Garments and objects marking the transition of iTaukei women from childhood to puberty are on display in a powerful exhibition at the Fiji Museum.
Na Cagi Ni Veisau was centred on liku (fibre skirts), which were traditionally presented to women at different stages of their life journey; puberty, marriage and motherhood and maturity.
Na Cagi Ni Veisau marks the 10th anniversary of The Veiqia Project. The exhibition is curated by the collective of Fijian women living in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and the United States, who through art-making exhibitions, research and community engagement, have made space for Fijian women to reconnect with veiqia, the traditional practice of tattooing Fijian women. Before colonisation, a girl’s first menstruation was celebrated by receiving a qia (tattoo), along with her first liku.
The current exhibition has seen members of The Veiqia Project work alongside local weavers to create new liku, which are displayed alongside historical pieces from the Fiji Museum collection. While some of these new liku are woven from traditional fibres, others employ contemporary materials and embellishments.
Opening Na CagiNiVeisau, Fiji Crafts Society President Niqa Tuvuki said this work is a reminder that culture is never still. “Through this exhibition, we honour the creativity of our women, our weavers, our tattooed ancestors, women who carried their stories, their lineage and their pride upon their skin. For nearly a century, the word veiqia was silenced…in 2015 a woman in her 70s shared that she had never heard the word before, and she asked, ‘What else have we lost?’ Indeed, we lost not just the tattooing itself, [but also] the sacred rituals that accompanied it, songs, dances, the gifting of the first liku and the language that once shaped our sense of womanhood and belonging.
“But tonight, ladies and gentlemen, those silent stories speaks again.”
The Veiqia Project member, Dr Tarisi Vunidilo said the exhibition and the work leading up to it were about “celebrations, creativity and continuity. Such a wonderful way to use veiqia as a way to reconnect with our communities, and … for us to remember and never forget the resilience of our Fijian women and also the ability to reconnect with our past
