Traditional marks of honour and celebration were seen with increasing frequency at graduation ceremonies in the 2000s. Artist and teacher Senia Eastmure (who is Samoan, born in New Zealand) is shown here at her graduation in 2010. She wears the ula fala (necklace) that belonged to her grandfather Ooiao Samuelu Faiumu, an oratory chief in Taga, Savai'i, who wore it at important ceremonial occasions. Under her academic robe is a puletasi, the formal wear of women in Samoa. On Eastmure's arm is a taulima, a tattooed armband that represents elements of the Samoan environment, bestowed as a rite of passage from teenage years to adulthood.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
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