Rako Pasefika, a collective of Pacific Island artists originating from the island of Rotuma, a dependency of Fiji, is emerging as a powerful force of cultural recovery and creativity in the evolving world of Pacific art.
Using various artistic projects and community initiatives to revitalise traditional arts and cultural education while supporting artists, the creative arts company is working to ensure that the rich traditions and practices of Pacific Islander communities continue to thrive in a modern context.
Engaged in the performing arts, including traditional dance and music, as well as in visual arts and cultural education, their activities include community events, performances, workshops, and educational programs designed to celebrate and maintain the Pacific’s cultural traditions while also engaging with broader audiences.
Co-founder Letila Mitchell said the Rako Pasefika journey began in 2004 after a group of artists from Rotuma returned from the Festival of Pacific Arts in Palau.
“We were very inspired by what we had witnessed in Palau,” says Mitchell. “So, when we came back, we made the decision to form Rako and then in 2011, we set ourselves up as an actual company.
“When we first began, quite a few of our members were part of the Rotuman delegation that was with the Fiji delegation for the Festival of Pacific Arts in Palau,” said Mitchell. “And what we noticed while we were there is how much cultural loss there was in Rotuma, particularly in terms of our creative practice. So, when we came back from Palau, we decided that it was really important for us to create a space for more Rotuman artists so that they could focus on their cultural recovery, trying to revitalise a lot of the practices that we had lost.”
Initial vision
Rako Pasefika’s initial vision was to create a space for Rotuman artists to focus on cultural revitalisation.
“Over the years, a lot of the other small island communities that were living in Fiji, like Banabans, and Tuvaluans who were also losing a lot of their creative practice, started becoming part of Rako as well,” said Mitchell. “And so, we came together to support each other to revitalise a lot of our practices.”
Rako Pasefika is a not-for-profit limited liability but also has charitable trust arms being set up in Fiji and New Zealand that enable ongoing cultural development and community engagement work. Established by Mitchell and Laudan Kotoitubou, the organisation is run by a core team of seven people under a collective leadership model. Three are Fijibased, three are in New Zealand, and one is based in Hawai’i.
Funding comes from multiple sources, including revenue from performances and international touring, the Rako Designs fashion line, and commissioned work and grants. Mitchell said their work on cultural recovery involves a lot of research around lost art practices.
One such recent project was about reviving a Rotuman traditional headdress called a suru, a big, feathered headdress made with feathers from two native birds, the Tavake (Phaethon lepturus) and the Armea (Myzomela chermesina). It was worn by the ruling monarch—the Sau—in ceremonies, dances and war and represents the sun and stars, which were significant elements in Rotuma’s ancient religion.
The last known suru was collected in the 1800s, and are extremely rare, with only three known to be in existence. It is not seen in dances anymore.
“We spent a couple of years researching it,” said Mitchell. “And then late last year, we did a revitalisation project where we went back to Rotuma and worked with elders for a period of time and then remade the suru and revived a lot of the chants around the suru.
“One of the first pieces that we remade is now part of the permanent civic collection at the Australian Museum. And since then, we’ve started reintroducing the headdress back into a lot of the Rotuman youth community so that they can use it again in their dance practice.
“We’ve done that kind of work over the last 10 to 15 years where we have been working with our elders, researching old chants, researching old dances. When we went to the Festival of Pacific Arts in Palau instead of wearing fabric or any modern sort of fibres, we revived the old dance mats.”
Rako Pasefika has also undertaken the task of reviving cultural mats.
“We worked with one of our elders, Emotama Pene and under his guidance, we developed an interpretation of the taktakoi and arumea mats which were worn in ancient times for dance or regular day wear,” says Mitchell. “We also began to develop some forms of tefui lei (unique garlands of Rotuma). We have ongoing projects with practitioners and culture keepers on Rotuma to continue to work on the revival of other adornment. The pieces are cultural adornment, treasures, or storied objects, rather than artefacts which tend to be relics of the past stuck in museums; as for us, they represent an ongoing continued culture.”
Growing artists
Rako Pasefika often supports Pacific artists by providing them with opportunities to develop their work, collaborate with others, and gain visibility in the wider arts community.
