Falemata’aga

Pronunciation: fa-le-ma-ta-‘ā-nga
Language: Samoan
Also known as: museum

Description

Made up of the words fale (house) and mata’aga (site to explore), falemata’aga is a Samoan term for museum, gallery, and other institutions for tourism. It is also used to refer specifically to the Museum of Samoa. “O le fale lea a teu ai tatou measina*”, a house that safekeeps our treasures (Savali Newspaper 2020). Items held in this specific falemata’aga reflect historic events and craftmanship (Ma’ia’i 2010), with a growing focus on contemporary art and research. Indeed, in recent years, it has become a repository of knowledge and a research hub. It has begun sharing its extensive photography collection via Facebook, generating much community engagement. This process marks the evolution of the falemata’aga from a place for tourism and the preservation of objects to a place of knowledge and research. In September 2024, the National University of Samoa Lepapaigalagala opened the Ofaga o Sailiiliga Research Museum, an integrated museum for heritage and research; this museum, however, is notably not referred to as falemata’aga. As museums come to be more than sites for merely viewing objects, the term falemata’aga may be contested by Samoan language speakers.
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Date of entry: December 30, 2024
Falemata'aga Museum of Samoa. 20 November 2011. Photo by Utufa'asili Sharon Roma
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