Thug Jewellery

One of the petrol stations in town (on the road leading up to the hospital) leases sections of its fencing for advertising. Alongside advertisements for rental phones and dtp and printing services, there's this advert for Thug Jewellery. Samoans _love_ to bling up their cars (UV lights, spinning hub caps, etc.) but it's good to see someone catering to more personal needs. If you need dog tags, you need Thug Jewellery.

"Just let your soul glow"

When little mullets in Samoa grow up, this is what they look like. Beautiful isn't it? This guy wandered into work last week and the temptation to surreptitiously photograph him was too strong to resist.

His name's Mika. He's a Tokelaun man.

We recently celebrated a birthday. Mika, pictured here, was in a particularly festive mood. The mood lasted, in spite of the smell of burning hair that eventually dominated the air around him.

He's currently in Tokelau with the UNDP as an observer of the referendum on independence from New Zealand. Just think, Tokelau can become the world's newest, and smallest, nation. It could also become one of the shortest lived, with predictions of rising sea levels giving nations like Tokelau, Niue and Kiribati something in the order of 50 - 100 years left.

Still, any opportunity for a people to democratically choose (or not, as the case may be) self governance is a good one. So let's celebrate, like Mika, whilst we can.

Update: The results are in. A narrow majority of the 600 or so registered Tokelaun voters have decided that it is better for Tokelau to remain a New Zealand territory.

Sunny days are here again

Finally, after three weeks, the clouds have lifted, the rain has stopped and the sun has shown its face. It's great. Tropical cyclone Vaianu, it would seem, has taken all the bad weather with it to Tonga. (Thanks Tonga, for taking one for the team.) Now I have just one wish:

I want the rain back.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad our mud pit of a driveway is starting to dry out. I'm glad we're now able to contemplate going swimming and snorkeling again. I'm glad that it's now possible for our washing to dry properly. The problem is, I can't do any washing.

Since Friday our water supply has dried up. First the water turned a deep brown. Then it became a trickle. And now we have none. We've broken out our bottled water supply, but it's amazing how quickly you can go through it if you're not careful. "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down." is our house mantra. We're becoming very frugal with the use of our pots and pans, cups and plates. We enjoyed a communal dessert out of one of our pots last night so there'd be less to wash up afterwards.

Last night I showered in the rain, and we put our bottles and buckets out to collect as much as possible. Sadly the rain only lasted some ten minutes or so, but it wasn't heavy enough, or long enough, for us to collect much water. At least I stopped smelling unfortunate.

So yes, give me rain. Give me a huge downpour. Let our drive way turn back into a mud pit. Just send me the rain.

But I'm prepared to settle for running water.

"They're more real than real women"

In Tonga they're known as fakaleiti, in French Polynesia they're referred to as rae rae and in Samoa they're called fa'afafine. In Western terms we'd say they're transgendered. Men who live and dress as women.

A whole swath of books, papers, etc., have been written about fa'afafine and their role in traditional and contemporary Samoan society. I suggest you look up Margaret Mead, Derek Freedman or Jeannette Mageo if you really want to learn a lot about them. I'll just focus on the fun stuff.

Late last year Hotel Kitano held the a fa'afafine beauty pageant. Ten contestants, four rounds and Blondie, the best fa'afafine performer in Samoa, holding court between rounds. It was a hoot. The title of the post comes from the evening's MC, who himself was once a fa'afafine (this is kind of weird apparently; not many people elect to stop living as fa'afafine).

There were swimsuits (lots of tape!) and there was "talent", the most notable of which would be the contestant who combined her love of classical music with her love of the "show queen" by dancing around the stage to Ravel waving a conductor's baton madly through the air.

The evening gown round was very special, with sequins in abundance, although there were one or two elegant gowns on display. The weirdest round was the interview round:

"What do you think about AIDS?"
"AIDS?"
(long pause)
"Just dooooooooooo it!!!!"

I've posted two photos from the evening. One is of a few of the contestants in the pageant's evening gown round. The second is a great shot I nabbed during one of Blondie's numbers ("It Must Be Him").

Wetter & wilder in downtown Apia

It's been almost two weeks since the rain started and it shows no sign of stopping any time soon. Whereas last week the road outside work flooded and necessitated some careful navigation to make it to the office, today it's work that has flooded. Thankfully we're on the second floor of the building, so the impact is very minor, but it is a decent measure of how much more water there is this time than last.

The street has turned into a small waterway; it's almost like a Polynesian Venice without any of the good stuff like gondolas. Men and women alike are hiking their skirts up around the tops of their thighs as they make their way down the street. As the occasional car or bus slowly creeps down the street, people scurry to the sides of the street to avoid being swamped by the waves that follow.

