Category Archives: Fa’a Samoa/Culture

The Orator – A Review

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After much anticipation Friday January 20th finally arrived and with hard won Sundance Film Festival tickets in hand we stood in line for the opening night showing of The Orator.  As expected, it was sold out  so we made sure to be there an hour early to get a good spot in line.  When we got there however, we discovered that others had already been standing in line for 4 hours just to be sure they too got a good seat.  What surprised me was the fact that they weren’t Samoans, they weren’t even Polynesians.  I was happy that a Samoan film by a Samoan filmmaker had the kind of draw that it did to bring out such a diverse audience.

I’ll come right out and tell you, I loved the film.  Yes, I was moved by the story line, the love and companionship between such an unlikely couple and the courage of one that is often looked upon as being the least of us.  I loved the way our culture was portrayed in the film.  It depicted our Samoan way of life with the kind of unapologetic brutal honesty that only one who has lived the fa’aSamoa can do but it was done so with great respect for the Samoan culture and people.

I said unapologetic brutal honesty because it depicted many things that perhaps we’d rather the whole world doesn’t see like the makape’ape’a that sometimes accompanies the si’is or the way we treat others who are different.  But this does happen in Samoa.  I saw it growing up, I still see it sometimes when I visit Samoa.  These scenes weren’t a figment of the writer’s imagination, he too saw it growing up in Samoa.  The only difference between us is that Tusi had the talent and the courage to bring these scenes to life in a way that tells this story of Samoa.  Our Samoan way of life isn’t always perfect or fair but then what way of life is?

I loved the fact that the whole film was in Samoan.  I felt so proud to be Samoan and sitting in that audience with other Samoan families as well as Tongans, palagis, sainas, meaulis, and a host of other ethnic groups.  They laughed along with us at the typical fob jokes.  They got it, they really did!  A Tongan even asked Tusi during the Q&A session if he would consider directing a film in Tongan.  High praise indeed, don’t you think?

The artistry alone was worth the ticket to the movie.  Our Samoa is certainly a beautiful country, isn’t it?  Looking at the lush greenery and scenery made me yearn for another visit to Samoa.  And the sound of the rain on the tin rooftops, who can forget that?   Definitely brought back memories of falling asleep to that special melody.  Did I even stop to notice that when I was young girl in Samoa?  Probably not as it was just another beat in the harmony that makes up the rhythm of life that is uniquely Samoan.

The Orator is a film that transcends ethnic and language barriers and touches the humanity in all of us.  It felt real and true!  It’s not a story that is only based in Samoa with a sprinkling of Samoan characters, quotes and scenes. It wasn’t a ripoff of another film or book masquerading as a Samoan movie.  Rather, it is a Samoan story, the heart and soul of the film is Samoan, and that more than any of the many other excellent aspects of this film is what I love the most about The Orator.

One of the greatest contributions this film has made is introducing the Samoan culture and way of life to young Samoans growing up outside of Samoa.  The Orator has sparked a renewed sense of cultural pride in a whole new generation of Samoans as indicated by the number of comments from young Samoan Americans professing their love of their culture and for being Samoans on facebook.  What other book or movie about Samoa can say that?

Fa’amalo Tusi, well done. Like we told you Friday night, you did us so proud.  We also liked your response when asked about the slow pace of the movie, you’re right, it is at the pace of life in Samoa.  We’ve become so accustomed to life in the fast lane and movies that go bang from the word go that we’ve become impatient with movies and scripts that make us wait.  We have to re-learn how to savor people, fai fai malie, folofolo lemu ae aua le so’o ga kolupu pei o se ai u, lol.  I asked you if you’re planning to make more movies in Samoa and in the Samoan language and I really hope that you will. Will there be a sequel to The Orator? For one thing, I’m hoping that you’ll confirm the suspicion that I have about Litia’s father because if I’m reading between the lines correctly then it can only be one person.  So to be continued…hopefully?

O Le Tulafale

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O Le Tulafale/The Orator

I wasn’t going to write about this film until I’d had a chance to see it for myself but I can’t wait to share my excitement for this film anymore. It’s just fantastic that a film by a Samoan filmmaker done entirely in the Samoan language is being recognized at the highest levels of the film industry.  At first it looked like those of us who live in the US would have to wait forever to see this film but then a couple of weeks ago we found out that it was going to be screened at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.  Can you guess what I did next? That’s right, I immediately started looking for tickets to the Sundance Film Festival.

