Entertainment highlights from 54th Independence

By Sarafina Sanerivi 04 June 2016, 12:00AM

There is no doubt that the special guests, tourists, and the whole country were well-entertained by the different cultural performances at the Independence Celebration. 

The different groups who participated did an excellent job in portraying Samoan culture and history through dancing and singing.  In the midst of all the exciting and entertaining performances, the audience were moved when the Ola Toefuataina group performed a ifoga or a traditional apology in front of the whole county. 

It was an emotional act as some elderly men from the group knelt to the grown and were covered with finemats while the whole group were singing. 

The Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Afamasaga Rico Tupa’i and the Minister of Health, Tuitama Dr. Leao Tuitama got up from where they were sitting and went to where the group were performing and helped the men up. 

The audience were then treated to a marvellous performance from the Leone group from American Samoa. 

But there was loud applause and shouts from the audience when the group from Falealupo challenged the Prime Minister during their traditional song to accept the Tautua into Parliament. 

“The number does not matter, what matters is their opinion and their voice in Parliament.”

One of the highlights of the day was the performance from the Lepa and Lotofaga College. They performed a contemporary dance portraying how Samoa gained Independence. 

The performance started as they carried the flag of New Zealand, with students walking on the sides like soldiers. The group also portrayed the Black Saturday incident, which occurred on the 28 October 1929, when Tupua Tamasese Lealofi was shot as a result of a fracas that erupted during a parade by members of the Mau back in 1929. 

Pesega College and the only College from Savai’i, Amoa College also performed the sasa, the slap dance (fa’ataupati), ma’ulu’ulu and fire dance (siva afi). And each performance tells a story of the history of Samoa and how we gained Independence. 

Fasito’o-Uta was the last group to perform, and they brought back one of the old cultural dances of Samoa which was the axe dance.  But nothing beats the loud shouts and applause from the audience during the closing performance from the Samoa Police Band. 

They wowed the audience with an amusing and entertaining act which ended with them performing the Running Man Challenge. 

By Sarafina Sanerivi 04 June 2016, 12:00AM
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