E au uma i le tauola, e au fo’i i le fagota ....

Translation: “We all get to carry the fish basket, as well as become the fisherman, too.”

The picture is one of my all-time favorites. The amazing thing was that as soon as I saw the picture the proverbial expression above flashed through my mind. The realization and association were immediate, epiphanic and validatory.

“Tauola” refers to the bearer of the fish basket; “tau” is short for “carry” (as in tauamo, tau'ave, tausa’e, tausi'i) and “ola” refers to the specific basket designed to carry fish.  This special basket is woven from the youngest and topmost leaf of a coconut tree.  This is the leaf whose leaflets are still closed and not yet opened and the basket is woven with them still closed and not to be opened.  The whole idea is for the basket to be airtight and therefore not many holes  - if any - for fish to slip through.

The expression is mostly used as an advice in the context of leadership succession. Specifically, it reminds us of the need to always be prepared to “step up to the plate” when filling someone else's shoes. In other words, it’s a reminder on the importance of being an effective apprentice or understudy. And therefore, the expression is also a caveat against complacency and dereliction.

In the picture, the father (fisherman) walks ahead of his son (fish basket bearer). While the father fishes, the son is supposed to watch and observe because sometime in the future, he (son), too, will be the fisherman.

In a more general sense, the adage serves as a reminder of the need to develop skills and flexibility in acquiring the moxie to perform different roles that life sometimes assigns to us.

On a more personal level - and still continuing my reminiscing subtext - the picture brings memories of the times when I went fishing with my dad. He used a cast net (or throw net) - the tili or kili. And the strategy is that he walks ahead along the beach, spots a school of fish and then casts the net. As I follow closely behind with the basket (ola) - or an old rice bag - I would make sure that as soon as he casts the net, I am there when he retrieves and hauls it in. My job of extracting and putting the fish inside the basket/bag was easy and anyone can do it; well, sort of. The extraction takes skill and experience too in order to avoid tearing or damaging the net, and also to avoid the spines from poking and cutting your fingers and hands.

My dad’s task, on the other hand, was more challenging. Casting/throwing the net seemed natural, however, I was often left to wonder how he was able to spot the fishes. As a child, I thought he was haphazardly casting the net and whatever fish happened to be in the area - by luck or by fate - was caught.

In hindsight, it was indifference and disregard, more than childish pride, that I did not inquire about the feat. Anyway, here’s the answer. A skilled fisherman watches the crests of the waves which are often transparent from the refracted sunlight, and there the fishes will be visible. This intuition is also the source of another Samoan adage: “Ua malama i ulugalu” (“It’s visible in the wave crests”) meaning something has become clear and discernible as the fish in the crests.

The picture also captures the essence of our relationships with our parents. They are in fact our first teachers and leaders. We learn a lot from them whether consciously or subconsciously.  I’ve also heard somewhere - whether we like it or not - that daughters will eventually become like their mothers and sons like their fathers, possibly more through nurture than nature.  Ia ka'ilo! 

At any rate, whatever you do, do it well or not at all.  Aua le faakaga faia se mea; fai faalelei.  A tautua pa'o ma tomumu se taule'ale'a, ona faapea lea o le matai:  "E au i le tauola, e au fo'i i le fagota."  O lona uiga, e iai le taimi e avea ai oe ma matai ona e iloa lea o le leaga o le tautua pa'o ma le tomumu."   Hmmm... kinda like "what goes around, comes around ...."  Ia ga!

Exhibit A

Re: Previous blog titled: "Kalofa e,"

This picture updates and corroborates the following claim from the abovementioned post:

"Further, if he was wearing any shorts, he would have either draped his ‘ie around his neck and shoulders as a cushion for the pole (amo), or ...placed it on top of his load.  In that way, he does not have to keep retying it."

...been there seen that ...LOL!! ... Oh, btw, I may not have worn any shorts but I always had my Hanes® ... though I never draped my 'ie over my shoulders in that case... hahahaa ...seki a kamaiki Lalomagu. :)

Beautiful Red Hibiscus

I’ve known all along that sooner or later in this blog, I would venture - albeit apprehensively - into reminiscing my life in Samoa. I have even tried to avoid prolonging the melancholic feeling from the last blog post, but then again, reminiscing is not always a forlorn and disheartening thing. In fact reminiscing can bring serenity, happiness, upliftment and optimism.

Herman Melville, in his first novel “Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life”, wrote about the time when he was back in New York where he reminisced his days in the Marquesas Islands. In the account, he recalled vividly the images of the branches of three large breadfruit trees waving and swaying in the afternoon breeze, and especially the effects that such images can have on us. Melville noted therefore of how “...inanimate objects will twine themselves into our affections."  I too have such fond recollections especially weekday mornings and Sunday afternoons which are the times that I would pensively recall the trees and plants around our house in Samoa.  It’s amazing however that I seem to remember them now more in my recollections and reflections than at the time of actual residence.

