Ep. 52: Madau-Moana Relational Ethics with Kehau Fagatele-Folau

Dr. Kehaulani Fagatele-Folau joins this episode to introduce her doctoral research. We begin with Indigenous concepts and methods she used from the Madau-Moana to make sense of some of the colonial contexts Indigenous women of Oceania traverse in the academy. Some themes we discuss include Indigenous feminism, interconnectivity, sharing space, and relational ethics by using Niu/Neo/Knew Tā-Vā. Fagatele-Folau shares a re-imagined R.I.P. acronym, and deploys it as metaphor for laying to rest systems of power, as they work through the process of ‘becoming’ a Madau-Moana cosmopolitan. We reflect on the possibilities in being rooted and mobile, and continuing to learn confidence with care through a broad sense of kinship.

“Not all the powers that be are all the powers that are” – Kehau Fagatele-Folau

Terms with introductory definitions: Madau (Pohnpeian for Ocean/Thought); Moana (Ocean in Tongan); Talanoa (Critical relational dialogue); Iroir (reflection/beautiful view/to position yourself for a beautiful view); Hoa (pair/partner/companion/connection); Hoamālie (harmonious partnership); Hoatamaki (imbalanced partnership); R.I.P. (Relationality, Intersectionality, Positionality); Mana (honour, prestige, potency, authority).