Tamamanu: Learning why we came to Tokelau…as we prepare to make the journey home!

When we decided to take a family adventure and come and live in Tokelau, people back home would often ask us why we would choose this type of destination as a family adventure – somewhere so remote, isolated, and small and so unlike anything we know or are used to. Whenever we got asked this question we often found it hard to give answers that made sense to people – and I think usually we failed at that – partly because I don’t think we really knew ourselves exactly why? We didn’t even know how long we were coming for, just that we wanted to make sure we had a really good taste of the Tokelau way of life.
We had a whole lot of ideas about what we might learn and experience, but we didn’t really know if they made sense to us or anyone else. Really the only thing that felt certain as we set out on this adventure is that almost everything was uncertain. But I think we also had a sense that this was an adventure that Jesus was calling us on – not knowing the exact reason or purpose, not knowing how we would cope, having to trust that this was an adventure worth risking the unknown for.
Over the last couple of months here, I think we have begun to be able to answer the question “Why did we come to Tokelau”. This has also come at a time when we have felt the time is right for our family to make the return journey home to New Zealand.
Tokelau is a truly remarkable, special and unique place. I’m sure there’s no place like it in all the world and we count ourselves deeply blessed to have called this place our home over the last six months. It’s been an experience full of wonder, beauty and daily swimming in a lagoon which is nothing less than a tropical paradise! People here have looked after us in so many ways, from giving us fish (many many beautiful tasty fresh fish) and other foods, taken us places on their boats, taught us some of the local skills and ways of life and so many other things. At times we’ve experienced overwhelming hospitality and generosity.
And alongside the wonder and generosity we’ve experienced in this place, we’ve also found our time here to be one of the most challenging and difficult experience of our family life. Many people probably find it hard to imagine living on a beautiful tropical atoll as anything but idyllic and will be surprised that we’ve found it difficult. We put it mostly down to the feeling of “otherness” that we have encountered for the first time, a feeling that we know for many people is not a new experience. Indeed we’ve met many people here in Tokelau who have described the same feelings and experience when they first went to New Zealand.
It’s not that there’s anything specifically wrong. It’s not because Tokelau is not a wonderful place. It is because this is not home for us. It’s a place outside of our comfort zone where the language, lifestyle, schooling, food, freedoms, culture and so on are all foreign to our understanding. We’ve been caught off guard by how homesick we’ve all felt. And by how difficult it is to experience “otherness” (and to feel this even when everyone is working so hard to love and care for us). We’ve realised how blessed our life in Cannons Creek, NZ is. We’ve become a lot more grateful for that. Many of our friends and neighbours back home have been on our minds a lot as we’ve appreciated in a new way just how challenging their life in NZ is because they experience this “otherness” for one reason or another.

In Tokelau they have a name for people like us, people experiencing “otherness”. They call us the Tamamanu. Literally the small bird. The flightless one. Perhaps fallen from their nest. Or blown in by a storm. Injured, or forgotten. The tamamanu have a very special place in Tokelau culture. We have met so many Tokelau people that take immense pride in this treasured cultural value and practice of looking out for and caring for the tamamanu among them. We have experienced this. In fact we’ve survived here for six months mainly because people (both those whose names have been mentioned in our blog and many many others) have known us as tamamanu, and have cared for and loved us. This idea of Tamamanu is a profound treasure of Tokelau. We as a family are forever touched by it, and changed because of the experience of it.
It struck me clearly one night chatting to a neighbour down at the edge of the lagoon as the sun was setting. We were talking about the idea and practice of Tamamanu and our experience of it, and I realised that this was what we came here for. To learn something of what it is to be tamamanu. To receive love and care that we couldn’t return, from generous Tokelau friends and neighbours. And most importantly to hopefully be equipped as a family to take up the practice of this Tokelau way when it comes to tamamanu that we encounter in our daily lives back home in NZ.

 

Some things you might not know about Tokelau...

• It is the 3^rd smallest country in the world, after the Pitcairn Islands and Vatican City

• The population of Tokelau is under 1500 people across all three atolls

• Fakaofo where we live has a population of 450 approx.

• You could say that Porirua where we live is the “capital city” of Tokelau with over 1500 Tokelauans.

• The highest point above sea level is only 5 metres!

• The only way to or from Tokelau is by boat-over 500km from Samoa the closest country, it is possibly the most isolated country in the world.

• On Fakaofo there is one shop - like a store at a camp ground.

• The only mammals apart from humans that live here are cats (Feral), pigs and mice/rats

• The lowest temperature we have had in our time here in the shade (at night) has been 26.8 degrees; the hottest again in the shade has been 36 degrees. The heat in the sun gets well above 40 degrees most days

• All our water supply is from rainwater collected off the roof into tanks built into the foundation of the house.

• With fish as the staple food here (literally breakfast, lunch and dinner!) the lagoon and ocean is the main source of food.