This is a picture of the hibiscus plant in our living room. It conjures, evokes and tickles my rural and idyllic fancies. Whenever I cast an admiring glance at the plant and its flowers, my admiration soon shifts into a contemplative mood and a stream of thoughts and memories starts to creep into my consciousness and affections as Melville affirms. For example, I remember the hibiscus plants outside our home, from which I picked the flowers to take to school for the teacher’s desk, or to decorate and beautify the classroom. The hibiscus also reminds me of my dear Mother. A few days after she died, we (children) made sure that flowers were placed at her grave. So we would use coconut midribs (tuaniu) to string the hibiscus flowers and place them at the head and foot of the grave.

It was also the hibiscus plant that I first learned the method of grafting with my Dad’s guidance and expertise. Again, we had red and white hibiscus plants in front of our house. One day my Dad called me over where he demonstrated grafting two hibiscus plants. He first cut off a branch from one plant, then he notched the bark and stem of the “host” plant, inserted the grafting branch and then used a string to tie and fasten both branch and the main/host plant. It didn’t make sense or mean much to me at the time until a new flower bloomed on the branch; one half was white, and the other half was red.  Wow!

There’s a host of other memories and recollections of Samoa that the hibiscus plant and flowers induce in me. One of those is an old favorite Samoan song “Beautiful Red Hibiscus” - it’s a classic.

Kalofa e,

Wow, that’s totally me ...of yesteryears.
Yep.
D-e-j-a V-u!

Having been raised in the outbacks (my own euphemism for kuaback or kua) as a young boy, I did exactly what this young boy is doing in the picture!

Apparently, some things have not changed much in Samoa - the picture was taken last year (2009). The only thing in the picture that has changed since my days as a youngster, is the paved road. An unpaved road had its advantages, though sharp rocks and pebbles were problems as the heat is for the paved road. I so much love this picture - it brings back indelible memories of my life as a little boy in Samoa.

Now, let me reminisce through analyzing. I must say that I’m an expert and authority in explaining the picture (grin) - it’s certainly worth a thousand words or more.  (Click on picture to enlarge.)

First of all, the kid. He is between ten and twelve years old. He truly represents my time as a youngster by his mode of dress - the ‘ie (lavalava).  Most kids today in Samoa, even in the poorer villages, wear shorts. Our protagonist is not wearing any shorts otherwise he would have exposed them for show off and to impress his female peers. Funny but oftentimes true. Further, if he was wearing any shorts, he would have either draped his ‘ie around his neck and shoulders as a cushion for the pole (amo), or would have placed it on top of his load. In that way, he does not have to keep retying it. Though the ‘ie  is convenient for the weather, it can also be a hindrance at times.

And being shirtless?  Well, which Samoan-born-and-raised kid would not want to flaunt his tan and sculpted torso?  They're products of his environment.  Being shirtless also would facilitate the body's reception and absorption of Vitamin D (from sunlight) of which Samoans are never deficient.  As a result they always have strong bones.

Next, the machete. What machete, where? It’s the black elongated piece (about 2 ft) in front of the load. What we do as boys is to chop the machete into the husk (outer part of the coconut) where it is easily clamped. When harvesting coconuts, that’s the safest place for the handiest of Samoa’s everyday tools. With the machete in its proper place, the hands are now free for switching the pole of coconuts between shoulders.

Then the sandals/flip flops. Sandals? He’s barefooted.

The sandals are part of the load too. There’s one right behind his back and another one further back. Well, why is he not wearing them? There are two possible reasons: First one, the straps may have broken yet still fixable, so he’s taking them home to be fixed. The second reason, is that it’s his way of caring for his sandals. Flip flops are a luxury and so children don’t want to overuse them, especially when they are needed at more important occasions like church and school.

There’s still another highly plausible reason. The sandals seem too big for him. Therefore, they may have been his mom’s or dad’s and he (boy) doesn’t want to dispense more wear and tear. The parent may have insisted that he take them especially to cover his feet against the hot road. As a Samoan boy, such a kind and loving gesture by a parent is often reciprocated in his own considerate way.

As one can imagine, life as a young boy in Samoa, at least during my day, seemed hard. But I’m glad that it was the way it was.  It molded and refined me in many ways, acquiring values needed to handle life’s challenges in the process. Values such as hard work (galue), struggle (tauivi), patience (onosa’i), love (alofa), determination (filiga), endurance (tumau) , etc.,

Oscar Wilde once said that the only way to repeat one’s youth is to repeat one’s follies. For me, a picture like the one above surely repeats my youth at least in the keen and yearning recesses of my mind.

And as melancholy starts to set in, let me sign off .......for now.

"Vat a kahntry!"

