Tarisi Vunidilo

Last updated

Tarisi Vunidilo
Born
Suva
CitizenshipFiji
Occupation(s)Archaeologist; curator
Academic background
Alma mater University of Auckland
Theses

Tarisi Vunidilo is a Fijian archaeologist and curator who specialises in indigenous museology and heritage management.

Contents

Biography

Vunidilo was born in Suva, Fiji. [1] Her parents are from the southern Fijian island of Kadavu. [2] She also studied for a degree in Pacific Geography and Sociology at the University of the South Pacific from 1991 to 1994. In 1993 she spent a year at the University of Hawaii as a Cultural Exchange Student. In 1996 she graduated from the Australian National University with a postgraduate diploma in archaeology. [3] After graduation she worked as Head of Archaeology at the Fiji Museum, excavating multiple sites across the islands, including Cikobia-i-Lau. [3] [4]

After emigrating to New Zealand, she graduated in 2006 with a Postgraduate Diploma in Maori and Pacific Development, then in 2010 graduated with a Masters in Anthropology from the University of Waikato in 2010. [3] Her Masters dissertation addressed: 'The Indigeneity of Archaeological Research in Fiji: Issues and Opportunities'. [5] In 2012 she was Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Museums Association. [6] [7] In 2014 she taught the first Marama Ni Viti course for the Pasifika Education Centre, which covered Fijian women and leadership. [8]

In 2016 she graduated from the Centre of Pacific Island Studies at the University of Auckland with a PhD entitled 'iYau Vakaviti-Fijian Treasures, Cultural Rights and Repatriation of the Cultural Materials from International Museums'. [9] [10] The same year Vunidilo worked with Fijian curator and artist Ema Tavola to co-curate The Veiqia Project - an exhibition and engagement programme inspired by veiqia (Fijian female tattoo). [8] The pair worked with several other artists, including: Dulcie Stewart, Donita Hulme, Joana Monolagi, Margaret Aull, and Luisa Tora. [8]

In 2018 she joined the Department of Anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo as assistant professor. In addition to teaching, she is working a project researching Fijian artefacts held at the Bishop Museum. Key to Vunidilo's practise is the encouragement of other indigenous students to study collections from their own cultures and Vunidilo has described how "the face of research is changing. The indigenous voices are now getting stronger and a lot of indigenous people want their voices included in the whole discussion not just to fill in the gaps." [1] She is an expert on Fijian archaeology, pottery and language. [11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vunidilo has created the social media platform Talanoa with Dr T to enable connection between Fiji's primary school children and their heritage. [12]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Islander</span> Person from the Pacific Islands

Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oceania.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lapita culture</span> Neolithic archaeological culture in the Pacific

The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian people and their distinct material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. They are believed to have originated from the northern Philippines, either directly, via the Mariana Islands, or both. They were notable for their distinctive geometric designs on dentate-stamped pottery, which closely resemble the pottery recovered from the Nagsabaran archaeological site in northern Luzon. The Lapita intermarried with the Papuan populations to various degrees, and are the direct ancestors of the Austronesian peoples of Polynesia, eastern Micronesia, and Island Melanesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polynesian Triangle</span> Core area of Polynesia

The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners: Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand (Aotearoa). It is often used as a simple way to define Polynesia.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moturiki</span> Island in Fiji

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiji Museum</span> A museum of Fijian artifacts

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polynesia</span> Subregion of Oceania

Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in common, including language relatedness, cultural practices, and traditional beliefs. In centuries past, they had a strong shared tradition of sailing and using stars to navigate at night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ani O'Neill</span> New Zealand artist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia</span> Ancient expansion of agriculture

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cikobia-i-Ra</span> Fijian island

Cikobia-i-Ra, also Thikombia Island,Tchecombia and Tikobia, is the northernmost island in Fiji and has a primarily limestone geology. As the island is affected by climate change, women there have established the Cikobia Island Development Committee, which supports businesses that donate some profit to sustainability initiatives. The island has some of the earliest evidence for Lapita culture in the Pacific, as well as significant archaeological sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Girmit Museum</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veiqia</span> Fijian female tattoo practice

