Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546606
3 2 P E R S P E C T I V E S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 2 6 siapos for this scene featured a variety of different symbols based on one's family traditions and status in the community. In the film, we also see the chief's family fale where I did another set of twenty-eight siapos which featured more masculine symbols like spears (warrior and hunter skills), long lines (representing the rafters of a fale), turtle net (ability to provide), fruits of the sea mango (tradition and knowledge) and developed the shark symbol seen in the center for his personal 'logo.' There is more black on them and a darker feel overall. In contrast, Tala is Moana's grandmother, and I wanted her siapos to feature beautiful flowers and some of them to be reminiscent of American quilts, so they felt softer and more loving. Gramma Tala has an adventurous spirit, and she is responsible for giving Moana the courage to go beyond the reef and save her village. It was important to show that in the designs. I used the symbols for the plover (divine connection, voyage), canoe (voyage, ocean knowledge), banana pod (sustenance) and the pandanus male flower (ancestors, prosperity). Her 'spirit animal' is the manta ray, which represents wisdom, protection and freedom. Tala, as former chief, is 'royalty,' so we could use the color red in her eighteen designs. Tala dies in this scene, so I also wanted the siapos to act subliminally as funeral flowers as she is sent off into the netherworld and becomes a spiritual guide to Moana throughout her adventures. In order to prove to clearance that I had not stolen someone else's overall artwork, I needed to show that although the Māori language is incredibly artistic, it is INDEED a language and small parts are A. THE CHIEF'S PERSONAL SIAPO FOR THE COUNCIL FALE. THE DESIGN IS FILLED WITH SYMBOLS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO HIS FAMILY. DESIGN BY KAREN TENEYCK. B-G. COUNCIL FALE SIAPOS. THE SIAPOS FOR THE COUNCIL FALE WERE CREATED USING A WIDE VARIETY OF POLYNESIAN SYMBOLS. EACH ONE SHOWS A PARTICULAR FAMILY REPRESENTED AT THE MEETINGS. GRAPHIC LAYOUT BY KAREN TENEYCK. A B C D E F G