The Moanan

In this episode, we talk about the history and evolution of Māori art over time — what it reveals about Indigenous thought, identity and ways of understanding the world, and why Māori art matters in Aotearoa and beyond today.
To unpack this, we're joined by Professor Deidre Brown (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) who is a leading Māori art and architectural historian and Professor of Architecture at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland. Her research explores Māori and Pacific art, architecture, Indigenous design and cultural heritage. She is co-author of the landmark Toi Te Mana: An Indigenous History of Māori Art, a major history of Māori art spanning centuries. 
Ngā mihi nui Prof Brown for the great kōrero!
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The Moanan is a Pacific-lef social enterprise based in Auckland, Aotearoa. We're building a global community of thinkers, creatives, and change-makers rooted in Oceania. Whether you're from the islands or just island-curious, join our community:
Website: themoanan.com
Instagram: @themoanan
Email: hello@themoanan.com

In this weeks episode, we're joined by Rachelle Houtman & Reïnda Hully— two third-generation Moluccans sharing their experiences connecting with their heritage. 
Reïnda is completing his PhD in ethnomusicology, while Rachelle is an anthropologist. Both are part of a growing generation of young Pacific peoples around the world who are reconnecting with their heritage, strengthening their connections to home, and finding new ways to preserve and carry their culture forward.
In this episode, we talk about their experiences as young Moluccans in the Netherlands, what it means to reconnect with their heritage across generations, and the work they’re doing to keep Moluccan culture and knowledge alive for the future.
Send us Fan Mail
The Moanan is a Pacific-lef social enterprise based in Auckland, Aotearoa. We're building a global community of thinkers, creatives, and change-makers rooted in Oceania. Whether you're from the islands or just island-curious, join our community:
Website: themoanan.com
Instagram: @themoanan
Email: hello@themoanan.com

For a people living thousands of kilometres from their ancestral homeland, what does it mean to stay connected? And how are those connections sustained across generations?
In this episode, we explore the history of the Moluccan community in the Netherlands and how a thriving diaspora of more than 70,000 people continues to nurture deep ties to the Moluccan Islands. We also discuss how many Moluccan communities are reconnecting with the wider Pacific, strengthening relationships and revitalising shared cultural identities.
Joining us is educator, historian, and curator Wim Manuhutu, who offers invaluable insights into the history of the Moluccan diaspora, the community's resilience, and what it means to be Moluccan today.
Send us Fan Mail
The Moanan is a Pacific-lef social enterprise based in Auckland, Aotearoa. We're building a global community of thinkers, creatives, and change-makers rooted in Oceania. Whether you're from the islands or just island-curious, join our community:
Website: themoanan.com
Instagram: @themoanan
Email: hello@themoanan.com

There are 3000 Papuans in the Netherlands. Some who are now a part of the third-fourth generation migrants. 
In this episode, cultural historian and researcher Nancy Jouwe explores the history of the West Papuan community in the Netherlands, tracing the colonial and political circumstances that shaped their migration and diaspora. We discuss how West Papuans have maintained their cultural identity across generations, the importance of preserving language, history, and tradition, and the enduring connections they continue to foster with the wider Pacific. This conversation offers a powerful insight into the resilience of Oceania's peoples beyond the islands.
Send us Fan Mail
The Moanan is a Pacific-lef social enterprise based in Auckland, Aotearoa. We're building a global community of thinkers, creatives, and change-makers rooted in Oceania. Whether you're from the islands or just island-curious, join our community:
Website: themoanan.com
Instagram: @themoanan
Email: hello@themoanan.com

In this welcome back episode, Laki and Gen catch up on a big year of travel, learning, and growth, both personally and for The Moanan. From the Solomon Islands, Palau, Fiji, Samoa, and Australia, to WIPCE here in Tāmaki Makaurau, they reflect on what being on the ground across the region actually taught them — including hard lessons about knowledge protocols, indigenous hierarchy, and the gap between knowing the right things and doing them the right way.
They also dig into three big ideas that have come to define why The Moanan exists: historical amnesia (the forgetting of what colonisation actually did), geographic dysmorphia (New Zealand and Australia forgetting they are Oceania), and epistemological arrogance (the assumption that Western knowledge is always the superior framework).
Looking ahead, there's a lot happening including a call to our community to share  stories as The Moanan approaches its third birthday.
If you've been with us from the start — welcome home. If you're new — you picked a great time to show up.
Send us Fan Mail
The Moanan is a Pacific-lef social enterprise based in Auckland, Aotearoa. We're building a global community of thinkers, creatives, and change-makers rooted in Oceania. Whether you're from the islands or just island-curious, join our community:
Website: themoanan.com
Instagram: @themoanan
Email: hello@themoanan.com