Mind you, this doesn't always guarantee safety, as the cars themselves are frequently forced to cling to the sides of the roads. All the rain has led to the appearance of countless potholes all over town. Resealing the roads has had little effect in dealing with the problem.

Looking at the satellite image is a Groundhog Day-esque experience. Sure the clouds change colours a little bit and give the impression that they've moved around a bit, but really at the end of the day it's the same large blob of dense cloud over the small outline of Samoa. I'm starting to forget what the sun looks like. I'm assured by my Samoan colleagues that this amount of bad weather, over such a long period, is very unusual, even for the wet season. A neighbour's water gauge shows 1400mm of rain has fallen since the beginning of the calendar year, with 600mm falling in the last six days alone.

When the sun does finally show its face again there'll be much celebration. I'll be able to sleep on a bed that isn't damp with all the moisture in the air. I'll be able to wear clothes that don't smell mouldy. I'll be able to come and go from my home without having to navigate a bog. Wash myself in water that isn't brown. You know, the little things in life.

The problem with planes today

Today's Samoa Observer reports on Vaimauga West MP, Patu Ativalu, who asked the hard questions in Parliament yesterday. As the Minister responsible for the Airport Authority was speaking about recent developments at the airport, Patu interrupted with a question: can the seats on the planes be made bigger?

"They should make the seats bigger because I'm not the only big person here," he said. "Most Samoans are big people."

Every time Patu travels, he said, he always look out for a row of seats where there is only one person. Why?

"You see, flying should be a comfortable experience otherwise if you get squeezed in between two people, you end up farting on the seat."

The angry ghosts of Savaii

Two weeks ago Samoa celebrated the opening of its newest international harbour port at Salelologa on Savaii. The Prime Minister and members of Cabinet amongst others gathered to watch the MV Southern Cross weigh anchor at the new wharf.

Things didn't quite go to plan.

About 100 metres short of the wharf the ship ground to a halt. According to the Samoa Ports Authority, a small sandbank had caused the ship to run aground. According to candidate for the coming elections, Tuilagi Vavae Simi Jr. Fruean, the real reason was something far more interesting. From today's (2nd Feb) edition of the Samoa Observer:

"The real reason why the ship was stuck was not because of a sandbank...The ghosts of Savaii stopped it," Tuilagi told the Samoa Observer. "I spoke with these ghosts and they told me what they wanted to do," he said.

"One of them wanted to pick up the ship and throw it on the tree tops. The other wanted to snap it in half and throw it back to the ocean. But they decided against it in the end. So they just decided to stop the ship from berthing."

Apparently, the ghosts were angry "because they did not want Government to fool their people again. They knew that what the Government was trying to do was to win votes for the election and they did not want the Savaii people to be fooled." It would seem that the ghosts of Savaii as unhappy about the current Government as Tuilagi.

I asked a couple of colleagues at work about this story, and about Samoans' belief in ghosts and ghost stories in general. Apparently many villages have tapu - rules dictating conduct in places of importance, places generally considered to be overseen by their ancestors' ghosts. To breach the tapu was the incur the anger of the ghosts.

I was told a story of four young women who went swimming in a local pool governed by tapu. They infringed upon the rules in some way; perhaps by not wearing their hair up whilst swimming in the pool or making too much noise and generally showing disrespect. All four women suffered some form of mental breakdown over the following days. Whilst three recovered, one apparently still suffers mental illness.

Whether or not you believe in ghosts and the stories they appear in, the story in today's newspaper highlights two things. First, respect for their ancestors is fundamental to the Samoan people. Second, Tuilagi is a shrewd man, hoping to improve his chances of election in March.

Wet & wild in downtown Apia

Oh yeah, it's definitely wet season. Now into our fifth or sixth day of constant rain, with increasing winds, the Samoa Meteorology Bureau have just issued a Gale Watch advisory. In short, there'll be more rain for a few more days to come at the very least.

Apia harbour has turned ugly, with choppy brown water crashing against the sea wall. Our home now looks like it's situated in the middle of an enormous puddle of mud. Thanks to the lack of drainage on Apia's roads, large areas of town have suffered varying degrees of flooding. Getting to work this morning was a little tricky, as the entire road just outside the office was flooded (see the picture). Thankfully, much of the water has drained away during the day, but there's little doubt we'll see more of the same as the weather isn't going to change any time soon.

Still life with mullet

A few weeks ago at the annual Pua'a festival, I stumbled across this. I have refrained from posting about the (abundant numbers of) mullets here in Samoa for some time, but this is such a good photo I couldn't hold back any longer.