To land a spot in the Sundance Film Festival is a really really big deal but yet another announcement tops even that.  The Orator has been put forward to be nominated for best foreign language film at next year’s Oscars.  How cool is that!  What a wonderful and exciting achievement for the young Samoan filmmaker Tusi Tamasese.  What makes his achievement even more inspiring is that this young man was born and raised in Samoa until the age of 18.  Youth of Samoa, here’s a bonafide Samoan sucess story.  It can be done!

By the way, don’t you love how everyone lays claim to individuals when they’re famous and successful.  Tusi is now known as a Samoan born New Zealander.  Is it just me, or does that particular description sound as if he is more New Zealander than Samoan?  He might very well be a New Zealand citizen now in which case that billing would be absolutely correct but I think it’s ironic how they’re so quick to make that distinction now that he (or anyone else for that matter) is famous.  I wonder if such a distinction would be made if he was still just a tomato-picker.

I don’t know this young man at all but from what I gather, this kind of success couldn’t have happened to a nicer human being.  What I like about this young man is his humility, lack of pretention and his sense of self.  He seems unaffected by his success and achievement.  He is a Samoan who loves and honors his culture and traditions and is courageous and talented enough to tell a captivating story that brings to light some of the unpleasant and unsavory aspects of those traditions.  And miracle of all miracles he still speaks Samoan fluently.

Did I mention that I’m really looking forward to seeing this film?  This is one date night for hubby and I that’s actually planned, actually not just planned, but planned several weeks in advance.  A fancy dinner and a Samoan language movie in Park City, Utah at the Sundance Film Festival…date night doesn’t get any better than that.  Except perhaps making a whole weekend out of it…ahhhh… I do like the sound of that!

It Must Be Sunday

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Since it’s Sunday I thought I’d share an original poem about the sights, sounds and smells of Sundays in Samoa as seen through the eyes of a young girl.  I call it one of my “cheeky” poems for reasons that are quite obvious when you read it.  

Rooster crowing, voices grumbling
Water running, feet shuffling
Wake up my mother said
Oh no I said in my head, it must be Sunday

Pots clanging, men mumbling
Coconut scraping, taros baking
Hurry up my mother said
What’s the big deal I said in my head, it’s only Sunday

Whites starched, flipflops scrubbed
Hair braided, face unpainted
Where’s your bible my mother said
On top of the pusa ku I said in my head, where I left it last Sunday

Chickens shrieking, sapasui simmering
People walking, kids gawking
We’re gonna be late my mother said
Good I said in my head, it’s just another Sunday

Choir singing, faife’au preaching
Air stifling, everyone fanning
Stop yawning my mother said
Crap I said in my head, it’s still Sunday

Stomach growling, to’ana’i starting
Family laughing, neighbors talking
Open the pisupo my mother said
My favorite I said in my head, so glad it’s Sunday

Waves crashing, distant rumbling
Quiet laughing, everyone napping
I think it’s going to rain my mother said
Not like we’re going anywhere I said in my head, it is Sunday

If you want to share, use or copy this poem, please make sure you cite it as It Must Be Sunday by A Samoan Woman.

ReDefining Paradise

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Complicating Paradise

“We don’t see the world as it is, we see it as we are.” Anais Nin

(Click on image to watch Part 1 of interviews from Samoa)
 
 
 What is identity? Who decides our identity?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines identity as “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is; the characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is.”
 
Obviously, this definition speaks specifically to personal identity.  What about cultural identity?
 
Earlier this month our book group got together for our monthly pot-luck and discussion of The Bluest Eye by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison.  The group is quite diverse in the sense of ethnic and cultural backgrounds as well as in our ages and interests so there’s a stimulating mix of pespectives during each discussion.
 
If you haven’t had a chance to read this book yet you may want to skip this paragraph.  The Bluest Eye takes place in 1941 and tells the heartbreaking story of a 9 year old black girl.  She is surrounded by poverty, hatred, ridicule and cruelty everywhere she turns even from those closest to her.  At nine years old, she’s known little to no love yet enough suffering to last several lifetimes.  She’s convinced that if she had blue eyes everyone would love her.  This more than anything else in the world is what she yearns for.
 
 
Morrison paints a vivid picture of what happens to a person or a community when they are conditioned to believe others’ perceptions of them.  I don’t want to give the whole story away so you have to read the book yourself if you want to find out how it ends.
 
 (Click on image to watch Part 2 of interviews from Samoa)

Complicating Paradise, pt 2

Identity. Perspective.  Perception. Who decides?   World-renowned Samoan author Albert Wendt wrote, “we must be active participants in changing and forming perceptions of who we are as a people…we can honor traditions and at the same time negotiate new identities as times change.”

