Connecting with their ancestors and culture through dance and competitions, five Samoan high school groups participated in the 23rd annual “We Are Samoa” festival at the Polynesian Cultural Center on May 9.
BYU-Hawaii student Adam Conte, a junior from Arizona studying exercise science, attended the event with his family because he grew up around the Samoan culture even though he is Native American.
After seeing the event, he said, “I’m kind of thinking about raising my kids here now so they can be part of this stuff. It’s really cool that high school students have a huge event like this that encourages them to be a part of their culture,” said Conte.
“A lot of times, the world is promoting the easier way to do things. It doesn’t really promote realizing or appreciating what their ancestors had to go through or the skill set they had. So it’s great for them to connect with their ancestors and how their people used to live.”
The festival featured students from five local high schools: Kahuku, Redford, ILH Poly Club, Waipahu and Kapolei. Vatau Victoria Galeai Neria, a judge for the exhibition and PCC alumni, said, “We still live actively our culture. Once you’re Samoan, you just feel like you are.” The festival began with speeches by individual students in Samoan.
Then the festival moved to games depicting traditional Samoan chores: coconut husking, basket weaving, banana peeling, and making fire. After the students competed in basket weaving, adult audience members were invited to come on stage and take a turn.
Four of the five high schools were able to make a fire, which was the first time so many had succeeded at the task, according to the Master of Ceremonies.The festival concluded with a song and dance exhibition from every school. The dances consisted of traditional Samoan themes combined with popular American music and dance styles.
For example, Waipahu incorporated Bruno Mars’ hit “Uptown Funk” into its presentation. Each school’s performance lasted from 20 to 30 minutes.At intermission, the audience watched a performance from Tutoasi, a Utah-based dance group comprised of high school students.
Helen Sosi, a mother of one of the dancers in Tutoasi, said, “They really put in a fair amount of time – anything from three to four days a week, and practices ran about two and a half hours.” She said the students often sacrificed weekends to learn about their cultures.