OleVa‘aTāPalolo~ThePaloloFishingCanoe

Eauiletauola,eauilefāgota.Tendthefishbasket,becomethefisher.

SAMOANPROVERB

GalumalemanaStevenPercivalDocumentarian

SubmittedtoIntangibleCulturalHeritageWebinarSeries

onMaritimeICH,29to30October2020“MaritimeLivingHeritage:BuildingSustainable

LivelihoodandEcosystemsintheAsia-PacificRegion”[Session2]TraditionalMaritimeSkillsandKnowledge

forEnvironmentalSustainabilityandResilience

Coverphoto:DenisaMaňásková

OleVa‘aTāPalolo~ThePaloloFishingCanoe 2

ABSTRACT

Buildingacanoeforthepalolo1rise,aneventthatoccurstwiceinayear,israrelydescribedanddocumentedinmovingandstillimages.WithaccompanyingtextcapturingknowledgesharedbyaMasterCraftsman,LesāMotusagaofSa‘anapuvillageinSamoa,thispaperprovidesinsightsintotheIntangibleCulturalHeritageassociatedwiththebuildingofapaopao2,dugoutcanoe,forarichfishingtradition.Palolo,adelicacythatrisespre-dawnfromcoralbedssevendaysafterthefullmooninOctoberandNovember,isknownasthecaviarofthePacific,anaptdescriptiongiventhehighpricepeoplearewillingtopayforthisrareseafood3.Briefly,itisaseafoodwithsignificantsocio-culturalvaluenowenjoyinghigh,ifnotinflated,economicvalue.Thenaturalenvironmentisnotatypicalclassroombutis,insofarasIntangibleCulturalHeritageisconcerned,animportantsettingwhereknowledgeistransmitted,particularlyknowledgeoftheenvironmentandtapuorsa,thesacredlawsorforbiddenactsdesignedforitsprotectionandconservation

1. INTRODUCTION

Samoanculture,despitesuccessivewavesofglobalization,hasmaintainedarichanddistinguishedculturalheritagethatsupportsawayoflifewithmanydistinctfeatures.People often use the catch-all phrase “fa‘a-Samoa,” to differentiate thisdistinctiveness: in themanner of the Samoans. But there have been sea changes inmany of the Samoanworld views that traditionally supported theirway of life: theimpactsofaliencultures,administrativeandspiritualcolonization,theshifttoacasheconomyandaforeigndiet,tonameafew,haveallbroughtchangetothefa‘a-Samoa,a way of life once supported by wide-ranging traditional ecological knowledgesustainingarichbodyofIntangibleCulturalHeritage(ICH).TheknowledgeandcompetenceappliedtotraditionalSamoanhousebuildingandboat-craftaretwoexamplesofICHthathavebeensteadilydecliningsincefirstcontactwithforeigners.Suchdeclinemeansmorethanjustthelossofaparticularsetofskillsortangibleexpressionsofculture.ThediscoveryandmakingofculturalproductscreatedwellspringsfortheSamoanlanguage.Thedeclineinoneleadstolossintheother.Whenwordsnolongerhaveameaningfulreferencepoint,theyareapttobeforgottenormisusedovertime.Losingtheartformsandthelanguagealso

1Paloloareactuallyworm-likesacsofeggsandofspermfromthefemaleandmaleformsofaseaannelid(Palolasiciliensis,Grube,1840.Paloloviridis,Grray,1847.Euniceviridis,Kramer,1903)whichspendsitslifeincrevicesinthecoraldepths.Source:TheRisingofthePalolo,SouthPacificBulletin,July1962.2ThepaopaoisoneofseveraltypesofboatstraditionallybuiltbytheSamoans.AllotherboatsarenolongerbuiltinSamoaandincludethevaʻa-alo,asmallfishingcanoe,thelargesingle-hulledcanoesidentifiedbythenumberofboons(e.g.,lā‘aulimaorfive-barred),ʻalia,theSamoandoublecanoewhich,whenverylarge,isalsoknownastheva'a-tele.Otherboatswereoftenbuiltusingwithplankedwoodandcouldalsobefittedwithsailstobecomeva‘a-fai-lā.Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Va%27a3Palolosoldforrecordpricesin2019.Seeforexample:https://samoaglobalnews.com/the-cost-of-palolo-reaches-a-record-high-this-year/

