Flags and Fa'afas

April 17th is Flag Day in American Samoa. It celebrates the first time the U.S. Navy raised the American flag and the island became a U.S. territory. It's a pretty big deal and there are lots of sporting events, fautasi (longboat) races, and concerts. This year April 17th fell on a Tuesday. The governor decided Wednesday should also be a holiday because of all the events taking place. That meant we had school Monday, Thursday, and Friday. Essentially, to quote a coworker, it was a "dead week." 

Events started on Saturday with fautasi races in the morning. Each boat represented a particular village, but there wasn't one from Leone. I think there were about 6-8 boats racing, but there were different heats so there were more on monday and tuesday. We asked tons of people, including students, other teachers, taxi drivers, and bus drivers,  what time the race would start and where would be the best place to watch. We never got an exact time on the race but heard anywhere from 8-9am, but most people said 9am. We decided to meet some other world teachers for breakfast at around 8:30 at a place that was near the finish of the race so that we would be able to keep an eye on things. It's a good thing we got there when we did because at around 8:40 am people starting rushing onto the beach, waving flags and cheering for their teams. We joined the crowd and could see boats coming in the distance. Within about 10 minutes the race was over.

The boats were so far away it was hard to see them. But the winning team from Nu'uuli pulled their boat up right at the beach where we were all standing and watching. The team and all their fans were dressed in red. Everyone was cheering and waving their red lava lavas and flags that they had made. We got to see the boat and all the paddlers up close. All day, especially around Nu'uuli, there were pickups and buses full of people waving red and doing their special Samoan cheer that sounds like CHOOOWOOO!

Next we went to watch some rugby at the stadium. They were playing sevens and there were teams from different villages, as well as teams from Western Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. I've only watched rugby maybe once or twice in my life and that was the club teams at Oberlin. I don't really know much about the rules or strategy of the game so it was hard to tell what was going on especially since most of the announcing was in Samoan. However, there were two main things that I picked up on while watching: First, the teams from western always looked stronger and played better than the teams from AmSam (even to my untrained eye), and second, for some curious reason Samoans think rugby is hilarious, and, although there was very little cheering, every two minutes the whole stadium
(which was packed!) would erupt with laughter. Most of the time I couldn't figure out why. Neither of these observations really surprised me, though. The men of western Samoa are generally a lot more fit since their country is much less influenced and corrupted by American ways, such as driving their SUVs through the drive-thru twice a day. Also due to the American influence, football has edged out rugby as the favored sport here in AmSam and more little boys will grow up playing football as opposed to rugby. As for the hilarity of rugby, well, Samoans think everything (especially physical humor and people getting hurt) is funny so it makes sense. I doubt I would have the same experience sitting in the stands of a rugby game in any other country.

Anyway we sat in the stadium watching one rugby game after another for about 6 hours. We kept thinking that the next game would be that last and that it would finally be the championship game, but no. Again, this problem was somewhat caused by not being able to understand the announcer, but even the Samoans sitting next to us told us confusing information. We thought that since we had stuck it out this long it would be a shame to miss the final, but finally, with no end in sight, we hobbled away to find a taxi, our bodies permanently contorted and sore from sitting on concrete bleachers without moving for 6 hours. But at least we got our money's worth (which is always important as a volunteer) and I've watched enough rugby to last me for a long time. It's a good thing that we left when we did because we were almost late to our next event: the SOFIAS pageant!

Roughly translated: have virtue and pride in your identity

SOFIAS stands for the Society of Fa'afafine in American Samoa (http://assofias.webs.com/). Literally translated, the word "fa'afafine" means "the way of the woman." Fa'afafine are Samoans who are biologically born as males, but identify themselves as female. It has long been a recognized and important part of traditional Samoan culture. Fa'afafine were considered sacred because they embodied both the male and female spirits. They performed both male and female duties within the family and the household. Since that time, thought, there has been a lot of western influence and things have changed. Fa'afafine are not considered gay and the best way to describe them may be transgendered, but really it's more of a third gender. It can be hard to explain and understand because we don't really have the equivalent in western society and culture. It is interesting to me that fa'afafine are so widely recognized, accepted, and generally respected in a society that is so predominantly Christian and anti-gay. Anyway I don't think I'm really qualified to explain too much about it but, the role of fa'afafine in Samoan culture is very interesting to read about so just google it!

Every year the SOFIAS have a pageant to pick the next Miss SOFIAS. For lack of a better word, it is basically like a drag ball. The ticket says "Exotic by Nature. The pageant is back with more swag to brag and tease your entertainment appetite. Witness the heat of competition as this year's girls fiercely compete to portray the essence of the following categories: red, white, and blue swimsuit; talent; and signature evening gown." We watched 6 fa'afafine compete in all three of those categories. As could be expected at any type of drag ball event, it was wild and over the top, all of which made for a a very entertaining evening.

Also, one of the teachers from Leone high school was competing (contestant number 4) so we were all rooting for her. Anyone could see that it really came down to just 2 contestants in the end, one of whom was from Leone. Their outfits, talents, and interviews were just a cut above the rest of the contestants. Alas, it was contestant number 6 who was crowned the new Miss SOFIAS. In our opinion and many of the viewers', our fellow teacher from Leone was robbed of the crown! She was the first runner up. We were disappointed in the result, but it was an excellent pageant!