Lauga: Understanding Samoan oratory

By Sadat Muaiava

Lauga or Samoan oratory is a premier cultural practice in the fa'asamoa (Samoan culture), a sacred ritual that embodies all that fa'asamoa represents, such as identity, inheritance, respect, service, gifting, reciprocity and knowledge. Delivered as either lauga fa'amatai (chiefly speeches) or lauga fa'alelotu (sermons), lauga is captivating and endowed with knowledge, praxis and skill. Lauga is enjoyed by many, but today many Samoan people, especially in the Samoan diaspora, also remain disconnected from it and lack proficiency in its rhetorical inventory. It is critical that the knowledge and skills that underpin lauga are retained. This accessible book explains the intricacies of lauga and its key stages and is an ideal companion for those who may be called upon to speak at significant occasions, those wanting to improve their knowledge and skills, and all those interested in fa'asamoa. The insights of its expert author and 20 guest writers, many of whom are well-known and respected orators, combine to share knowledge and uphold a vital practice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Te Papa Press
• Release date: Jun 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9781991150967

Book preview

Front Cover of LaugaHalf Title of Lauga

To my parents, Reverend Elder Malaki Muaiava and Rosalili Muaiava, from whose respective lāuga I have learned so much. Fa‘afetai tele lava.

And to my mother-in-law, Katie Kohlhase Chadwick, who passed away on 5 March 2022.

Book Title of Lauga

‘ANOTUSI

Contents

‘UPU TOMUA

Foreword

FA‘AMANUIA

Preface

FA‘ATŌMUAGA

Introduction

1. FOFOLA SĀ

The folasaga of a lāuga

2. PA‘IA ‘O LE ASO

Fa‘alupega (honorifics) in lāuga

3. ‘AVA

‘O lau ‘ava lea, le Atua!

This ‘ava is for you, Lord!

4. FA‘AFETAI

Tali ‘i lagi se ao ‘o lou mālō

Your share of the government will come from the heavens

5. TAEAO

Shades of dark and light

6. ‘AUTŪ ‘O LE LĀUGA (ASO)

Contextualising lāuga

7. FA‘AMĀTAFI

Clearing of skies for good health

NONA

Concluding each section of a lāuga

‘UPU MA UIGA

Glossary

‘OTO‘OTOGA E UIGA ‘I LE TUSITALA

About the author

FA‘AMATALAGA ‘I TUSITALA

About the contributors

FA‘AMĀLŌ MA LE FA‘AFETAI

Acknowledgements

‘UPU TOMUA

Foreword

‘O le lāuga ‘o le malumalu e fa‘apa‘ia ai āgaga o tagata. ‘O le ma‘atulimanu e fa‘avae ai le faletagata e fatu ‘i le āgaga, pola ‘i tū ma āga, pou ‘i le tōfā mamao, fola ‘i le utaga loloto, ‘ae malu ‘i le soa o le Pule ma le tōfā tatala. ‘O le lāuga ‘o le ogātotonu o le fa‘asinomaga o le tagata. ‘O lo tā tinimasalasala, lo tā pale ma le sei, tā te tiu ai ‘a‘o eva ‘i le putuputu o tagata. ‘O le mea alofa sā fōa‘i fua mai e le Atua fetalai, ‘ae ‘auala mai ‘i le tu‘u mumusu a tua‘ā. ‘O le lāuga e sā‘ili ai le poto ma le atamai, e fa‘a‘au‘upega ma fa‘atino ai a tā aganu‘u ma aga‘ifanua.

‘O le lāuga fa‘asāmoa, ‘o le tofi pa‘ia mai le Atua mo o tātou tagata. ‘Ia tātou alolofa ‘i lo tātou Atua, ‘aputi ma tapu‘e le lāuga, ma la tātou gagana. Lo tā tofi ne‘i vale tu‘ulima, mou atu ‘i le auau ma peau laga. Tātou momoe alaala, ma ola mānatunatu, ‘ina ‘ia fai la tā lāuga e pele ‘i le agāga, ma o tā oso mo tupulaga o lalovaoa.

Fa‘atulou atu ‘i pa‘ia ‘i fa‘afeagaiga ‘olo‘o fa‘afalelēmalu i itū e fia o le kelope ‘auā le tauasuina o le ipu o le ola. Fa‘atulou ‘i pa‘ia fa‘alemālō, itū taulagi ma gafa tau tupu. Ta‘alolo ou pa‘ia sautuāfafafa Sāmoa. Tulouna ‘oe Lufilufi ma ‘āiga ‘e te tausi, mai Ao se‘ia o‘o ‘i I‘u ‘o Ātua, ma le lāuga a to‘oto‘o o Lalogāfu‘afu‘a.