OleVa‘aTāPalolo~ThePaloloFishingCanoe 3

erodesculturalidentityshapedbyanintangibleculturalheritage.Moreover,culturalerosioncanleadtolossinbiodiversitywithonce-neededspeciesofnativefloranolongerprotected.Theniu‘afaorsennitcoconuttree,oncefoundnearsettlementsisnowhardtofindwithfewersennitmakersandadecliningconservationofthetrees4.Asimilarlossseemstohaveoccurredwiththeplantoncepreferredtomakehousethatching,tolofualau5.Samoansandalwood,asimanogi6,usedtomakefragrantcoconutoil,seemsalsotohavedisappearedfromtheenvironmentoriscertainlynowextremelyrare.Inanageofinformationoverload,itiseasytoforgetwhatourforbearsknewsointimately–thenaturalworldthatsustainedtheirwayoflife.Theskillsneededforhousebuildingandboat-craftarecommonlyfoundinoneperson–thetufuga–anexpertartisan.Atthehighestoflevelofexpertiseisthematuaofaiva,theelderartisanorMastercraftsmanwholeadsaproject.Asworkproceeds,itisnotuncommontohearthephrase:“mālōlesilasilaiLauAfiogaleMatuaoFaiva”–goodeyetoyousir,theeldercraftsman.Thematuaofaivawasheldinsuchhighesteemthathewasalsotitled“agaiotupu,”thecompanionofkings7.ThispaperpresentssomeoftheknowledgeandexpertisesharedwiththeauthorbyTōfāLesāFa‘anūMotusaga,atulafaleororator-chiefandaMatuaoFaivaskilledinhouseandboatbuilding.Hebuildsapaopaojustbeforethefirstoftwospawningsofthepalolo,eventsthatoccuroverathree-dayperiodinOctoberandNovembereachyear.ThecommonbeliefisthattheyieldinOctoberisstrongeralongthecoastlineofSavaiiwhilethecatchinNovemberisstrongerinUpolu.Thereasonsforthisareunclearbutanecdotalevidencesuggeststhatthisisnolongercertainwiththeimpactsofclimatechangeonthemarineenvironment8.

2. Treesareanimportantaspectinanybuildingproject.Forthepaopaodocumentedinthispresentation,thefollowingtreespecieswereusedormentioned:• Tamaligi,Falcatariamoluccana:an invasivespeciesnotconsideredusefulforany

otherpurpose.• Tamanu,ma‘ali,gasu,tavai,moso‘oi,‘ulu,andpipi:preferrednativetreesforboats.• Fau,Hibiscustiliaceus,abeachorseahibiscusoftheTropicalalmondfamily:Used

fortheboonorfloat.• Ma‘ailili,tava,akone:Otherspeciesoftenusedfortheboonorfloat.• Filifiloa,aslenderandstrongtreewithagirtharoundthesizeofathumb:usedas

4Anecodotalevidencediscoveredduringresearchconductedbytheauthorfortheproduction“OlefAfaSamoa,”adocumentaryfilmandcompanionbookletonthemakinganduseof‘afa(coconutsennit).TolosethiscoconutvarietywillbeagreatlosstothebiodiversityofSamoaandindeedtheworld,astheniu‘afaisconsideredtobethelongestvarietyontheplanet,withhusksmeasuringuptohalfameterinlength.2013.5Ibid.6TuiAtuaTupuaTamaseseTa’isiEfi,in‘Taumainaolepuaula’–FragrancingSamoanThoughtUniversityofOtagoPublicLecture,Dunedin,NewZealand,9March2009.Source:http://www.head-of-state-samoa.ws/speeches_pdf/Tupua%20Fragrance%20paper%2008%2003%2009%20FINAL%20OTAGO.pdf7TeRangiHiroa(P.H.Buck),SamoanMaterialCulture,1930.Source:http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BucSamo.html8ConversationwithLesā,6October2020.

OleVa‘aTāPalolo~ThePaloloFishingCanoe 4

pegsattachingtheoutriggerboontothetwoboomslashedtotheboat.• Togovao,Ardisia elliptica, an invasive species and recent addition to the littoral

forest on the Sa‘anapu coast, and lala, Uraria lagopodioides, possibly anotherinvasivespecies:Thesearesuppleandarecurvedtocreatethepalolofishingnets.

• Poumuli, Flueggea flexuosa, a dense hardwood commonly used for house polesandpreferredbysomeboatbuildersformakingpaddles.

• Milo,Thespesiapopulnea (Malvaceae,of theMallow family),aptlynamedPacificRosewood:thepreferredspeciesusedtomakehandlesforhaftedadzes.Withanextensiveknowledgeof thenaturalenvironment, thetufuga ismorethananexpert craftsman;he isakeeperof indigenousecologicalknowledge,onewhoknowstheforestandtheritualsthateffectivelyservetoprotectitforasustainablefuture.Tufugaarewardensof IntangibleCulturalHeritage comprisingknowledgesystemsandknow-hownotlearnedinaclassroom.Subsistence farming and fisheries are still very important for sustainablelivelihoodsand thedietaryhealthof ruralSamoans.9.ThepopulationofSamoa in2016was194,88610.Therearefewpaidjobsinruralvillages.