Savaii - Olemoe waterfall

Tucked away in the southern interior of Savaii is Olemoe waterfall (I believe also known as Afu Aau). It's a couple of kilometres off the main road and really only accessible by foot or in a 4WD but it's well worth the visit. Careful navigation of a steep, muddy trail and rickety old ladder is necessary if you want to swim.

Some twenty or so metres high, the waterfall falls into a crystal clear freshwater pool. The pool is quite deep, reaching seven metres depth in some places, and is wonderfully refreshing to swim in. The rock walls of the ravine stretch up high into the sky, covered in rich, dense plantlife. Lichens and moss at the bottom give way to ferns, which in turn are replaced by trees and vines towards the top. On all sides the pool is surrounded by thick tropical jungle.

If you do swim in the pool you'll discover that you're not alone. Freshwater prawns and yabbies inhabit are abundant; sit still long enough on the water's edge and you'll feel them occasionally nip at your toes.

It's a truly beautiful place and so secluded you very quickly forget the rest of the world.

Savaii - Lava flows

The islands of Samoa are volcanic in origin; dormant and extinct volcanoes exist on each of the major islands that constitute the Samoa archipelago (Samoa and American Samoa further to the east). The presence of these volcanoes is no more evident than on Savaii, the second of the two large islands that constitute Samoa.

Large swathes of Savaii are covered in lava flows, the remnants of a slow eruption from two volcanic mountains that took place from 1905 until 1911. Driving along the eastern coastal road of Savaii reveals large tracts of land where the lava dominates the landscape. Dark black lava (andesite or basalt perhaps? Rock nerds let me know), showing the effects of its slow flow across the landscape, stretches across the horizon. Large sections are rippled, and long fractures streak through it all.

Most interesting of all are the places where the lava met, and consumed, areas of human habitation. In one area on the eastern coast, three churches were destroyed by the lava flow yet still stand. The London Missionary Service (LMS) church, pictured here, is amazing. The lava filled about half of the building, slowly pouring through its main entrance. Impressions remain where the corrugated iron roofing collapsed onto the lava.

Manuia le Aso Ausetalia

My apologies, I don't know how to say "Happy Invasion Day" in Samoan yet. Still have much to learn.

Regardless, a few of us kicked off the celebrations on what is, technically, a day early. We took the afternoon off work to head home and listen to Triple J's Hottest 100 broadcast over the Internet. We had sausages and onions on pieces of bread with sauce, Caramello Koalas, etc., and generally had a good time. Not too sure I agree with Bernard Fanning earning the No. 1 spot though. Rubbish.

Still, a good time was had by all and the best bit is, tomorrow we get to celebrate it all over again. All the Australians the High Commission has been able to hunt down have been invited to an official reception tomorrow (Jan 26th) evening. A friend and I will also be throwing an Australia Day bbq at work tomorrow too.

Sometimes living in the last place on earth has its advantages. ;)

What's in a name?

In Samoa, anything and everything. I've never come across a culture so ready to embrace the unusual, or more plainly the "other", when it comes to names. They truly take the idea of loan words to new heights. Some rippers that have come my way lately include:

Oceanbaby
Czarina
Comeboy Michael
Miracle
Raumahinatehinemahora
Ausetalia (Australia)
Census Johnson (a great Samoan rugby player)
Kingcup
Ofisa Ofisa
Komiti Komiti
Fa'afetai (thankyou)

Unfortunately I've misplaced the best/most astonishing name I've come across yet. I'll do my best to hunt it down and add it to this list.

Cops play pops

Every weekday morning, just before 8am, Beach Rd comes to a standstill as the Samoa Police band makes its way to the Government building for the raising of the national flag. On the way they perform several traditional marching band numbers as the cars idle slowly behind them. As the flag is raised they play the Samoan national anthem and all traffic comes to a standstill.

As a friend noted this morning, it's an interesting little piece of Colonial history that the Samoans embraced as their own. The officers wearing skirts does give it a decidedly Samoan character.

Tropical cyclones Tam & Urmil

The first cyclones of the season have formed not too far south-west of Samoa. Lucky for us (though perhaps not so lucky for those in Tonga, Niue and Wallis & Futuna) it looks like they should pass us by.

Over the last few days it's been easy to tell that something big has been brewing. It's been raining solidly for at least three days now, and the wind has been gusting harder and harder. This morning on the way to work I saw a couple of coconut trees that had snapped in half overnight. Low-lying areas have suffered some minor to moderate flooding too. At the end of the day though, we're suffering nothing more than rubbish weather. I'm sure Melbournians put up with this kind of thing all the time. ;)

The US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration posts visible and infrared spectrum satellite images of the region on their website. If you have Java, you can even look at some of their satellite image loops. The image above is cropped from the coloured infrared snapshot taken at 6.30pm UMT on the 13th. You can see the outline of Samoa's two islands just above and to the right of the centre of cyclone Urmil. The Fijian island chain is in the clear to the left. Tonga, rather unfortunately, is a small white speck in the main part of the cyclone. Tropical cyclone Tam is just off the bottom of the image.

