HERALD WEEKLY ISSUE 570:29 June 2011

The Art of Tivaevae

Down at the Punanga Nui Market, there is a group of ladies who have taken the art of sewing tivaevae to the max. One lady in particular, Tungane Broadbent, is the mother of all tivaevae makers. She was interviewed for a television program called Tivaevae Tales, which is currently being filmed and produced by Shona Pitt. The programmes will be short, two minute features on different women and the stories behind their Tivaevaes.
She told the Herald on Tuesday that when she was a young girl residing on the island of Mangaia, she was in the process of making a tivaevae, with a bold pattern of hibiscus and a baby blue background when she left for New Zealand. It sat in her drawer for 50 odd years and within that time it traveled with her to Canada and Los Angeles. She rediscovered it in the year 2010 and was determined to finish what she started.
From an incomplete sheet to a work of art, Tungane had finally accomplished the task of finishing the tivaevae. She also says that she takes a stroll down memory lane every time she sees it and that it holds sentimental value.

Herald Issue 554 09 March
- Norm exposes Trio of Doom
- Briefs from PM’s media conference Tuesday
- Tourism Industry ponders $5 million draft strategy
- Norman George resigns from Cook Islands Party
- Letter of Resignation from CIP
- Norman selfish says Prime Minister

Copyright 2006 Cook Islands Herald online . All rights reserved.