Tulouna ‘oe Leulumoega ma ‘Āiga e Fā, Lā‘au na Fausia, pa‘ia ‘i suafa ma le lāuga a To‘oto‘o ‘o Ma‘auga ma Nu‘uausala. Tulouna ‘oe le Faletuamasaga, le ‘āiga e fa‘alogo ‘i ai Sāmoa, lou itū‘au ma lou ālataua, le Itūtolu o Sāgaga ma le Faleono o Leatigaga, Faleata ma le Gafa. Tulouna le Falemanono, le ‘āiga ‘i le tai o le Mālietoa ma le To‘afā ‘o ali‘i, le lāuga a Futi ma Āu‘apa‘au fa‘apea ‘Ati ma Lautolo. Tulouna Pule fa‘avae ma Pule totofi, ma le Atiatipā o le Falesalāfai. Pa‘ia e tausi va‘atele e le lāuga a Tuilagi ma Namulau‘ulu, Sā Malietoā ma le tama a Tūmua ma sā ‘o Fuifatu.

Tulouna le lāuga a To‘oto‘o o Vaitu‘utu‘u, ‘Āiga ma Ma‘upū ma lo ‘outou Fale Fa‘atufugaga. Tulouna ‘oe Finao; Sa‘o e Fā ma Sā Umalau, le lāuga a le Ali‘i o le Itū, ‘Atipouniu ma le Fa‘asau. Tulou pa‘ia i ‘Āiga, le lāuga a Pule ma Salāfai ma To‘oto‘o o Mati‘amati‘aitū‘au. Tulouna le Va‘aitī ma le Va‘aimalae, le lāuga a ‘Asiata ma To‘oto‘o o Faletoi. Tulouna Fa‘asisina ma Lilomaiava, ma le lāuga a To‘oto‘o Vailoa.

‘O le ‘aputiaputiga o la tā lāuga, i atunu‘u ‘ese o se gāluega e tumu ‘i fītā, ‘ona ‘o le putuputu o le vaogagana, ‘aemaise ai le fuaao e tū, aga, ma le gagana fa‘aperetania. ‘Ua mātele fo‘i le to‘atele o Sāmoa ‘i Aotearoa nei, ‘i le lafo ‘i tuāmaota ma tafā ala o la tā tū ma aga, la tā lāuga, ma le gāgana. ‘O le tele o le mamalu o le atunu‘u ‘ua sā‘ili manuia ‘i gāluega ‘ese‘ese, ma ‘uti‘uti ai taimi mo ‘āiga ma fānau. ‘O le filogia fo‘i o le fānau o lalovaoa i Aotearoa, ‘ua mātele ai ‘ina talanoa ma māfuta atu ‘i isi tagata ‘i tū ma aga o le atululuga. ‘Ua lē mālamalama ‘i a tātou tū ma aga, la tā gagana, la tā lāuga. ‘O fili o a tā measina ‘olo‘o ta‘a paepae, ‘ae ‘o lona fofō ‘olo‘o ta‘a fale. ‘O le fofō a Ālamea!

‘Ou te ātu e, atu ‘i faga e fia o Sāmoa ‘i le To‘oto‘o o Ma‘auga ma Nu‘uausala, Tuisāvailu‘u ma le Faleā‘ana, le Igoa Matua o le Faletuamasaga, ‘ae ‘o le Afioga ‘i le Falefitu o le Ātitagaloa ma le ‘Āiga Tauā‘ana fa‘apea le Faleātua e tausia Sālevālasi, le Sa‘o Fa‘apito ma le Ulua‘i Sa‘o. ‘O a‘a o le Sāmoa e fa‘atusalia ‘i a‘a o lā‘au ‘uma o le vaomatua. ‘O lea ‘ou te fa‘atulou atu ai. Mālō le toa, ma le alofa ‘iā Sāmoa ma la tā gagana ma le aganu‘u. Fa‘afetai le lagalaga, ma lou afu pa‘ū.

‘A‘o le‘i i‘u le fa‘atau pa‘ia a le atunu‘u, ‘i fale‘upolu ma le ‘au se‘e talāluma, e fesili ‘i le tala. Tātou te fa‘atagisia tapa‘au ma ao o fa‘alupega mo se fa‘amanuiaga. ‘Ou te talitonu ‘ole‘ā tō mai le tala, ‘aumai ‘i le lagi le ‘ai o lau tāpenaga.

