water to create a traditional South Pacific beverage.…more
Island Life in Niue: An Expat's Perspective
Shanny Matterson, the freelance travel writer and creative copywriting guru from Rebel and Roam – a primary school teacher – has had adventure tattooed on her heart since as long as she can remember.
Meet Shannon and hear her perspective on life as an expat in Niue.
Tell me about island life. How does living in Niue fair to home in Queensland?
Life in Niue is – pardon my language – pretty f***ing rad.
Niue is a tiny island in the Polynesian Pacific region, with only about 1,200 people living on the island fulltime.…more
From Tonga to New York!
Two Te Wānanga o Aotearoa arts graduates are about to pack their bags for a taste of the Big Apple.
Source: Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
Visesio and Serene, who leave in March, are among the first graduates from He Waka Hiringa, the Master of Applied Indigenous Knowledge programme run by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa at Mangakōtukutuku in Hamilton.
Their collaborative piece – a 4.4m by 18m tapa cloth work titled Onotu’ofe’uli – Onotu’ofekula - was a labour of love more than two years in the making that included a stint at Visesio’s village in Tonga.
The enormous work, which had to be cut in half in Tonga so it could be brought on board a plane back to New Zealand, consists of 23 different stencil designs.
Humans Of The Islands - Uria George-Temanu
Uria George-Temanu
Flight Instructor, part-time dance tutor
Cook Islander, 33-years-old
What are you currently doing?
Currently I’m working at Ardmore Flying School as a Flight Instructor and Ground School Coordinator. I have just come back into the field from maternity leave so will need to get my renewal done before I start flying again. In the meantime, I am teaching classes and organising ground school.
Can you tell me about your background?
I was born in Aitutaki in the Cook Islands - my mother is Atiu/Mangaian and my father Aitutakian/Norwegian. We moved to Auckland in the early 90’s where I grew up with my 6 siblings. I loved my childhood - we had the freedom to do what children do and my parents allowed us to experiment life. I remember when my sister and I were in primary school, and our parents were at work during the weekends, we would catch the bus into the city and go to the movies, go to the mall, play sport. We were independent.…more
Blinged out Tongan Kiekie blends culture with fashion
The wearing of fine mats and woven material that make up a Ta'ovala and Kiekie is often what has distinguished Tongan dress from that of its Pacific neighbours.
Originally made using plant fibres, the longstanding cultural tradition is a sign of respect and symbolizes the binding of Tonga (by tieing the land around one's waist) to a person, wherever they go.
But the inspiration behind the embellished 'Kiekie's of Kanumez designs, which are crafted and designed by Mele Tonga Tamanilo, were first inspired by the picture of a gladiator dress.
"I saw this picture of a girl wearing something like a Gladiator dress and it resembled a kiekie in a way," said Mele
"I thought, 'this is exactly what I want to do'."
Having been taught how to weave by her grandmother, she then spent her school years in Tonga and Fiji developing the traditional weaving and craftmaking skills.
Learning how to make a Ta'ovala (mat around the waist) and Kato Alu (decorated basket) was a part of the school curriculum at Tonga's Queen Salote College, where she attended.…more