Pacific cultures books

Browse the collections from the Society Islands

Browse the collections from the Cook Islands

Tatau: Tatau Sāmoa

Explore the history of Sāmoan tatau (tattoo), watch interviews with people talking about what their tatau means to them, and discover objects and photographs within our collections.

Tokelau

Tokelau is in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawai‘i and Aotearoa New Zealand. Find out more about Tokelau through videos, blogs, and an activity book.

Niue

Discover some of our Niuean stories about our communities and collections from kahoa hihi to katoua, tiputa to titi, the coral atoll to coconut, and more.

Tonga

Tonga, officially known as the Kingdom of Tonga, and also known as ‘The Friendly Islands’, is a group of islands in the South Pacific. It is currently the only Pacific country with a constitutional monarchy. Read stories and view our collections in connection to Tonga and the people of Tonga.

Fiji

Fiji comprises over 800 islands and the official language is English, though most speak Bauan or Hindustani. Find out more about Fiji through our collections, videos, blogs, and a Fijian language activity book.

Sāmoa

Explore some of our Sāmoan stories about our collections from Apia to Auckland, tatau to travelling umu boxes, headdresses to hip hop, and more.

George Crummer: Picturing the Cook Islands

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries George Crummer built up a business taking pictures of Cook Islanders and general scene photographs in Rarotonga, Aituaki, and Mangaia.

Cricket, Pacific style

Pacific peoples picked up cricket from British colonial settlers and quickly developed their own versions of the game. Indigenous forms of cricket are now played by Pacific communities across the world.

Watch: Cook Islands Tīvaevae, stitched with love

Discover the art of tīvaevae (quilting) with Cook Islands women from the Wellington region.