A garland complete
Friday, 1 August 2008
Su’iga’ula a le atuvasa means the threading of the ula or garland. And at the 10th Pacific Festival of the Arts, the saying was chosen to signify the threading of Oceania, its peoples and cultures – past, present and future.
So for anyone present at the closing ceremony, it was hard not to marvel at how, theme or no theme, the celebrations wove together like one seamless ula.
Once again, spontaneity was what provided the spark, rhythm and knotted the thread. Yet, it did not quite start until much later. That’s after delegations took their spots, after the speeches, after crimson red ulas were presented , and prayers offered to the heavens.
And that’s the thing. The way everyone sat and patiently waited through the formality. You just knew something was about to happen.
It sort of did for me early on in the piece, when I had spotted young Samoan Egi marching along with his adopted PNG wantoks (clan members). That blew me away for a moment.
But more was to come.
It was when the voices of the Combined American Samoa choir rang out, you could almost feel the collective shivers through the crowd.
By the time the mesmerising pan pipers from Solomon Islands seduced us for one more time, we were hooked to the beat.
Then came the fireknife dancers, who worked the crowd and their own garland of fire into a frenzy. The tradition originated here in American Samoa and the young men and women were out to show the world the real thing.
The magic they wove ushered in almost half an hour of spectacular fireworks display. For many American Samoan kids, this was their first experience of gunpowder magic. Such indulgences are banned here.
I wrote this bit while watching the riot of colour above me:
“Have you ever watched fireworks explode to the live beat of Pacific drums. Nothing, not even classical western music or techno sound can replicate this moment and this effect. Across the stadium green, I see Samoan fireknife dancers summon the spirits as the fireworks cast a spell over us. Unrehearsed, they release the energy of the stadium. And now, people from everywhere run towards them.”
And then the band played. And the stadium rocked.
Your Comments
Bert Hall, St. George, Utah USA , August 2nd 2008
fireworks to Pacific island drum beats ……where and when is someone going to post a videoclip of this…..I would love to watch this as I am sure thousands of others are as well…..
David Tiki - New Zealand , September 3rd 2008
I am sure our culture is safe ,if we continue to practice the customs and belief that makes the Pacific /oceania different from the others as our ancestors did before us, let us all celebrate as they did in Samoa and in four years time in the Solomons.
Let us not westernise our culture let us preserve it for the future generations that will come after us.
Be proud of our heritage regardless of where you come from, we are one in the Pacific my Wantoks from the Oceania.
Long live our Culture and heritage. May we give thanks to the Lord above for he is wonderful.
June Vaifanua-Leo , August 2nd 2008
What a magical evening that was for our beautiful pacific people. You describe so wonderfully, I feel as if I’m dancing on that field on that same night after reading this piece. Fa’afetai tele Clement for joining us and writing about our island. We hope you enjoyed this event to the fullest as much as we did. God bless you and God bless the South Pacific!
tofa,
June