3. Implements:Theprincipletoolsofthetradeare:a. Iliafi,chainsaw:widelyusedandnowessentialpieceofequipment.b. To‘i,axe:usedforroughingoutthehull,removinglargechunksofwood.c. To‘i fafau, hafted steel adzes:A straight-edged adze and a curved steel adze

usedonconvexsurfacessuchasthehull.To‘ima‘a,stoneadzes,arenolongerapartofSamoa’straditionalcreativeindustryandhowtheseweremadeandusedareamysterytomoderntufuga.Lesāwasunabletoofferanyinsightsorknowledgeconcerningstonetools.

4. Theboatbuildingprocess:A tamaligi (Falcatariamoluccana) growing some200meters fromLesā’s homewasselectedforthisproject.Itislessthan5yearsoldandstands12–15metersinheight.Whenthetreefallsthestump iscovered;avestigeofancientritualsassociatedwithtree felling.EarlierresearchsuggeststhatSamoantufugaofoldwould first invokearitual seeking permission from the tree and thanking it for its sacrifice, regardinghumansandtreesaskin11.Lesāexplainedthatthetreestumpiscoveredinorderthatthecanoewillnotpāorcrackatitsends.

9ThetotalnumberofemployeesintheformalsectorintheJune2020quarterwas24,358(0.3%lowerthanthesamequarterin2019).Source:https://www.sbs.gov.ws/images/sbs-documents/Finance/Employment/2020/Employment_Report_June_2020_Quarter.pdf10SamoaBureauofStatisticsStatisticalAbstract,2018.Source:https://www.sbs.gov.ws/images/sbs-documents/social/Abstract/Abstract2018.pdf11ThelateSiatuaLeulua‘iali‘i,arespectedelderandculturalcustodian,wasinterviewedbytheauthorin2008andherecalledhisfathersayingthatwheneverhewasgoingtocutatreedownintheforesthewouldfirstaddressthetreeasifaskingforpermissiontodoso.

OleVa‘aTāPalolo~ThePaloloFishingCanoe 5

OleliuoleVa‘a–Carvingthehullislaboriouswork.Afterturningthelogtoitsfloatingposition,aseriesofparallelchainsawcutsaremade,perpendiculartothelog.Anaxewielderfollowstakingofflargechunksofwoodwitheachblow(Figure1).The chainsawnext creates a series of zigzag cuts,again followed by the axe, then cuts out the bowandsternleavingringsofwoodateachendtohelpensuretheendsdonotcrack.

Haftedadzesusedarecalledto‘ifafaubutthecurvedsteeladzeisknownastheto‘ū.

Theto‘ifafau,ahaftedadzewithastraightsteelblade.Theto‘ū,ahaftedadzewithacurvedsteelblade.

Thefirstcuts. Rālioroughingoutthehull[PhotographbyDenisaMaňásková]

Shownrightisahaftedstoneadzemadebytheauthor.OleamaoleVa‘a–Theboonismadefromfau(Hibiscustiliaceus).Itislightincolourandweightbutisstrongandcanbereusedfromapreviouscanoe.Itisattachedtotheboatwithboomspeggedandstrappedtotheboon(referFigure2onnextpage).

OleVa‘aTāPalolo~ThePaloloFishingCanoe 6

a. Designshowingdimensionsandnamesofpartsoftheboat(Figure2).

OleVa‘aTāPalolo~ThePaloloFishingCanoe 7

Inhislandmarkstudy12,MaorianthropologistTeRangiHiroadocumentedadugoutcanoeandhisdrawing(lower)isalmostidenticaltothecanoemadebyLesā(Figure3).

5. Legends13,thenamepalolo,andproverbs:

a. Legendreferstoawarbetweencoralsandearthcreatures.Coralswonthewar and took worms as prisoners, to serve theirmasters on the seabed.These“worms,” thepalolo,werepermitted torise to thesurfaceof theseatwiceayear.Relatingtothislegendisafablethatthepalolowerebornfromthe union of corals and the captiveworms. In another legend, the war isbetween birds and fishes.When assembling the fish battalion, the palolowerenotenlistedastheywereconsideredweak.Thebirdswonthatbattleandmany fish suffered but thepalolo survived unscathed only to later beattackedbywarwagedonthembyhumans.

b. Twooriginsforthenamepalolo14.Thefirstconnectsthewordpā,fishhookor lure, totheword lolo,areferencetotheoily liquidthat is formedinthesamilolo,youngcoconutfleshfermentedinseawaterandrelishedbyeldersintheperiodleadinguptothepalolorise.Theotherorigin,recordedbyTurnerin1884andKramerin1903,linkspāto lolo, referring to the oily appearance of the palolowhen it reaches thesurfaceofthesea.

c. Alagāupu,proverbs15.• Fefulisa‘ifa‘alā‘aumamafa:Toturn likeaheavy log–when lookingforthebestinnateorientationoftheboat.Afavorableshiftinmindsetthatsupportsaproposalsuchastheselectionofanorator-chieftospeak.

