Culture Crossroads: Dealing with the Pressures and Demands on Pacific Islanders Living in Aotearoa

By Rubinstine Manukia

Pasifika people are at a crossroads and need to decide whether to retain their traditional cultural values and practices, to adopt those of the majority of New Zealanders or to find a middle pathway to the future. They feel under pressure in their lives in Aotearoa.

In response, many older Pasifika people and those raised in the Pacific Islands, choose to run their Aotearoa churches and take part in the life of their church in the same way they did in the Islands. This brings them comfort and a feeling of security.

Younger Pasifika people and those born or raised mainly in New Zealand are caught between the expectations of their parents and wider family to adhere to island culture and traditions and wanting to live a freer Kiwi lifestyle. They must learn to put the needs of their immediate family and children first and be disciplined in how they handle their finances, and their giving to their churches and extended family.

Successful Pasifika sports people, and professionals in other fields, are expected to give money to their extended family in New Zealand and the Islands. In some extreme cases this pressure has caused sports people to suicide.

Ruby suggests that churches in New Zealand generally, and Pasifika members as a sub-group within their national bodies, should have the right to decide for themselves their response to theological and ethical issues.

These issues feed into an argument that Aotearoa should have a written constitution that acknowledges the tenets of all faiths, religions, cultures and ethnicities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Philip Garside
• Release date: Jun 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781988572734

Rubinstine Manukia

Rubinstine Manukia is a Tongan author, who has English and Chinese descent.Ruby has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Auckland, a Bachelor of Law from Victoria University of Wellington, Legal Professionals from Canterbury University of Christchurch and a Masters of Law (Honors) from the USA. Ruby is completing her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree specialising in Health Law.She ran a restaurant, the Foghorn Bar & Grill, in San Francisco and also worked in Washington DC.She is a community enabler and is the President’s Legal Advisor for the Methodist Church of New Zealand Te Haahi Weteriana O Aotearoa.Ruby enjoys sports, spending time with her family and enabling communities to thrive.Ruby’s first book, Like A Dove: A memoir and biography in honour of Sione Tavo Manukia, was published in 2016.

Book preview

Culture Crossroads

Dealing with the pressures and demands on Pacific Islanders living in Aotearoa

Rubinstine Manukia

Copyright © 2021 Rubinstine Manukia

All rights reserved.

Edited by Sibley Schaumkell

The opinions expressed in this book are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of the Methodist Church of New Zealand – Te Haahi Weteriana O Aotearoa or the publisher.

The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Methodist Church of New Zealand

ePub edition 2021

ISBN 978-1-98-857273-4

Philip Garside Publishing Ltd

PO Box 17160

Wellington 6147

New Zealand

[e-mail] — www.pgpl.co.nz

Table of Contents

Title and Copyright

Introduction

Preface

1– The Pasifika Concept of Giving

Challenging the Concept of Giving – A New Generation

Balancing the Concept of Giving – Old vs New Generations

The View of Polynesian Professionals

The View of Clergy and Pacific Presbyters

Misinale – Celebrates Tongan Financial Giving

Public Perception of Giving

The Role of the Church to support Families

2 – Change Starts in the Home

The Neuroscience of Learning Starts at Home

Youth Today

3 – Christian Faith in the Workplace

Christian Faith at Work

The Art of Communication

4 – The intersection of Church and State

United States Constitution vs New Zealand Law

Pasifika Concerns About Recent Social Legislation

Further Pasifika Concerns About the End Of Life Choice Act 2019

5 – Life beyond the Family

Church as a village

New Structures

A legal framework in New Zealand

6 – Can we learn from a comparison with other systems of Church?

Tikanga Māori

7 – The direction of the Church for Pasifika peoples

Pasifika faith lore

Acculturation

Further understanding

Changing the acculturation conversation and indigenous cultural reclamation in Aotearoa

Cultural Competence

Diversity at Work

Enablement through Community Led Development Principles (CLDP)

Māori community development

8 – The current context

Community development practice in Aotearoa today

Social Justice

Individual and collective human rights

Equity

Self-determination and empowerment

Participation and democracy

Cooperation/collective action

Sustainability (including, but not exclusively, environmental sustainability)

Bi-cultural community development practice in Aotearoa

Enabling and Building Capacity

9 – Reflection – Lessons learned

Learning from our situations

Finding your own voice and pathway in life

Epistemology of Pasifika People – Native Common Sense

Hidden Meaning and Interpretation – Pasifika use of Sarcasm

Unbroken – To know we belong

Placemaking For Redemption – Making something better and more acceptable

Learning by Doing and Empowerment

Conclusion

Appendix

Endnotes

Index

About the Author and this book

About this book

Other books by Tongan Authors published by Philip Garside Publishing Ltd

Introduction

The idea for this book has emerged from 40 years of Methodism and my first-hand experience of growing up in a Christian family with Tongan values, culture, and traditions.

I grew up in a family where I witnessed the love of my parents for God, the Church and community. My father served as a Methodist Church steward for over 30 years. That love extended to the community and country we lived in, Aotearoa New Zealand, and our country of origin Tonga.

I begrudged that my parents sacrificed so much for the Church, which impacted on my adolescent years. It was the norm in my family to attend Church every Wednesday, Church cell group every Thursday, and youth activities every Friday. We cleaned the Church premises (including the toilets and hall) every Saturday. We attended Sunday school and the main service every Sunday. This was the cycle of my life growing up in a Christian household and I learned to accept it at an early age. I grew up believing that it was my culture and that I was bound by it. My siblings accepted the family routine without question. I on the other hand was less tolerant and more vocal in expressing my views and opinions. This sometimes landed me in hot water for challenging the family routine. I was a curious child with many questions about why, why, and why?

I questioned why we had to always attend Church; why we spent so much time at Church; why we had to tidy up after Church (when it seemed no one else had to clean up); why we had to participate in Fakame (the White Sunday celebration for children); why we had to always give money to the Church for Misinale (annual tithing). I had so many unanswered questions as a young child and don’t recall ever receiving a satisfactory answer. Except that I was taught everything we owned and earned belonged to God and that if we contributed whole heartedly, we would reap what we had sown. This teaching was hard for a curious young girl to fathom in the 1980s and 1990s.

Today, while I can better understand the values and principles instilled by my parents about faith, family, and community, I don’t adhere to them as rigidly with my own family as they did. Attending every church service is not always practical and missing a service is not a big issue. Our church now has a house steward who does the cleaning, whereas my father played the role of house steward and had us do the cleaning, even though he was head steward. I try my best to explain the meaning of White Sunday to my children and encourage them to participate in Fakame, but I don’t force them to take part if they don’t want to. However, I agree with annual tithing and contribute 10 percent of what I earn in tithings for Misinale each year.

Preface

Many Pasifika people feel under pressure in their lives in Aotearoa. When you migrate to a new country it is difficult to adapt to the new culture. Assimilating to the dominant culture is challenging.

In response to the demands of a new country, new culture and new surrounding neighbours, many older Pasifika people and those raised in the islands, choose to run their Aotearoa churches, and take part in the life of their church in the same way