 
 I hope you were able to watch the two videos posted here.  They’re parts 1 and 2 of a 4 part interview conducted in Samoa by writer Jane Manchon.  Parts 3 and 4 are also available on youtube.  The interviews explorers the challenge faced by many Samoans and other Pacific Islanders today - maintaining the core of who we are as a people while evolving and adapting to an increasingly westernized world.

Legend of the SamoanTattoo

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One of the girls at work was proudly showing off her new tattoo today so of course we started talking about tattoos which in turn led to this post tonight. 

Now there’s already plenty of really good articles available online on the history and the art of the Tatau or Samoan Tattoo so I won’t go into that here.  I recommend Samoan Tattoo and Samoan Tattoo Art by artist Vanaya Taule’alo if you want to learn a little bit more about this traditional art form.  While you’re on her blog I hope you take the time to read her “about me” section as well for her insights as a non-Samoan married to a Samoan and living in Samoa.  Great stuff!  You can also try to get a copy of the Tatau: The Art of the Samoan Tattoo by Chief Sielu Avea.  

The one thing I want to point out is that traditional Samoan tattoo is not worn on the arm like popular trends today.  For men and women, it covers the lower half of the body from about the navel to just below the knee.  Women tatau aren’t as intricate or as detailed as the ones usually worn by men.

Tonight I want to share with you the legend of the tatau.  It also happens to be one of my favorite Samoan legends probably because this particular legend is told in song.

According to the legend the tatau was first introduced to Samoa by twin sisters Taema and Tilafaiga. The twin sisters were returning to Samoa after visiting the daughter of the Tui Manua (King of Manu’a) who now happens to be the wife of the Tui Fiti (King of Fiji).   As the twins prepared for the journey back to Samoa, Tui Fiti gave them the tools used for tattooing as a gift with instructions to tattoo the women NOT the men. 

Now the song says that they swam from Fiji to Samoa carrying the basket containing the tools between them but other versions of the legend tell us that they came in a canoe. The song also tells us that as the sisters swam they sang and the words of the song was the message to tattoo the women NOT the men.  As the sisters neared the village of Falealupo on the island of Savaii they saw a giant clam.  Whether the sisters were afraid of the giant clam or they  wanted to see it or harvest it is not clear from the song but they both dived. When they came back up for air they were a little confused and began to sing that it is the men that are to be tattooed NOT the women. This was the message that reached Samoa and from that day on the tradition of tattooing the men was born.

(These twin sisters figure prominently in other Samoan legends and one of them was the mother of the famous warrior queen Nafanua. Any guesses which one?)  The one thing you have to remember with legends is that there may very well be different versions so if you find another one that tells this particular one a little different, please share it with us.  For now, this is still my favorite version.  Click here to listen to the song if you wish.

For Sale: Samoan Matai Titles

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Current news from Samoa include reports about a certain businessman from a certain country who is now being investigated for fraud & other questionable dealings in his home country.  Apparently when this businessman moved to Samoa he must have made quite an impression (throwing your money around tends to do that) because he was given an honorary matai (chiefly) title by a certain village in Samoa.

This brought to the forefront an issue that I’ve wondered about for a long time.  Are our Samoan matai titles for sale?  What’s the going rate for a matai title anyway?  Is it the bigger the gift to the village, the more prestigious the title that’s bestowed? 

The easiest explanation that I can give those of you who aren’t familiar with the matai system is that the matai system is the traditional Samoan way of governing the family, the village, the country.   Matais are the heads of the aiga potopoto or extended families.  These heads of families make up the village council and so on.  Matai titles are held until the title holder dies at which point the aiga potopoto decides who in their family is going to be next. Both males and females are eligible to hold matai titles. Blood relatives as well as those who marry into the family are eligible.

Growing up in Samoa I learned that being selected to be a matai by your aiga potopoto meant that you were trusted by your family to do right by your family.  It was a position of power but also a position of trust. It was also something that was uniquely Samoan, part of the Samoan fabric of life if you will.

Today (and for some time now in Samoa) it’s become commonplace to give matai titles to foreigners that give a significant gift (monetary or otherwise) to a village or to Samoa.  While I appreciate the fact that these individuals made people’s lives better I can’t help but think that the giving away of Samoan matai titles somehow cheapens the whole matai system. Am I the only one that thinks that? We really can’t express our gratitude in any other way?  What’s wrong with a beautifully carved tanoa?  We have street names now in Apia don’t we?  Why not name a street after the benefactor?  I mean if this was any other country the token of gratitude would probably be a very sincere expression of thanks and maybe a plaque.