• Tofī, tofā le la‘au: Cut the wood hither and thither. The arduous andhaphazardworkonthehulloftheboat.Deliberationsinameetingcanturnthiswayandthatbeforearrivingataconsensus.

• Sa‘iliiletaileagaaleva‘a:Testthecharacteristicsofaboatatsea.Thetruetestofaboatishowitperformsinthewaterbeforeitisused.

12TeRangiHiroa(P.H.Buck),1930,SamoanMaterialCulture,BerniceP.BishopMuseumBulletin75.Honolulu,Hawaii:B.P.BishopMuseum13TofaI‘igaPisa,TheRisingofthePalolo,SouthPacificBulletin,July196214Ibid.15TheseproverbsweresharedwiththeauthorbyRālioTogipauLaufale,Lesā’sgrandson.

OleVa‘aTāPalolo~ThePaloloFishingCanoe 8

6. Thepaloloseasonintheyear16.

July Palolomua Thefirstpromiseofpalolo.

August Toepalolo,Palolomuli

Thelastseasonbeforethepalolo

September Mulifā Endoftheterrestrialgrowingseason.

October Lefanoga,Lotuaga

Namedafterthespecialprayersofferedtothegodsforrain.Thepalolorisesonthe7thmorning(pre-dawn)afterthefullmoon(malupeaūa).A“firstvisit”takesplace(asilepalolo)withsubsequentvistsonthenexttwomornings.

November Taumafamua,Tagaloata'u

Thefirstofplenty.Fishandotherfoodbecomeplentifulatthistime.Thesecondpalolospawningtakesplace7daysafterthelastnightofthefullmooninNovember.

Palolosignifiesmorethanararedelicacy.Itistheadventofspringasexpressedintheproverb“amōmonalevao,etapisalegataifale17,”whentheforestisheavy(withfruitasseenbyfeastingpigeons),thecoastlineisnoisy(withpeopleharvestingseafood).TherainyseasonalsobeginswithheavydownpoursknownasVaipalolo.Thosefishingforpalolocommonlyweargarlandsoffragrantflowersandleaves–moso‘oi(Canangiumodoratum),lagaali(Aglaia),orlaumaile(Alyxia)–suggestingan affinity between people and riches provided by nature.Anecdotal evidencesuggests increasingly fewer people are engaging in this cultural practice oftenattributing a poor catch to this. Another reason cited by several people to theauthor,isthatpaloloshouldnotbesoldbutgivenawayfreely.

7. ConclusionThetufugaprovidesanimportantlinkbetweenthenaturalenvironmentandtheSamoanwayoflife.Documentationofthebuildingofapaopaoforpalolofishinghasbeenthroughhighresolutiondigitalvideoandimages.Withthisrecord,theTiapapataArtCentreInc.18,withMs.DenisaMaňásková,planstoproducetwofilms–ashortermoviewithemphasisonaudio-visualcreativity,andalonger,educationalfilmwithinterviews.Aphoto-essayonthissubjectwillalsobepublishedbytheTiapapataArtCentreInc.Throughthisrecord,itishopedthattheIntangibleCulturalHeritageassociatedwiththebuildingofthepaopaoandfishingforpalolomaybepreservedforfuturegenerations.

16Lefale,Penehuro,NIWA,Water&Atmosphere11(2)2003https://niwa.co.nz/sites/niwa.co.nz/files/import/attachments/samoa.pdf17Thisproverbwassharedwiththeauthorin2011byTōfāAgafiliTuitolova‘awhoclaimstohavederivedtheexpressionfromtheoriginalproverb:amafualevaomatua,emafuafo‘ilegataifale–whentheforestisfulloffruitsotooistheseafulloffish.Tuitolova‘a’sversioniscrypticbuthasthesamemeaning.18TheTiapapataArtCentreInc.isacharitabletrustestablishedinSamoain2006topromotetraditionalandcontemporaryartsandcrafts.TheauthorofthispaperisitsManagingTrustee.