‘O ou manū nā,

Fa‘atili Iosua Esera

National President FAGASĀ; Chair, Māngere Principals’ Association; Executive Member, New Zealand Pacific Principals’ Association; Associate, Auckland Primary Principals’ Association

Lāuga is a sanctuary that exalts our spirits. It is the cornerstone of our being, and it bounds our ways of life; it is strengthened by chiefly wisdom, surfaced with oratorical knowledge, and sheltered by conventions and conversations. Lāuga is at the centre of our cultural identities as people, as Samoans. It is our cultural necklace, it is our garland, our flower, that represents us in the midst of populations. It is a gift that was given to us by God the Word, and whispered to us by our ancestors.

Lāuga is used to access knowledge, as a cultural tool to guide and practise the ways of our land. The Samoan lāuga is a sacred inheritance from God for our people. May we love our God by cherishing lāuga and our language lest we misplace our inheritance, lest it be lost in the currents of the sea. May we rest attentively, and live our lives with hindsight so that our lāuga, which is dear to our spirits and hearts, is used as a gift for the young generation.

I seek pardon from our distinguished clergy, our spiritual leaders who travel to the corners of the globe to distribute the cup of life. I seek pardon from our esteemed government, honorifics and chiefly lineages. I seek pardon from your decorated salutations, Sāmoa.

Greetings to you, great orator Lufilufi and your chiefly families, who are safeguarded by your venerated speech, from the highest principalities to the endmost of Ātua, and the orators of the district meeting place of Lalogāfu‘afu‘a. I seek pardon from you great orator Leulumoega and your four chiefly families, who are safeguarded by your venerated speech, and the paramount orators of the meeting place Ma‘auga and Nu‘uausala.

I seek pardon from you, the district of Tuamasaga, the family of great status, your various orator groups, the three divisions of Sāgaga, the six of Leatigaga, the district of Faleata and Sāfata (gafa). I seek your pardon, the district of Manono, the family of Mālietoa at sea, your four paramount chiefs, and your venerated speeches Futi and ‘Au‘apa‘au, and orators ‘Ati and Lautolo. Greeted your speech, the great orators of Pule and the sanctity of the orator group Falesalāfai, the chiefly lineages that are safeguarded by your anointed speech Tuilagi and Namulau‘ulu, the family of Mālietoa and the Prince of Tūmua and the sacredness of the meeting place of Fuifatu.

I seek your pardon, the great orators of the meeting place of Vaitu‘utu‘u, chiefly lineages and your orator group Fale Fa‘atufugaga. Greeted you, the meeting place at Finao, your resident four paramount chiefs of the family of Umalau, your speech the orator chief of the district, and orator group ‘Ati ma le Fa‘asau. Greeted you, honourable families, your speech Pule and Salāfai and the great orators of the meeting place at Mati‘amati‘aitū‘au. Greeted you, your speech the chosen one, your speech ‘Asiata and orators of the meeting place of Faletoi.

Greeted you, chiefs Fa‘asisina and Lilomaiava, and your venerated speech the orators of the meeting place at Vailoa. Greeted you, the Faleāgafulu and your various districts, whose dignity and honour is safeguarded by your speech Tauto‘oto‘o. Greeted you, Manu‘atele, the paramount chief Lā‘au-na-amotasi, and your orators Fa‘atui ‘o le Motu, tama fa‘alagia and the orators of Fale‘ula. Greetings.

To treasure lāuga in the diaspora is not an easy task, and it is full of overwhelming challenges due to the multilingual settings we live in, particularly the dominance of the English language. We Samoans have prioritised other practices and have set our culture, our lāuga and our language aside. Many of our people are in a continual search for wealth and blessings in various ways, and as a result we have little time to gather and share with our families and children. Our children now live and grow up in the diaspora, and they are familiar with foreign languages and are in fellowship with other cultures. They therefore do not understand our ways, our language, our lāuga. The harm to our cultural treasures comes from the outside, yet the solutions are in-house. Our cultural treasures must be nurtured from within the family.

I salute, and am grateful to, your speech To‘oto‘o ‘o Ma‘auga and Nu‘uausala, the great orator Tuisāvailu‘u and the Faleā‘ana, your speech Fata, your honourable Lupematasila, and also you, the orator Faleātua whose speech safeguards the chiefly family of Sālevālasi,¹ your honourable chief Sa‘o Fa‘apito and Ulua‘i Sa‘o.

The genealogy of a Samoan is compared to the roots of a tree, so I seek pardon. Well done on a labour of love for Sāmoa, our language and cultures. Thank you for your willingness and your hard work. Before the sacred deliberation of Sāmoa’s great orators comes to an end, we must consult our chiefs. We consult our chiefs and our clergy for their blessings. I believe that blessings will be bestowed by them, from the heavens will come your reward for this labour of love. Go well.

