Samoan Cultural Village

The Samoan Cultural Village in Apia (see another posts) is a fun place that interactively teaches about Fa'a Samoa, the Samoan Way. I found it doubly fun as I'm island hopping and getting to experience cultures that are both different and have much in common.
Fa'a Samoa is deeply imbedded in the people here, and it comes through in the various presentations. It is especially well communicated by the staff who clearly love what they are doing. The warm, friendly nature of this people is on display.
The visit begins with weaving where you get to make a headband (the 1st picture) and a traditional plate (the 2nd picture, even though it isn't obvious at this angle). Then we were welcomed in the traditional way with an 'ava ceremony. This is the Samoan equivalent of the kava ceremony in Fiji (see other posts).
The 4th picture is the umu, similar to the Fijian lovo. Stones are heated and cooking occurs on hot rocks with everything covered with green leaves. The 4th picture is a small tuna wrapped in coconut leaves before being placed in the umu.
The 6th picture is a traditional woodcarver working on a hardwood bowl. The tools he uses are the traditional tools with the same design that goes back to ancient stone tools, though today the head is steel. The handles are wood, just as the original stone tools were.
The last picture is the meal from the umu that is reference above, served on the traditional woven plate with "traditional" foil added since most of us didn't exactly make the plates tight enough to be really effective. Mine certainly wasn't. You might be able to make out the tuna, young taro leaves cooked with coconut milk, roast taro, and roast banana.
In addition, we watched part of the pe'a tatau process. No photos were permitted. The design being tattooed is specific and all of it has meaning. It is a painful process that has 12 sessions of up to 6 hours each. The pe'a tatau is from the waist to the knees and up into part of the back.
BTW, the English word tattoo derives from this Samoan word, and the folks here claim that tattooing originated in Samoa.Read more