From standard black garments to colourful, floral outfits, here’s what various Pacific nations wear when it comes to celebrating the life of someone who has passed away.
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A few months ago, I attended a funeral of a friend from high school. My circle of friends jumped on our group chat to discuss who was going, transport to the funeral and our monetary offering to the family of the deceased. Then a friend of mine of Cook Islands descent asked, what do we wear to the funeral? She posed the question because the friend who passed away was Tongan, and she knew Tongans have a cultural dress code for funerals.
Television shows and films depicting a funeral nearly always show those in attendance wearing black. Funeral homes often provide attire guides in which the standard suggestion is to go conservative and wear black or dark colours as a sign of respect.
But “just wear black” isn’t always the answer. Some cultures have unique cultural dress codes for funerals, that often don’t necessarily involve dark colours. This is a guide for what to wear, or to be mindful of, when attending a Pacific funeral service. Note: if you do not own any of the listed items, standard black funeral wear is always a safe choice.
Sāmoa
Traditionally, Sāmoan men wear an ie faitaga (traditional skirtlike wrap), white shirt, tie, blazer (or jacket) and leather sandals, while a Sāmoan woman wear a white puletasi (traditional two-piece outfit including a top and long skirt) or muumuu (traditional one-piece dress).
Sāmoan funeral director Ese Tatupu says the idea behind wearing white to a Sāmoan funeral represents the spirit and “God’s will”. “It’s a colour that all religions wear when attending church,” he says.
Tonga
For Tongans, it’s the opposite. They wear black clothes with a ta’ovala (fine mat) wrapped around the waist, held up by a kafa (belt that resembles a rope made out of woven coconut coir or human hair). Pasifika content creator ‘Ofa Makalio has worked at many Tongan funerals as a photographer and has shared a video explaining the different meanings behind the various ta’ovala that Tongans wear to a funeral.
As with western cultures, wearing black signifies that you are in mourning, but in Tonga, “if you are immediate family to the deceased, you would wear black clothes for a longer period post-funeral, from three months to a year or more,” Makalio says. “This rule varies between families, and by wearing black, it tells other Tongans to be mindful of that particular person as they grieve. Many families in Tonga and in western countries are more flexible with this rule, but there are still a good number of Tongans today practising this tradition.”
Tonga is traditionally a matriarchal society, where women hold a higher societal status in their families than men. This is evident in Tongan funerals, where different ta’ovala represent where you sit on the hierarchy in relation to the deceased. “The fahu o e pekia (usually the deceased’s father’s older sister) would wear the ta’ovala faka’ahu, which is the finest ta’ovala that you would wear on special occasions,” says Makalio. “If this fahu is not alive or is unable to attend, she can send one of her children on her behalf or the role would go to the next sister available.
“However, on the flipside, the kau liongi (usually the deceased’s mother’s brothers and their children) wear the motumotu, which is a large ta’ovala that covers from the back of one’s head down to their ankles, tattered and old to symbolise their role of being in the kitchen to cook. The big mats are to keep the Tongans wearing this warm when they are outside preparing food.”
Fiji
Emmaline Pickering-Martin, Pacific media adviser at the University of Auckland, says that post-colonialism, Fijian women traditionally wear a black sulu chamba, a two-piece outfit with Fijian patterns and motifs, and Fijian men wear a black sulu va taga, a kilt-like wraparound skirt with an appropriate collared button shirt tucked in. “In ancient times, funerals didn’t exist as we know them now post-Christianity and colonisation,” Pickering-Martin says. “Fijians have a heavy cannibalistic history, so eating bodies was a way of showing respect and gaining mana [was part of ancient tradition]. Also, pre-colonisation, we didn’t have many ‘clothes’ back then, so people would have possibly worn ceremonial masi (tapa cloth) coverings.”
Interestingly, Pickering-Martin says Fijians from the Lau islands, which are located near Tonga, wear fine mats around their waist, on top of their clothes, to funerals – clearly a result of pre-colonial Tongan contact and influence.
Rotuma
Sopapelu Samisoni, a Rotuman from Auckland, says Rotuman men originally wore plain leaves called rauji to funerals, and women wore mats tied at the waist by a belt woven from coconut fibres. “When missionaries landed in Rotuma, the style of clothing worn at funerals changed. People would wear white and black formal outfits or simply black clothes with a ‘oro or a woven mat made of coconut fibre around their waist.”
Stuff journalist Christine Rovoi, who is also of Rotuman heritage, says that recently she has noticed some Rotumans wearing matching two-piece outfits with Pacific patterns that reflect the deceased’s personality to funerals. “If I didn’t have black clothes to wear, that’s OK. I would wear a nice, conservative outfit whether it had flowers or a different colour. It’s a bit more flexible nowadays in terms of dress code for a Rotuman funeral.”
Tahiti
Ahuuranui Pasa, cultural advisor at Tahitian association Mā’ohi Nui i Aotearoa, remembers that when she was 10, her mother told her to wear white to her dad’s funeral. That’s not a hard and fast rule, though – Pasa has seen a few Tahitian families wear black too, and “my aunty told me people used to wear purple and black in other islands.”
However, a few years ago at her cousin’s funeral, the immediate family wore colourful flower patterns to celebrate her life. “For mine, I want the same. I don’t want people to wear black unless it has colourful flowers, tatau (tattoo) or traditional patterns on clothing to celebrate the life I had on earth.”
Tuvalu
Fala Haulangi, Pacific Media Network’s Tuvalu language programme producer, says there is no dress code rule or tradition that Tuvaluans adhere to when it comes to attending a funeral. “So long as you are wearing respectful, appropriate clothing, I would dress as you would when attending a Sunday service at church,” she says.
Niue
Performing artist Leki Jackson-Bourke says many Niueans wear black to a funeral, but has noticed that sometimes Niueans dress in the village colour of the deceased person as a sign of respect. “Each village has their own colour – for example my village is Hakupu and their colours are black and white. My friend’s grandmother was from Avatele, so their whole family wore purple to the funeral because that’s their village colour. It’s not necessarily a Niuean tradition, just something we have started doing,” he says
This is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.