Pacific scholar confronts the legacy of 'bunga'

When Latafale Alyssa Verner-Pula reached the final slide of her doctoral confirmation presentation, she saw a photograph of her grandfather appear on screen. Moments later, both she and her mother were in tears.

The image represented more than family history. It embodied years of reflection on a word that has shaped her life and now sits at the centre of her PhD research: ‘bunga’.

For many Pacific people in Aotearoa New Zealand, hearing the word ‘bunga’ can immediately transport them back to a different era, one marked by casual racism, harmful stereotypes and the enduring legacy of the Dawn Raids.

University of Auckland PhD candidate Verner-Pula (Lepea, Saluafata, Lotofaga and Faleapuna/Sāmoa) is examining the histories, meanings and lived experiences attached to the racial slur in research she describes as both personal and socially significant.

Rather than studying the word solely as an insult, she is treating it as an archive.

"My research is looking at the histories, meanings, stories and uses of the racial slur 'bunga' in order to story the use of the slur while also examining how race and language intersect to oppress and harm Pacific peoples in New Zealand," she says.

"I'm looking at the slur as an archive of stories, histories and experiences. It says a lot about the racism that this colonial society allows to exist. It's a microcosm of that awfulness."

While ‘bunga’ is widely recognised as a racist term directed at Pacific peoples in New Zealand, its exact origins remain unclear. Various theories link it to Australia, Māori language, Fijian language and other historical contexts, but no single explanation has been universally accepted.

Verner-Pula says it’s those uncertainties that make the research even more compelling.

"Understanding where it comes from, who said it, why they were saying it, what definitions are embedded in the slur, and how I ended up being called it, that's what interests me."

The project grew from her own experiences growing up in New Zealand.

"I was called 'bunga' by members of my Pālagi family growing up," she says.
"I don't think that's a universal experience for young Pacific people, which is one of the reasons I became curious about it."

That curiosity was shaped by difficult experiences at school and a desire to understand whether the racism she encountered was isolated or reflected wider social attitudes.

"It afforded me a curiosity as to whether it was a lone experience or if it was felt by others," she says. "Through understanding 'bunga', I get the privilege of learning things about race and language and how they intersect."

The research will explore experiences across three distinct periods in New Zealand history: the Dawn Raids era of the 1970s when Verner-Pula believes usage of the slur reached its peak, the late 1990s and early 2000s when artists began engaging with the term in new ways, and the late 2010s to early 2020s, when creative works such as SWIDT's acclaimed track and video Bunga brought renewed public discussion.

She plans to interview people from each period, collecting stories that reveal how the term has been understood, experienced and challenged across generations.

"The storywork stage is about listening to the stories our people carry around this word."

What has already become clear is that reactions to the term vary significantly within Pacific communities.

"When I use the word, I always try to prepare people before I say it," she says.

"For some people it is as bad as the N-word, whereas for others it's what they call their friends. It's a very varied experience."

While much of the research focuses on harm, Verner-Pula is also interested in questions of resistance, resilience and joy.

"I love looking at joy," she says. "While 'bunga' itself is not a joyful word or a joyful experience, racism infiltrates Pacific life in New Zealand, so understanding it helps us understand what needs to be eliminated in order to achieve equity, joy and happiness."

She is particularly interested in the ways Pacific communities and artists have challenged the meanings attached to the slur.

"It's not really a reclamation because it's not our word," she says. "But we can reclaim the stories and ideas and perceptions contained within it."

More than a word

That process has also led to moments of unexpected healing.

During her doctoral confirmation presentation, Verner-Pula revealed the subject of her PhD to her mother after keeping it secret for some time.

The final slide featured a photograph of her grandfather that brought both mother and daughter to tears, the moment bringing into sharp focus the complex personal dimensions of the research.

"I just started sobbing looking at it," she recalls. "My mum cried as well. It felt very overwhelming and actually very healing.

"I love my family so much," she says. "They are a product of their time and of a broader system that has been harmful to Pacific people.

"I don't condone it, but I understand it. I think this research is about taking that understanding, understanding this more broadly, and then being able to say: this is why I don't condone it."

Now about halfway through her PhD journey, with writing underway and fieldwork beginning, Verner-Pula is eager to hear the stories others carry.

After years of thinking privately about the topic, she says the time has come to start the conversation more widely.

Verner-Pula says the research is ultimately about much more than a single word.
It is about tracing the histories embedded within language, understanding how racism operates in everyday life, and creating space for Pacific voices to tell their own stories about harm, survival and transformation.