Fa‘atili Iosua Esera

National President FAGASĀ; Chair, Māngere Principals’ Association; Executive Member, New Zealand Pacific Principals’ Association; Associate, Auckland Primary Principals’ Association

1Sālevālasi is also spelt Sā Levālasi.

FA‘AMANUIA

Preface

Iwas twenty-four years old and had just become an ordained ti‘ākono (deacon), and I was preparing to give my first ever lāuga fa‘asāmoa (Samoan cultural speech). I had performed lāuga many times before, but always for youth gatherings. This time it was on the big stage.

My task was to orate a lāuga fa‘asāmoa after to‘ona‘i (Sunday feast), on behalf of our Wellington church congregation, to a tofi lāuga (visiting church minister) from Sāmoa. I had been selected the evening before from the many seasoned ti‘ākono who were also matai (chief/orator) title-holders of their respective ‘āiga (families). I could sense that not all ti‘ākono agreed with my selection. I was the son of their faife‘au (church minister), and ancient protocols meant that my selection was unprecedented and in a way cut across the cultural grain. But I had to do this. I had to do it for my love of my ‘āiga.

My reasons were genuine. My decision to step into this space as the son of a faife‘au was based on the realisation in my heart that our ‘āiga depended on us, the next generation, to lead it into the future, and that the only space where we could gain the regular practical experience of fa‘asāmoa (Samoan culture and language) away from the homeland was the church. So I had to be fearless. I had to stand up proud, proud of my fa‘asinomaga (village identities) and of what I stood for. However, I also stood up with the expectations of many – my parents and myself included – and that, I now know, is all part of the experience, and part of life in general.

The church service had ended and my nerves were starting to get the better of me. But it was time to begin. All the ti‘ākono were sitting side by side in a line. Although I had been selected the night before, it was still necessary for me to stand up to laga le fa‘atau (begin the formal deliberation) of selecting a spokesperson from within our ranks. In effect we were just going through the motions, but it was still formal. This made it even more intense, because I still had to attest to my eligibility not only to be within the ranks of matai and to participate in their space and rituals, but also to be our spokesperson. But I got through it. Phew!

Then, before I knew it, it was over. I had done it, without a mistake. Although I was nervous going into it, once I began, the words just flowed from my mouth. It was a natural feeling. This was a key moment for me, because the experience was the fruit of all my efforts, interest and commitment to date to learning the fa‘asāmoa. I was so happy. I left the church hall knowing that in one way or another I was hooked, knowing that the fa‘asāmoa would always be a part of me. That experience has taken me to performing lāuga for other events such as funerals and weddings.

My love for the fa‘asāmoa was nurtured by many people, particularly my parents, in a process founded on love for our ‘āiga and cultural identities and the future. This love has led me to write this book about lāuga, a narrative about lāuga that I know will help others who have just started their journey as a matai, or a ti‘ākono, or a leader in their respective communities.

Sadat Muaiava

Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington

January 2022

FA‘ATŌMUAGA

Introduction

Lāuga: Understanding Samoan oratory is more than just a book about lāuga (formal Samoan oratory or speechmaking). It is a lāuga about lāuga. Lāuga shares the awareness and deep appreciation of lāuga that was nurtured in me by my father, a former tulāfale (orator) and now an elder church minister, as well as by many other aosinasina (elders), ali‘i (chiefs) and tulāfale. Much of what I know about lāuga today, its protocols and procedures and its expression of social and cultural values, I learned from my grandparents while living in and travelling to and from Sāmoa. These years, I now know, were crucial to my understanding of the fa‘asāmoa and how I see and view the world around me, especially as a Samoan living in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This book shares what I have learned, and continue to learn, as a tulāfale, an educator and a researcher of the fa‘asāmoa today. It is a gift to Samoan youth and older generations who find it difficult to understand lāuga or feel intimidated by it and anxious about being called on to practise it. Many people who mean the world to me fall into this group, including our four children, Katie, Fa‘au‘uga, Mālia and Malaki, who are on their own adventures of discovery about the fa‘asāmoa as New Zealand-born and -raised Samoans. My motivation for preparing and putting together this lāuga is based on a very deep alofa (love) for the fa‘asāmoa and for those who seek and thirst for it.