• Communication with the outside world is limited-.- for example the internet and international phone lines are down and have been for two days (and counting) There is no way to contact the outside world, apart from a satellite phone that can reach Samoa.

• Mail takes 4-9 weeks from NZ to get here

• A lot of the country is stunningly beautiful and untouched by humans

• It is the first country in the world to be completely Solar powered.

• A cell tower is currently being built to provide cell-phone telecommunication for the first time.

• There is no postal address as such because of the small population, a name and the atoll the person is living on is enough.

• Women are not allowed to buy alcohol, men are allowed 3 bottles a day.

• Cigarettes are only $6 a packet- 20’s, a significant majority of adults here smoke.  

• Tokelau is the 1^st country in the world to fully ban fizzy drinks! They received W.H.O award for this achievement.

• Tokelau along with Tuvalu and Kiribati are the Pacific countries most likely to become uninhabitable by climate change within the next 50 years. The sea would only need to rise 1 meter to make life here virtually impossible

Living in one of the most equal countries in the world

In New Zealand the issue of ‘inequality’ has become an increasingly common point of conversation and concern as the rich just keep getting richer and the poor survive on a subconscious awareness of how much ‘less’ they are. It’s an ugly problem with downright evil consequences for communities, both communities of rich, and communities of poor – for they barely ever exist in the one place anymore in New Zealand.

Tokelau by contrast is from my reckoning probably the most (materially, economically and income) equal country in the world. Admittedly it is the world’s smallest economy, and it’s also a very small place with a total population of less than 1,500 people in all three atolls, making it the third least populated country in the world (after Pitcairn and Vatican City).

There’s also no doubt that inequality exists in Tokelau and has grown over the last 30 years as it has everywhere, but because of some of the closely held cultural practises and values of Tokelau culture it’s been kept very much in check – such that for the most part people’s economic wellbeing remains very much equal compared to the extremes of inequality emerging almost everywhere else in the world.

Interestingly (and tellingly) it’s not possible to buy and sell land or property in Tokelau. Land is held in perpetuity by family group. As a result, it’s not possible for any one person to accumulate greater and greater portions of property in Tokelau, limited as they are by what has always for generations been held in the kaiga (extended family groupings that make up the whole). One of the striking things about Tokelau from my palagi perspective is just how simple all the homes are. There’s no way to tell from looking at the various homes – who is wealthy and who is not. Almost all of them are small, open, minimally furnished lack the abundance of possessions and consumables that are normal in a kiwi household. I was profoundly struck by this one day when we were unloading the ship from Apia of all the goods that had arrived. On that day one of the more unusual pieces of cargo were a couple of 2 seater sofas. They were very modest cloth and foam based things such that even lower income people like us might look past them in favour of something else – but still something not really seen in Tokelau from my limited experience. It turned out that they were a new acquisition of the recently appointed Ulu – the Head of Tokelau. These sofas were loaded onto the truck and we took them through the village to the Ulu’s home. Two things were particularly striking about this experience for me. One was the realisation that I could never have guessed that one of Tokelau’s most important figures lived in this house as distinct from any other house in the village – in fact at only one story high and painted bright pink it looks even plainer than some of the other homes. In my Kiwi/palagi shaped view where someone’s home generally amounts to something of a status symbol this unexpectedly unpretentious home stuck out to me. The experience was further underlined by observing an amusing interaction, which being spoken in Tokeluan I understood none of the words exchanged, but perhaps the message was communicated all the more explicitly. As the Ulu’s daughter came to the front door of the house looking perplexed, even exasperated at the new household furniture, as if to say “What on earth are we going to do with those, and where on earth are we going to put them???!!!” With some toing and froing of conversation and chuckles from my fellow delivery men – the sofas were squeezed through the narrow front door and into the pretty much one room house.

Another feature of the equality landscape of Tokelau is that of income distribution. Firstly one of the wonderful things about Tokelau is that unlike most other Pacific nations, people here are blessed with what effectively amounts to a universal citizen payment, where an income is received both by men and women, which is supplemented with child payments according to the number of children. I use the term citizen payment, because it’s not an unemployment benefit of any kind, and it comes with significant “citizen”/cultural expectations including various types of men’s and women’s work such that pretty much everyone has a role in the community. This means that combined with the abundance of fish and coconut as staple foods that are freely accessible to anyone – no one is ever faced with hunger in Tokelau, something which sadly is all too common in our own neighbourhoods in NZ and similar countries around the world that also have significantly more economic wealth than Tokelau. There are also minority of people in Fakaofo who have a specific job title for which they are additionally remunerated. In relative terms the incomes are very modest and not so significantly larger than the base income. In the village context the effect of this additional income is also significantly dissipated by the deeply ingrained practises of generosity and caring for one and other. This happens both in very direct ways where those with more disposable income pay directly for things for others, and also where their valued resources such as vehicles or tools etc, effectively become village resources, available for all manner of uses, simply by asking the owner. On top of this there are additional ‘circuit breakers’ in the system to help keep things equal. Probably most important is Inati which I’ve previously blogged about. But there are many smaller examples, such as the fact that every person is allocated only 5 litres of petrol per month. When I asked why this was, I was informed that it was because some people have more money, so this is the way it stays fair. Similarly when the prized boxes of apples and oranges arrive on a shipment from Apia – families can only buy a maximum of 10 pieces of each – again so that it remains fair.

