Abstract:
This thesis has become the study of looking at the
positioning of Samoan women. It maps out the daily lives
of the ancestral female figure by looking at the spaces she
accommodates within both ceremonial and everyday
employment. We study the tasks that she undertakes to be
able to produce, create, perform and achieve all that she
does on behalf of her family and village. Her position
within these spaces carry a certain assignment where her
role shapes her, and her routine strengthens her sense of
purpose and importance. In comparison, we use what we
know about her to influence women of today within the
diasporic spaces that have been adjusted to shift the way
Samoan women work in our modern society. She becomes
the central focus, and we position the ancestral figure of
leadership and service to portray how spaces can be
obtained for a safe and sacred piece of architecture; here
in New Zealand for Samoan women away from our
homeland and cultural practices.