Loving a Samoan

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I’ve had a number of emails about this subject so this post will attempt to answer some of your questions. Keep in mind that I’m not a relationship expert (is there such a thing?)  Even though the questions came from different people, they all centered on  the same issue – loving, dating or marrying a Samoan.

Interracial relationships have a whole different set of challenges so it’s understandable that there’s a lot of anxiety if your significant other is Samoan and you’re not.  Let me state for the record that  there’s nothing you can’t overcome if you truly love each other.  A bit of a cliche but I believe it nonetheless.

Speaking now to the men who love Samoan women, you should know that Samoan women like a lot of the same things many other women like.  We like to be romanced, we like to be spoiled and pampered every now and then, we want to know that we’re the most important person to you, we want a strong man, we want an employed man, we want a man with a sense of humor, we want a friend and a lover.  See I told you we want pretty much the same things as every other woman!

If I read the other half of you correctly, you want to make sure that you don’t commit a big snafu or faux pas. You want to know how to act, what to do, what not to do, who to suck up to (ok maybe not that), but you get the picture.  You want to make sure you make a good impression and I already like you for that, not that you care about my opinion of you, but just saying.

First the bad news: understanding the Samoan culture, the fa’a Samoa is not going to happen overnight.  The fa’a Samoa is a way of life and unless you live it and breathe it you won’t get all the nuances of the fa’a Samoa.

Now the good news: You don’t have to have a full grasp of the fa’a Samoa or culture to be accepted and even loved by your future in-laws and family.  You just have to be a good person (and I know you are because you love a Samoan lol) and you have to be sincere in your desire to learn and respect the culture. Having said that, let me suggest some simple things you can do today that will earn  you brownie points with the future in-laws.  How do I know these things matter?  Because I’m that future mother- in-law.  Our two older boys are in long term relationships and neither of the girlfriends is Samoan.  So here’s my list in no particular order:

  • Leave your shoes outside when you go in a Samoan house.
  • Try not to walk in front of people when they’re sitting but if you have to (say you’re passing out drinks) say tulou or excuse me.
  • Don’t just sit around if others are doing chores. Offer to help.
  • If you’re female dating a Samoan man you need to remember two things: 1-don’t show up at his parents house wearing short shorts and 2-cover the girls.  You know what I’m saying, save it for the boyfriend, it’s a turnoff for the rest of the family to have the girls in their faces or to see your okole each time you stand up.  Samoan girls and women often wear a lavalava when they’re already wearing jeans especially around the elders so if they’re double covering that’s a pretty good indication that you should be covering up a bit too.
  • Try to eat whatever is being prepared if you’re there for dinner.  Help clean up after dinner.  If you’re grossed out by some of the dishes on the menu, don’t show it.  So if you’re offered octopus and you just can’t handle that then say no thanks but don’t make a face and don’t say “yuck’” out loud.

Well that completes this session of Dear Abby.  Don’t know how helpful this was but hey at least it was free right.  All kidding aside, if you have other questions I will try and answer them for you.  Until then good luck to you.

Whose Reality Survives?

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 ”Human reality is human creation, if we fail to create our own reality someone else will do it for us” (‘epeli hau’ofa) as posted on From A Tongan Daughter.

From time to time I like to see what those who are not Samoan post about Samoa.  I don’t do it too often because I almost always end up calling a couple of them all sorts of names in Samoan and English so it’s really not a constructive thing for me to do.  Still, it’s useful to read outsiders perspectives because it helps to remind me of the need to write our own history and not let others write it for us. 

One such blogger, a Peace Corps working in Samoa no less, wrote about her love for the beautiful brown barefooted kids of Samoa.  A tad patronizing but not a problem so far; Samoan kids are beautiful and many of them do run around barefooted so can’t fault her for stating the facts.  However, she went on to say that Samoan kids have so much personality and individualism until Samoan adults beat it out of them (paraphrasing of course).

Did she really just say that?  Samoan adults deliberately set out to beat personality and individualism out of their children? 

To be fair many Samoans reach for the salu kianiu, the fusi pa’u, or whatever’s within reach a little too quickly.  Many do sasa their kids much too hard and too often.  Many cross the fine line between sasa and disciplining to blatant physical abuse.  Is that acceptable?  No, of course not! Any parent (Samoan,Palagi, Saina, Meauli) physically abusing their kids in such a way should be disciplined in the same manner themselves.

