Welcome to
Māfana
Images by Sudhir & Ghananta Duppati
About
Fua Creative and CreativeNZ introduces
Marlborough's first Pacific Theatre Production
Māfana is a Tongan term that can mean heartwarming or emotionally heartfelt. The idea was to ignite the māfana of Pacific Islanders to understand their culture and foster positive relationships within the community. The Performing arts was the platform to do that.
The play was written and directed by Vita Vaka, who adapted his skills in Holistic & Mental Well-being, Performing Arts and Pacific Culture to construct the Māfana script. The play not only relates to Pacific Islanders but also incorporates themes reflecting social issues of today. Vita's expertise in Drama & Music/Songwriting combined with Nicole's expertise in Dance, they captured the attention of a diverse audience using key themes that relate to all ages.
The Story
"Creatively evocative with intentional outcomes for Pacific Youth in mind" - Sana Daunauada (Marlborough Pacific Trust)
'Māfana' is a dynamic story that follows the story of two New Zealand born Pacific young people as they embark on a journey to the fantasy world of Polynesia where they discover their identity - The key to ignite the decaying culture. The story is told through an exciting variety of drama and Pacific music and dance.
The casts consists of local Marlborough youth, encouraging them to embrace and celebrate who they are within the community. It was significant for Marlborough because with Pasifika being a minority there is a high likelihood of our young Pasifika loosing their cultural language and identity. Māfana was about stirring up this passion for Pasifika culture in our young people through the Arts.
Māfana helped the Pacific Community to get involved and consider the importance of having their voice being heard. Our Young Pacific entertainers felt important in the region and enjoyed every moment of having the support of their local community. This opened up opportunities for their schools to proliferate the percentage of Pacific Youth gaining their NCEA achievement standard by showcasing their Pacific Arts.
Terian T
"Even though I am Micronesian,being a part of Māfana has taught me to think about the sacrifice my ancestors made in the past to help me stand where I am right now."
Sarah L
"Māfana has given me the confidence to embrace my culture freely and to be proud of who I am."
Sisilia T
"Being a part of Māfana made me feel that my culture is important and it has a worth to be celebrated."
Sio T
"Māfana taught me the meaning behind the pacific dances and movement. I didn't know the Sāsa dance and the Kailao dance had meaning behind it."
Audience Insights
Lasike K
Pacific Community Leader
"I’m not just Māfana (heart-warmth), I’m Vela! (hot). It was great the other night, tōatu!!"
Alice W
"It was an amazing production! Blenheim hasn’t seen anything like it before and I know it is only the beginning of a wonderful journey"
Michael W
"Congratulations on your wonderful performance you and your team put on – so much energy and passion and the quality of the performance was outstanding"
Deputy Principal
Blenheim Musical Theatre
Sia A
Teacher
"I truly felt I was home again, surrounded by what makes us truly māfana in our cultural identity. It was such an overwhelming sense of pride"
Selena
"WOW! The show was spectacular in every way and we loved every minute. What a talented group of young people – superbly directed. The energy and aroha in the room was great to be part of"
Christianna S
"We were so impressed with their performance on Saturday. it brought me to tears to see those students thrive on stage"
Teacher
REAP Marlborough
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