[B]PAGO PAGO, American Samoa[\/B]\u2014Curious crowds have gathered to see traditional games being played by members of the Senior Community Employment Program at the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts in American Samoa. <\/p>\n
The program is carrying out research into traditional games and ways to revive them, says SCEP Division Manager, Valasi Lavata\u2019i Gaisoa.<\/p>\n
The game of taulafoga, which was mainly played by matai (chiefs) in the past, involves seeing who can throw a fine (stone) the furthest. Coconut shells can be used instead of stones. <\/p>\n
Accuracy and concentration are needed to succeed at another game, fiti (flick game), which requires flicking a single stick clear of a pile. Fiti is played by women.<\/p>\n
Gaisoa says taulafoga and fiti are traditional Samoan games that originated hundreds of years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaulafoga was a game for the matai when they had social gatherings where they were not doing anything but were practicing the way they should speak,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Gaisoa said that playing the game helped inspire chiefs in the speaking skills they needed when addressing family or villagers.<\/p>\n
To play the game, two teams sit at opposite ends of a flat, 60-foot long, raised playing surface. The surface is covered by a large mat on top of which a thin mat with a smooth surface is placed. Each team skims stones across the smooth mat to try and hit the other team\u2019s fine off the mat and gain points.<\/p>\n
Gaisoa says taulafoga has changed over time. \u201cThe game has evolved because now women are playing it, whereas before it was strictly for high chiefs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fiti requires poise and accuracy, Gaisoa explains, and is usually very entertaining because players sing and dance as they play.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt requires a lot of coordination and concentration. Women play it in their spare time\u2014they dance to help themselves loosen up and come back to flick only when a stick is not obstructed by other sticks and can be flicked clear of the rest.\u201d <\/p>\n
Gaisoa says elderly women continue to play these games today both for enjoyment and to revive and preserve an age-old art.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur senior citizens have helped to revive these games, which is what the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts is all about \u2013 bringing alive our culture and tradition.\u201d [B][I](SPC)[\/I][\/B]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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