Cook Island Language Week

It is Cook Island Language Week this week. We started with a beautiful assembly. Henry and Brian were up on the stage taking a lead part. Henry read a prayer in Cook Island Te Reo which was amazing. We were very proud of them.

Thank you to our amazing support staff who put this assembly together. :) 

Each class were asked to create a tivaevae 30cm by 30cm.

Tivaevae - Cook Islands communal art

A MAJOR art form peculiar to the Cook Islands is tivaevae. This is needlework, specifically the making of patchwork quilts by hand. The designs are stunning. These beautiful and intricate works are made by women. They have great intrinsic value and become family heirlooms.
    They are often given as gifts of love and friendship. They supplanted the traditional giving of tapa cloth on ceremonial occasions such as weddings, funerals and hair-cutting. Tivaevae is a communal activity and several women will work on them together. The original idea was introduced by the wives of missionaries from England and nuns from Tahiti who taught embroidery, needlework, sewing and crochet.
    Tivaevae has played an important role in the daily life of Cook Island women. Since it is largely a social activity -- it is nearly always carried out communally -- it has had a major impact on the lives of the many women who practise it.
   Despite its European origin, patterns and techniques have evolved into styles which now belong quite distinctly to the Cooks. The tivaevae reflect the women's surroundings and usually employ designs of flowers, leaves, birds, fish, insects and animals.

We watched this clip about how tivaevae is made. 



Here is our finished tivaevae. We made ours by folding and cutting paper. We love how bright and colourful they look when everyone's small piece of paper is put with lots of others. A little bit like our class... all together we make something colourful, lively and full of love.