This past weekend was the “Fourth” - meaning "Fourth of July", meaning the Independence Day of the United States of America.  And once again, parades, barbecues and fireworks dominated the “sea-to-shining sea” landscape. Our family had our own fun and games during the long weekend. The “Fourth Barbecue” of course is now an established tradition and is the hub (typical Samoan "hub", aye?) of everything else that we plan for the July holiday.

While individual families, cities, communities have their own programs and events to commemorate the Fourth, some events remain the same throughout the land. One of these is the swearing-in ceremonies for the newest citizens; each state has its own. The new citizens have successfully gone through the naturalization process. These are people from all over the globe representing most, if not all, countries. There were people from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc., who - safe to say - were perhaps the most grateful and the most enthusiastic of all - understandably so.

Amazingly, even in these post “September 11" years, people still flock to America. Most say it’s the opportunities; others say it’s freedom (the two of course are intertwined) - every human being yearns and deserves to be free.  And speaking of freedom, America is indisputably the last - and only - hope for freedom in the world.

What I have found out is that, generally speaking, everyone wants to be an American, or at least wants to come to America. The feeling is universal, even to the most ardent of patriots and nationalists of their own respective nation/country. In a television clip of one swearing-in, an Iraqi woman, clad in her native head-to-toe dark attire - minus the veil/burqa - rises from the crowd waving the stars and stripes. In a local paper (Utah), a picture of a Samoan taking the oath and pledge of citizenship is printed.

And here’s a stimulating statement/fact:  In a particular profound sense, everyone CAN be an American, but not, say, Chinese, Japanese or German - or Samoan for that matter.  That’s because America is a nation, not a race. 

And so in the words of Yakov Smirnoff - a Russian actor/comedian who became a naturalized US citizen - “Vat a kahntry!” (What a country!)  Despite her flaws, America is still great and good.

“America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.”
(Note: The above quote is/has been attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville, though it is presently impugnable.)

Riches, Happiness and Mountains

Do the first two sound familiar and cliched? I'm sure we've all heard the expressions: "Money is not everything", "Money does not buy happiness" and the like. Though relatively true, the expressions are also sarcastically comical as well as inherently duplicitous and beguiling.

They're comical in the sense that to an average Tom, he knows that the expressions are false but can also be true, or sound true. Relativeness plays an important role in our interpretation and acceptance of these adages. For example, people define happiness differently and therefore likely to have different means of attaining their own respective versions of happiness. And beguiling in the sense that, more often than not, these expressions are uttered mostly by people who have lots of money, the "been there done that" clique - like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett - whether expressed in a serious and sincere way, or in a sneering and sarcastic manner by some.

On the other hand, I'd venture that an average or poor person, too, can advocate the expressions, though most likely impelled by envy, rationalization or by some lofty religious and moral principle.

What I would certainly deplore, however, is when someone, especially with ample opportunities to better and improve his meager conditions and station in life, would still be content and complacent because of a skewed and literal interpretation of the expressions. Furthermore, condemning the injustices of excess in order to espouse pauperism as a raison d'etre  is repugnant as far as I'm concerned.

Just today, I was reading this headline: "U.S. Is Richest Nation, But Not Happiest."  Again we find here the age-old association of wealth and money with happiness, more specifically the refutation and invalidation of the assumptive direct link and connection. And in case you're curious as to which countries were the happiest, according to the poll/survey - it's Kiwiland (New Zealand) and Denmark sharing the top prize.

Well you NZers, I don't know what it is that makes you happy but it could be all the mamoe on the lush and verdant hillsides. The sights alone can be delightful, alluring and therapeutic. Or it could be the divine associations and symbolism of the animal that cast the happy aura and spell on y'all. Or it could be rugby! ...LOL.

Well, definitely not to be outdone, we here in Utah have had our share of the same honor nationwide. The recent poll/survey ranked the happiest states as follows: 1. Utah  2. Hawaii (yep, we beat another favorite state of mine), 3. Wyoming  4. Colorado  5. Minnesota  6. Maryland  7. Washington  8. Massachusetts
9. California  10. Arizona (oh, AZ, my other favorite, at least you made the top 10). I don't know if Arizona can maintain its tenth ranking after that immigration law which made many of its residents disgruntled and possibly UNhappy. LOL!

In case you haven't noticed, the Mountain states (Utah, Wyoming and Colorado) are ranked in the top four, so could it be the mountains - the beautiful Rockies? New Zealand too has lotsa beautiful mountains. After all, doesn't the Good Book extol and laud the mountains?

"... and as the dew that descended upon the mountains ... for there the Lord commanded the blessing[s], even life for evermore." ~ Psalms 133: 3

I'm sure that life "upon the mountains" is one of joy and happiness, right?

Anyway, don't worry, just be happy!