austraLasia #3083
Don Bosco Boys 'One Beat' Beats 'em all!APIA: 8 June 2012 -- If you want excitement that's a touch out of the ordinary, then head for Samoa for Independence Day, or head for nearby American Samoa on Flag Day. Any of these events would not be what they are without the boys from Don Bosco, in Alafua, who have made a name for themselves over many years now for anything from dancing to long-boat-racing. This time it's the latter - the famed 'Fautasi' race. Read on.....
(We've grabbed a couple of photos of lower quality, but Fr Chris Ford is hunting down some better ones for us).
"It is all celebrations here at the moment. 5 days of public celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Samoa's independence from NZ culminated with the Fautasi (Longboat) Race Final. Fautasi racing is an amazing art, considering that each boat has a crew of about 50 rowers, a drummer and a captain. Don Bosco Technical Centre, Alafua, actually had two crews rowing: Segavao II(the 'old boat') and Segavao III (the 'new boat'). The boats actually belong to a neighbouring parish, where the Prime Minister, Tuiliapa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, is a parishioner, and the captain, Zita Martel, the only woman to captain a fautasi boat, is also a parishioner of the same parish. The Captain of the Segavao II is Lui Mulipolo, a teacher at Don Bosco and the brother of Fr Sefo SDB.
The two Don Bosco crews came 1st and 5th in the final (out of 10). While the result was the extraordinary culmination of months of preparation by staff and students at Don Bosco, it was never a foregone conclusion. The second fautasi home, from a village on the small island of Manono, had actually recorded the fastest time in the heats. Some of the crews played a few games that delayed the start by 45 minutes (massive calls for their disqualification of course). Some suspect it was a conspiracy against the Don Bosco seconds crew whose boat performs very well in deeper water (so delay the start, let the tide go down and you take away some of their advantage). The Don Bosco Segavao III (new boat) was illegally rammed no less than three times at the beginning of the race as the two Don Bosco boats and another crew battled for control of the race. Captain Zita would later praise her boys for "holding their nerve " and "not panicking" even in the face of great adversity and considerable hostility from other teams.
Later in the day, many of the young people knew not only the precise finishing order of the whole field but the times for each and every boat. Segavao Don Bosco III actually set a new race record of 38.8 minutes. It must be remembered that Fautasi racing is a national obsession that even rivals the Samoan obsession with Rugby. It is a bit like the final of the World Cup and the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games rolled into one, whenever there is a race. This morning the harbour foreshore was thronged with many tens of thousands of spectators for a race that was due to start at before dawn on the 6:00 am high tide.
In true Samoan and true Salesian style the boys from Don Bosco celebrated their success in song. The crews chanted as they did a lap of honour of the harbour and then returned to shore. Their supporters promenaded by the truckload (literally) singing and dancing in celebration.
This year's win is especially sweet for the Don Bosco boys as last year they were forced out of the race and onto the rocks, not not only one race but two, by rivals who were roundly beaten in a very convincing display of camaraderie and unity by the Don Bosco boys whose motto this year was "One Beat" referring both to the beat of the drum that sets the timing for the race but also to the beat of the heart that unified the crews.
Anyway, there are a lot of very happy people around at the moment".
Don Bosco Boys 'One Beat' Beats 'em all!
(We've grabbed a couple of photos of lower quality, but Fr Chris Ford is hunting down some better ones for us).
"It is all celebrations here at the moment. 5 days of public celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Samoa's independence from NZ culminated with the Fautasi (Longboat) Race Final. Fautasi racing is an amazing art, considering that each boat has a crew of about 50 rowers, a drummer and a captain. Don Bosco Technical Centre, Alafua, actually had two crews rowing: Segavao II(the 'old boat') and Segavao III (the 'new boat'). The boats actually belong to a neighbouring parish, where the Prime Minister, Tuiliapa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, is a parishioner, and the captain, Zita Martel, the only woman to captain a fautasi boat, is also a parishioner of the same parish. The Captain of the Segavao II is Lui Mulipolo, a teacher at Don Bosco and the brother of Fr Sefo SDB.
The two Don Bosco crews came 1st and 5th in the final (out of 10). While the result was the extraordinary culmination of months of preparation by staff and students at Don Bosco, it was never a foregone conclusion. The second fautasi home, from a village on the small island of Manono, had actually recorded the fastest time in the heats. Some of the crews played a few games that delayed the start by 45 minutes (massive calls for their disqualification of course). Some suspect it was a conspiracy against the Don Bosco seconds crew whose boat performs very well in deeper water (so delay the start, let the tide go down and you take away some of their advantage). The Don Bosco Segavao III (new boat) was illegally rammed no less than three times at the beginning of the race as the two Don Bosco boats and another crew battled for control of the race. Captain Zita would later praise her boys for "holding their nerve " and "not panicking" even in the face of great adversity and considerable hostility from other teams.
Later in the day, many of the young people knew not only the precise finishing order of the whole field but the times for each and every boat. Segavao Don Bosco III actually set a new race record of 38.8 minutes. It must be remembered that Fautasi racing is a national obsession that even rivals the Samoan obsession with Rugby. It is a bit like the final of the World Cup and the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games rolled into one, whenever there is a race. This morning the harbour foreshore was thronged with many tens of thousands of spectators for a race that was due to start at before dawn on the 6:00 am high tide.
In true Samoan and true Salesian style the boys from Don Bosco celebrated their success in song. The crews chanted as they did a lap of honour of the harbour and then returned to shore. Their supporters promenaded by the truckload (literally) singing and dancing in celebration.
This year's win is especially sweet for the Don Bosco boys as last year they were forced out of the race and onto the rocks, not not only one race but two, by rivals who were roundly beaten in a very convincing display of camaraderie and unity by the Don Bosco boys whose motto this year was "One Beat" referring both to the beat of the drum that sets the timing for the race but also to the beat of the heart that unified the crews.
Anyway, there are a lot of very happy people around at the moment".