Veiqia, or Weniqia, is a female tattooing practice from Fiji. Young women received veiqia at puberty, often as part of a lengthy process. The tattoos were applied by older specialist women known as daubati. Natural materials were used for the inks and to make the tools, some of which were reserved for use on high status women. The practice was prohibited under British colonial rule in the nineteenth century, but has undergone revival in the twenty-first century, led by the work of The Veiqia Project. Whilst there is an important archive of veiqia research at the Fiji Museum, western museum collections hold more artefacts relating to the practice.

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References

  1. 1 2 Staff (1 November 2019). "Indigenous archaeologist returns to UH Hilo to inspire students to study Pacific artifacts". UH Hilo Stories. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  2. ↑ Vunidilo, Tarisi (2020). Indigenous iTaukei Worldview (PDF). Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi.
  3. 1 2 3 "Tarisi Vunidilo : Fijian".
  4. ↑ Close, Kirstie (7 November 2019). "Tarisi the Trailblazer: Creating Space for Fijian Women in the Heritage Industry". Medium. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Vunidilo, Tarisi (2010). The Indigeneity of Archaeological Research in Fiji: Issues and Opportunities (Masters thesis). Waikato Research Commons, University of Waikato. hdl:10289/4972.
  6. 1 2 Vunidilo, Tarisi (2012). Feasibility Study Report on World Heritage Sites and Museums (PDF). Pacific Islands Museums Association.
  7. ↑ 옥민. "Pacific Islands Museums Association". ICH Courier. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 "About – The Veiqia Project". 15 September 2020. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "A conversation with Dr. Tarisi Vunidilo".
  10. ↑ Vunidilo, Tarisi (2015). I Yau Vakaviti: Fijian Treasures in International Museums – A Study of Repatriation, Ownership and Cultural Rights (Doctoral thesis). ResearchSpace@Auckland, University of Auckland. hdl:2292/34863.
  11. ↑ "PHA2021 Suva | In Their Own Words". pacifichistoryassoc. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Halter, Nicholas (1 October 2020). "Teaching and Technology at the University of the South Pacific" (PDF). The Journal of Pacific History. 55 (4): 537–547. doi: 10.1080/00223344.2020.1808451 . ISSN   0022-3344. S2CID   224993020.
  13. ↑ "Cultural Treasures | A Youth Empowerment Programme to build relationships between Pasifika students, their families, and academic staff". ako.ac.nz. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  14. ↑ Cameron, Fiona; Neilson, Brett (5 December 2014). Climate Change and Museum Futures. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-135-01353-0.
  15. ↑ Clark, Geoffrey Richard; Anderson, Atholl; Vunidilo, Tarisi (2001). The Archaeology of Lapita Dispersal in Oceania: Papers from the Fourth Lapita Conference, June 2000, Canberra, Australia. Pandanus Books. ISBN   978-1-74076-010-2.
  16. ↑ Clark, Geoffrey Richard; Anderson, Atholl; Vunidilo, Tarisi (2001). The Archaeology of Lapita Dispersal in Oceania: Papers from the Fourth Lapita Conference, June 2000, Canberra, Australia. Pandanus Books. ISBN   978-1-74076-010-2.
  17. ↑ SAND, CHRISTOPHE; VALENTIN, FREDERIQUE; BOLÉ, JACQUES; OUETCHO, ANDRÉ; BARET, DAVID; SOROVI-VUNIDILO, TARISI; MATARARABA, SEPETI (2007). "Report and Preliminary Analysis of the First Archaeological Survey of Naqelelevu Atoll, Northeast Fiji". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 116 (4): 407–432. ISSN   0032-4000. JSTOR   20707415.
  18. ↑ "[CERAMICS AND OBSIDIAN IN ISLAND SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA] At the border of Polynesia: archaeological research in the East Fijian islands of Cikobia and Naqelelevu."". Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association. 20 (2000): 107–116.
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