Sunset in Samoa

This is what sunset looks like in Samoa. I took this photo just outside of my house this afternoon.

Living like hermits (continued)

Say hello to the most domesticated pig in Samoa. A resident of Namu'a, she kept us company (or perhaps occasionally demanded it) during our stay. She particularly liked scratches under her chin and behind her ear.

Living like hermits

After a particularly long (but definitely enjoyable!) Christmas Day, I managed to get out of town for a couple of days with a couple of friends. We were able to escape to the comparative calm and quiet of Namu'a island, a small island off the south-east point of 'Upolu (the main island of Samoa, the other large island being Savaii). With just a single beach (really just a splash of sand) and a handful of fales sitting just behind it, Namu'a is tiny. It's the perfect place to go and hide from the rest of the world.

The waters around Namu'a are a popular feeding ground for sea turtles. On the boat over to the island we spotted a giant one, gliding effortlessly and gracefully through the crystal clear water. Very amazing.

Whilst there, I can safely say all I managed to do was go snorkeling, eat the occasional meal and sleep. Oh, that and meet the most domesticated pig I've encountered in Samoa.

A beginner's guide to pua'a

Pua'a - pig - is an institution in Samoa. Spend any time here and you will inevitably encounter, in one form or another, plenty of them. It is a far cry from Australia, where we typically only see pigs at the butchers or supermarket. Since my arrival three months ago, I have learnt the following about pua’a:

1. Pua'a are valuable
Never underestimate the importance of a pig. They provide hours of fun for the family and, assuming your sow gets stitched up on a regular basis, represent an almost endless supply of food. When required to donate something for a fa’alavelave - a major event such as a funeral or wedding - handing over a pig or two can go a long way. And it's cheaper than the financial alternative.

2. Pua'a are everywhere
Since they are so valuable, everyone owns pua’a. Lots of them. They're everywhere. Sows and their litter can be seen wandering through villages, relaxing by family graves and regularly trotting along and across the road. You always need to keep an eye out when driving.

3. "That's not a speed hump you just drove over!”
Eventually you're going to run over a pig. A split second before it happens you feel like a pig shooter in outback Australia, running down wild boar caught in your spotlights, but that feeling evaporates the moment you watch it disappear from view only to feel a couple of large thumps as your car drives over it.Running over a pig isn't really considered kosher (but then neither is pig) so it's advisable to do one of two things: keep on driving and pretend it never happened, or (if you're seen hitting the pig) offer adequate financial compensation to the owner. Occasionally a third option opens itself up to the savvy driver, which can be summed up as...

4. Never look a gift pig in the mouth
Typically, as a palagi living in Samoa, you’re only going to be offered pig as part of a meal. Should you bring an early end to a pig’s life though, you might not want to pass up the opportunity of a free feed. See point six below. Should you actually be lucky enough to be given a live pig, well then you have options open to you.

5. "Greasing the pig"
I mentioned above that pigs provide hours of fun and I wasn't lying. At the recent "Puaa Fest" I was pleased to discover that, at least in Samoa, the phrase "Greasing the pig" isn't just a euphemism. Sure, it's something that young boys primarily engage in, but the girls get into it too. Maybe it could catch on abroad, as it's very simple to arrange:

• Use some spare tin roofing or similar to build an enclosure (4m x 10m should do).
• Stick a couple of your smaller pigs in the enclosure.
• Grease your pigs - two or three sets of hands are really required for this step as you want to make sure the whole pig is slippery with grease.
• Watch the smiles on the kids' faces as they attempt to catch, barehanded, your greased pigs. Delight in the sounds of pure animal fear as the pigs attempt to evade capture.

Note: It’s probably advisable to have a medical kit on hand as sometimes the pigs do bite. Should this happen, attend to wounded child then consider the next point for dealing with your pig.

6. Cooking and eating your pua'a
The best option for enjoying your pig is, without doubt, to eat it. The idea is to stuff it full of hot rocks wrapped in mango and breadfruit leaves, make it the centrepiece of your umu oven and enjoy it about an hour or so later. When preparing your pig, it is always important to place one hot rock in the throat, one in the stomach, and another someplace you usually hear John Elliot talk about to make sure that the meat is cooked through. Serve with umu-cooked taro and palusami for a fantastic meal.

It's what I'm doing for Christmas.