“Over the last 15 years, we’ve had about 100 to 200 artists go through Rako,” says Mitchell. “But at any one time, we usually have about 20 artists within the collective. We get young people that come through and they’re with us for three to five years.
“The intention is that we grow artists, we develop them so that they’re strong and confident enough to then carry on with their own careers. We’re probably on our fifth cycle of young people now. So currently, our team of now is about 15 that are spread out throughout Fiji, Rotuma, New Zealand and Sydney.
“Every three to five years is another cycle of young people that come through. They grow their practice and then they move on to their own individual careers or create their own companies. We’ve had some really successful artists that have gone on and done their own thing, which is our aim.
“Our artists are based predominantly in Suva, but we also have artists out in Nadi, Rotuma, Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney, and Hawaii. They are primarily of Rotuman, Niuean, Samoan, Tokelaun, Tuvalu, and Fijian descent. We also have very strong connection with our artists based in Tahiti and Hawaii.”
They tour extensively through Australia and New Zealand, have toured through the United States and Europe, and have a tour planned in Hawaii and Japan next year.
“We’re really trying to develop our work to be able to get into the Europe and Asia markets.”
Current projects
Rako Pasefika premiered a short film, Armea, early this year at the Maoriland Film Festival in New Zealand.
The film is about a bird that’s endemic to Rotuma.
The film is currently touring worldwide and has been in several festivals throughout the US. Armea opens in Hawaii in October and is in a festival in Madrid and in Boston towards the end of the year. Local community screenings will be held in Rotuma and in Fiji later this year.
Rako Pasefika also has two theatre works. One premiered in New Zealand last year and will screen in Fiji early next year.
“We’ve also got a new theatre work in development with an orchestra out of Brisbane and a company out of Sydney,” says Mitchell. “It’s a collaboration between three companies. We’re doing our first workshop in Rotuma and Samoa in October this year.”
From its days of originating out of the Fiji delegation after the Festival of Pacific Arts (FestPAC) in 2004, Rako Pasefika chose to go to this year’s FestPAC in Hawaii on its own as independent artists, spreading its wings at the event where Mitchell and her team worked alongside Nia Tero, a US-based non-profit working in solidarity with indigenous peoples and movements worldwide to support their efforts to protect their territories.
“We’ve worked a lot with them, doing research,” says Mitchell. “And at FestPAC, we were involved with oceans and climate change talks. Rako also performed at a couple of the events.”
Challenges
“With the work that we do, we’re not in the entertainment space as much as we used to be. Because we’ve chosen to do a lot more of the cultural research work, funding is always an issue,” said Mitchell. “There’s not a lot of grant systems for artists in the Pacific. So, it’s always really difficult to fund the work that we do, which is a challenge, but it’s not an obstacle.
“We find ways. We do a lot of revenue generation projects. What we’ve found over the years is that there’s a lot of interest in the urban style of arts practices and not as much interest in the cultural, traditional works anymore.”
Mitchell said it’s always a challenge to try to engage young people in being interested in heritage and language. So, they try to be innovative in the way that they engage with young people.
“We understand that cultures change and where we live changes and young people want to be part of what’s urban and contemporary,” said Mitchell. “So that’s always a challenge, but we don’t make it an obstacle. We just want to make sure that we evolve all the time and create. We try to keep our minds open and also stay really focused on our goal. But the arts are always a challenging space to be a part of.
“It’s never the space where you’re going to get wealthy and rich. One of the difficult things that we’ve found over the years is convincing parents that you can make a living and a good living and a good life in the creative industries.
“I mean, I’m a mom of three kids and I’ve always been an artist, and my kids have travelled the world with my arts. We might not have been the wealthiest of people, but we’ve had the most incredible experiences. They’ve met the most incredible people and they’re rich in experience and they’re grounded in their culture and their language. We eat good food, we have a good home, my kids never go without clothes or go without, you know, without wanting anything.
“All of the artists that have been a part of Rako, they’ve all made a living from Rako. If you work hard and you’re dedicated to your craft and your practice, then you’ll do well.”