She of course has a right to her own opinion and perspective just like I have a right to mine.  However, when she posted her “reality” so to speak in her offical capacity as a Peace Corps working in Samoa, did it affect someone else’s perspective of Samoa?  You bet it did!  It might have changed only the perspective of her family and friends and other colleagues that read her blog but it did affect someone’s else reality.

We as Samoans have to write our own story.  The days of letting others decide who we are as a people, our reality as Samoans, should have ended a long time ago.   Epeli Hauofa is right, if we don’t write and record our own reality then someone else will decide it for us.  History isn’t so much what actually happened but what has survived through written records and other medium.

Choices

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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
(The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost)

“Your choices,” we tell our sons, “will follow you all your life.  The small choices and seemingly unimportant choices that you make on a daily basis affects the big choices that affects the kind of life you want to have” the lecture (I mean discussion) continued.

We revisited this subject again tonight which is probably why I’m writing about it now (you think?… I hear you guys saying right about now)

Actually I have been thinking alot about the paths we choose these last couple of days.  I don’t plan on going into a literary discussion of Frost’s poem here.  My undergraduate days as an English major are long gone and barely remembered so please don’t debate me on what exactly Frost had in mind when he wrote this poem.  For tonight, let’s take these last few lines of the poem as a challenge or invitation for all of us to seek out our own personal paths in life.

How did we become the people we are today? What makes one person outgoing and another not, one person bold or daring and another timid or insecure? Did some of us come with ”focused and successful” switches that turned on at certain points in our lives?  By that same token, did some of us come with ”lazy and loser” switches? Perhaps we  all came with ”focused and successful” switches but some were defective?

We know that we’re influenced by our family, upbringing, cultural and social environment.  But what really makes us the men and women we are today?

If my life was divided into 3 stages then I’m squarely in the second stage of my life.  So looking back to the first part of my life, were there roads I didn’t take that might have made me a vastly different person than the one I am today?  Were there roads I took that were perhaps better left for another traveler?  If I’d turn left instead of right, would I be this person sitting in front of my computer today? What roads or turns will I take tomorrow and how will those twists and turns decide the woman I am ten or twenty years from now?

Looking back again to the road I’ve traveled thus far, I have to say I’m content with the turns I took. No regrets!  Can I say that in 2031 if God willing I’m still here?

Samoan Bloggers – Tell It Like It Is

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I logged on to my long neglected blog today with every intention of taking it down since I’m no longer even pretending to even update it.  So, I’m looking at my blog and just because I had nothing better to do right at this moment, I decided to browse a few of my favorite blogs before hitting the delete key. 

Sheez L-o-u-i-s-e, where have I been? Not only have I apparently ignored much that was newsworthy from “the motherland” but browsing a few of my fellow Samoan bloggers sites reminded me how much I’ve missed the brutal, honest, outrageous, and incredibly funny commentaries they are putting out day in and day out.  Well, maybe not quite ‘day in and day out’, but a lot more frequent than I am, he he.

So, I clicked on Fagogo mai Samoa from the always witty and incredibly refreshing Goddess of Savaii.  Only she can be so pointed and tell it like it is, cuss words and all, and get away with it.   The Goddess tells you to shut up about it and you cheer her on for it.  You go girl, keep it up.  Love it, love it, love it!

I visited Faikakala’s blog (by the way I’m jealous that I didn’t think of that name myself, Faikakala, yes you are), dang!  I had to smile at her brutal honesty about her muli being too heavy for her knees.  I hear you sister! 

So my point is?  My point if there is one, is that I was so inspired by these two and other Samoan bloggers that I’ve decided to leave this up a little longer.  Why the heck not?  It’s free, and it’s visited by at least two people every other month, lol.  

The written word is mightier than the sword or so they say.  Well, nowhere is this more apparent than in the blogs of these talented Samoan writers/bloggers.   Sharp as daggers and they have no qualms about telling you to bug off if you deserve it.  Malo lava ia oulua mafine.   We waste too much time beating around the bush.  Meanwhile b***s**t  keeps happening over and over again in Samoa or to Samoans and far too few are willing to speak out about it. 

Maybe one of these days, I’ll get back to this blog more than three or four times a year.  Maybe one of these days, I’ll need to write a piece of something about Samoa and I can just copy what I already have here, lol.  But then again, maybe I’m just full of **** and will not visit my own dang blog again or anyone else’s for another 4 months.   Oh well, o ai e pule mai?