Copyright Mana Moana Collective
Pacific Voices
E iho ana i luna,
E pi’i ana i lalo,
E hui na moku
E kū ana ka paia.
That which is below will rise.
That which is above will fall.
All the islands will unite
And we will stand, and be fortified.
Ancient chant – Hawaii
Mana Moana – Pacific Voices is a collection of emotive and artistic video works that have been created to amplify and support the Pacific to drive global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Pacific peoples of Oceania are orators and poets with the deepest respect for allusion, nuance and metaphor. We harness poetry “to mean more than we say” as the great Futa Helu observed. We bring our culture of storytelling to COP26 and UNCC with urgency, eloquently speaking to the issues of our region.
This initiative is supported by Aotearoa New Zealand and coordinated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme with support from many Pacific islands people, organisations and communities. These videos have been developed to be screened during the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) COP-26 and other relevant climate change events.
About the ancient chant from Hawaii
This is the prophesy of Kapihe, who lived during the time of Kamehameha the Great in the early 1800s. He foresaw a massive overturning—a significant shift in power— and this chant is as relevant today as it was then.
“These works have been designed to take tupuna - ancestors - and our Oceanic experiences - across the digital and pandemic divides - to arrive at COP26. We navigate vast distances as we always have... harnessing the technology at our fingertips, resourcefully, to make magic.”
Karlo ’Ulu’ave Mila
Poet & Mana Moana - Special curator
Our Ancestors Speak
A powerful short film work that is a call to arms for peoples across the Pacific and globally.
Filmed in multiple locations (including Hawaii, Samoa, Cook Islands) Our Ancestors Speak features real people and voices from across the Pacific.
It brings poetry, oratory, ancient prophecy, indigenous languages of Oceania – knowledge that has been passed down over three thousand years from the largest ocean in the world – and some of the smallest islands – about sustainability, survival, love, and ways of being in the world – to the world – in an evolutionary moment.
Ancient Oceanic wisdom and world views harnessed in service to the most pressing crisis and leadership issue of our times.
Featuring voices from: Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands, Hawaii, Aotearoa, Tonga, Niue, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Guam, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Torres Strait Islands.
Islands Speak
Gifted Pacific poets are joined by indigenous artists to create a visual, moving, digitally enhanced offering in this curated series of poems hand picked by special curator Dr Karlo Mila.
Hopes, dreams, horrors, hurts, all of it embraced in the alchemy of poetry. We bring the beauty of poetry to the lived experiences of those in the region of Oceania.
We have always likened food (kai / ai) to words in our languages. Feast and be nourished by a visually stunning series of animation, art, oratory, and poetry from the Pacific.
Opening Pe'e
Praise Song For Oceania
Calling Tangaroa
I Am Sieni
Mauga
Tau Tama Niue Ma Anoiha
What Does Hineari See
Protect Pasifica
Rest Now, E Papatuanuku
Water Remembers
Mana Moana Pacific Voices Curators
Special Curator
Karlo ’Ulu’ave Mila
Dr Karlo Mila (Tongan / Pākehā) is an award-winning poet, mother, writer, activist and researcher. She is the Programme Director of the Mana Moana Experience at Leadership New Zealand. The kaupapa of this programme is to vitalise and prioritise Pasifika ancestral knowledge in contemporary contexts.
Rachael Rakena
Rachael Rakena (Ngāi Tahu, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Pākehā) coined the term ‘Toi Rerehiko’ to describe and locate her own video/ digital/ electronic-based art practice in terms of continuum, motion, and collaboration. Exhibiting internationally for 20 years and lecturing for 25 years she is an Associate Professor at Whiti o Rehua School of Art, Massey University.
Mike Bridgman
Mike Bridgman (Tonga, Ngāti Pākeha) is a multi-interdisciplinary digital artist and has been working within the digital realm for over 20 years across many different industries including film, theatre, television, print, web, video games, music videos, public installations.
Mike is a lead arts coordinator and technician at Whiti o Rehua School of Art, Massey University.
Credits
Special Curator
Karlo ‘Ulu’ave Mila
Mana Moana Curators
Rachael Rakena
Mike Bridgman
Director (Our Ancestors Speak)
Jess Feast
Producer
Rob Appierdo
Production Managers
Andrew Croot
Ruth Korver
Vanessa Patea
Graphic Design
Baly Gaudin
Kimi Moana Whiting
Music Composition
Laughton Kora, Riki Gooch
Sound Design
Paddy Free
Sound Engineering
Tiki Taane
Made with support from Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts, Massey University
Produced by Storybox
Thanks and acknowledgement to everyone involved in creating these works.
Full credits are at the end of each video