Finally and perhaps most importantly is something that is both a contributor to creating an equal society as well as a consequence of the existence equality which is the way that life is shared together in every way. Perhaps the most striking example of this in my mind is the way that strawberry or grape Tang (the local form of Raro cordial) is served and consumed to everyone in disposable plastic cups no matter who they are. The elders, the workers, the Pulenuku (Mayor) and Ulu (Head of Tokelau), everyone joins together for this very modest drink – and all the while I’m trying to imagine John Key or other leaders or important people in my country ever drinking grape flavoured cordial! I must say, I don’t like grape cordial, but I do love the way that everyone joins in and drinks from the same large cooler. It strongly represents the closeness and inter-connectedness of people here.

I totally recognise that the absence of significant inequality in Tokelau is something that is primarily enabled by how small this place is. However that definitely doesn’t make it any less precious and worth fiercely protecting. I would also posture that we in New Zealand and other western countries have something to learn from and emulate in these three characteristics of Tokelau.

1. Fostering policies and practises that ensure our homes and housing are not characterised by such extremes both in terms of unequal ownership share and also the immense chasm between poor and rich houses (for example our houses in Cannons Creek versus the large modern homes in the new nearby suburb of Aotea)
2. Creating circuit breakers in our economic and consumption system that support fair access – especially to scarce or essential resources.
3.  And finally and most importantly - continually looking for ways to make sure that our Prime minister and richest people in our society regularly share “Grape Tang” with the very least and overlooked in our society.

I wonder what effect these three things could have in New Zealand. I’m certainly grateful for the opportunity to spend this time in Tokelau where we have observed a different way at close quarters.

July Photos and Fun on the 1st day of holidays......

Rainy's latest thing...Toe sucking-Yuck!!

All clean and nit combed:) My boy with Curls all tied back:)

Teenager... Ru turns 13!

Afternoon tea-Yummy birthday treats!

Whole bunch of Shells and Coral we have collected....but sadly can't bring home:(

Nga and her special friend Luti, posing up a storm!!

Girls

Ez on his special trip fishing in the Ocean...meant to be 14 but got treated, only boys allowed.

Ez with his Rainbow Runner that he caught out in the Pacific!!

Rainys favourite past time....Grizzling tantrums...up to an hour some mornings!!

Ez's epic T-Rex, Thanks Uncle Mark and Aunty Abi:)

Beautiful walk to the pigs- 5min from home.

Coconut tree canopy.

Pigs:)

Solar panels that power the Atoll- just behind where we live.

Cockroaches-dead!! They are too fast to catch on film alive...but big flying ones!

Island Sunrise

Beach we swim at most often

Nga walking down to Wharf by boating Channel. 1st day of Holidays.

Rainy in the digger-He loves these machines.

Boating Channel out to the ocean...was blasted open in the reef with dynamite.

My Mermaid:)

Jumping off boats into the channel.

Mum look at the beautiful Island.....

Climbing out to jump again...Pacific ocean in the background. Stingrays,Sharks ,Turtles,Octopus and fish galore.

Rainy on top of the concrete sacks for the new Cell phone tower going to be built.

On top of the Excavator... We jumped off this beast into the Channel, lots of fun...Rainy was the first to jump!!!! Go my thrill seeker!

Ru ready to jump.


Will post some vid of us jumping once we've edited it:)
Lovely Warm deep water...so safe as !

Nuku fun days!

Thanks to a couple of recent public holidays and also the end of term, there's been some fun around the place after a busy year for the village!

Here's a few pics snapped of the Kilikiti match between rivals New Zealand and Samoa! This was a rematch after New Zealand snatched recently a rare victory and Samoa asked for another challenge. Unfortunately I didn't find out about the first match where the game was apparently played in full uniform!

New Zealand team at the crease in Fale

New church in the background - watch the windows!

Cheerleaders Tokelau style!

Then at the end of the school term was a Tialeniu School fun day to welcome in the holidays. Lots of laughing, and relays for all ages including a favourite to husk the Hua (green drinking coconut), open it, return it to one of the senior teachers to drink/skull and then break open to eat the flesh. Lots of fun!

Here's a few photos

Gathered for 7:30am start in the morning sun!

Teams Green, White, Red and Blue

Ngaremu in the Egg and Spoon relay

Ez in a relay

Musical Chairs for the smaller kids

Everyone looking on!

Oh oh, Tropical Rain called off the event an hour early. As you can see that kids thought that was great!!!

Everyone running about drenched with glee!