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Story: Tongans

Photographs by Emily Mafile‘o

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Photographs by Emily Mafile‘o

A young Tongan artist who is using a modern medium is the Ōtara photographer, Emily Mafile‘o. She photographs her own people from a Tongan perspective – a different approach from the European viewpoint in many existing photographs of Tongans.

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by Emily Mafile‘o

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How to cite this page

Melenaite Taumoefolau, Tongans – Pacific Islands identity, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/3959/photographs-by-emily-mafileo (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Melenaite Taumoefolau, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 July 2024.