Several books have already been published on the subject of lāuga. Cultural custodians and practitioners such as the Samoan scholar Tātupu Fa‘afetai Mata‘afa Tu‘i, matai, orator, politician and scholar Maulolo Tavita Amosa and Samoan language educator ‘Aumua Mata‘itusi Simanu Papāli‘i,¹ for instance, have published on the foundational aspects and chiefly language of lāuga; however, they have stopped short of providing an in-depth analysis of the form, and the discussion has largely been conducted in the gagana Sāmoa (Samoan language). Scholarly publications by the German ethnologist Augustin Krämer, the Italian anthropologist Alessandro Duranti and the American anthropologist Lowell D Holmes have provided context-specific case studies of the practice in Sāmoa, based on ethnographic observations².

Lāuga bridges the current literature by providing an accessible introduction to the history and practice of lāuga using a guided, step-by-step approach. The definition of lāuga is expanded to include not only Sāmoa’s indigenous form of oratory but also religious and political forms, including sermons and government speeches. This overview is based on my personal experience of lāuga and the fa‘asāmoa, first and foremost as an orator and chief (having received a matai title in 2012) but also as son of a former orator and current church minister, and as a ti‘ākono, faipese (choir master) and academic.

As you will see in Lāuga, the creation of a lāuga requires the knowledge and wisdom of many people. As a result, this book is a lāuga woven from the perspectives of faife‘au (church ministers), matai, minisitā (government ministers), matuaofaiva (lecturers, teachers, educators), ali‘i ma tama‘ita‘i ā‘oga (students), and pā‘aga (friends), all of whom have a passion for, connection with and/or experience of lāuga.

Lāuga is an elite discourse, performed at formal and ceremonial gatherings. It is part of the cultural and political landscape of Sāmoa, and it is a means by which, at one end of the scale, political processes and outcomes are shaped, and, at the other more village- and family-based end, status is celebrated and personal milestones are marked.

Some of the greatest practitioners of this language-art are key figures in Sāmoa’s history, and photographs of several of them are reproduced in this book.

Our unique knowledge and experience of lāuga has been sourced from our personal experiences of tautua (service) to our ‘āiga, nu‘u (villages), ‘ekālesia (church congregation), falefaigaluega (workplace), and fa‘alāpotopotoga (general Samoan communities) in Aotearoa and the homeland. These personal experiences have arisen through our engagements with our respective communities.

Lāuga is by no means a full analysis of lāuga; no book can do that because lāuga is so diverse; it cannot be captured in its totality, not even by the best of cultural custodians. But what this book does do is make accessible knowledge that may otherwise be withheld. So, as is customary before any lāuga is delivered, my tāpua‘iga (support group), who consist of my family, church, village, colleagues and friends, pray for me. Through their prayers I hear them say, Manuia lau lāuga Blessed be your speech, and in reply, I say, Manuia le tāpua‘iga Blessed be the prayers.

Lāuga: The term explained

The Samoan term for oratory is lāuga,³ a formal speech customarily performed by matai⁴ and called lāuga fa‘amatai (chiefly speeches). A matai is someone who has been bestowed a family chief or orator title. There are two types of matai: tamāli‘i⁵ (chief) and tulāfale⁶ (orator). Many Samoans believe that there is also a third type, known as tulāfale-ali‘i, a matai title that holds both chief and orator status. All three types of matai can perform a lāuga fa‘amatai.

As a word, lāuga is both a verb and a noun. This duality may be seen in the phrases ‘Ole‘ā lāuga le tulāfale The orator is about to perform a speech and ‘O le lāuga a le tulāfale The orator’s speech, respectively. The root word lau has many meanings in the gagana Sāmoa (the Samoan language),⁷ but only two are key in understanding lāuga. The first meaning, a noun, is strand. The second meaning, a verb, is to announce or to read. Lau as strand refers to the source of knowledge. Lau as to announce or to read refers to the process of disclosing knowledge.

When used in the word lāuga, lau refers to the tōfā⁸ and uta⁹ strands of ali‘i, tulāfale and aosinasina,¹⁰ captured in the common phrase ‘Aumai lau ‘o lou finagalo Provide the strand/s of your knowledge, thoughts, desire or will. These strands of knowledge are known as fa‘atōfāla‘iga (wisdom and knowledge of chiefs) and fa‘autautaga (wisdom and knowledge of orators).

In lāuga that I have observed, it is common to hear tulāfale acknowledge the tōfā and uta of their support group during their oratory. This public rendering of tōfā and uta, in my view, is not only an acknowledgement of wisdom and knowledge but also the expression of a desire for the continuation of connectedness and communalism. In moments of performing lāuga, I, too, make sure to salute the tōfā and uta of my family chiefs and elders.

But as tulāfale, we must also be courageous enough to query decisions when we feel the need to. I recall, at a family event in Wellington a couple of years ago, the first time when, se‘i tūlou (seeking pardon), I queried the tōfā