Ruby Satele re-storing ancestors the Indigenous Way! November 2024.

As part of the ERC-funded GloCo project, our PhD student Ruby Satele visited the ancestral remains of the Sāmoa in the collections of Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (23.10.2024) and the GRASSI Museum für Angewandte Kunst (25.10.2024) in Germany.

She tells us a little more about this visit:
‘Ancestral remains are central to my research into care and repair from a pluralist Sāmoa perspective. These personal visits to ancestral remains allow not only research, but also the sharing of space and time with ancestors through 'lotu' (prayer), 'talanoa' (a form of dialogue) and 'pese' (song and music). With the agreement of the person in charge, I personally improved any accommodation of the remains that I wished to enhance. The ancestral remains were ‘teu’ (an integral part of the Sāmoan custom of showing the utmost respect and love to the deceased) by laying white lace over the remains and giving each person handmade ‘ula’ or neck garlands in their packing units. The white and black of the ‘ula’ signify purity, the heavens (white) and the sacred and life (black). I was delighted to be able to share this experience with my colleagues in each institution, knowing that they would also gain insight into important cultural practices. ’

As part of her research, Ruby Satele invites members of the Moana Pacific community to contact her for more information: ruby.satele@univie.ac.at