Monday, January 01, 2007

WH, Samoan Fire Knife Dancer

Siva Naifi Afi

Samoan warrior shows courage, strength, and bravery as he performs the traditional Samoan fire knife dance.

Award-wining show... HORIZONS: Where The Sea Meets The Sky @ the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Hawai'i (north shore of O'ahu). Recorded on Monday, May 8, 2006.

This performance is similar to the act performed by the brother of my Samoan girlfriend, Sa. Her brother, Evan, made his living as the headliner in a Samoan review consisting of a fire and knive show. Traditionally, a Samoan young man would learn and perform these acts of daring to demonstrate his preparation as a warrior.

On the other hand, the young ladies would learn the intricate figure-eight dance moves to accompany the young men. Sa performed in this act on stage with her brother, as did some of her cousins and other members of the family.

Actually, I saw the act in this video at the same location when I was in Hawaii in 1988.

Samoan Factoid
There are about 500,000 Samoans in the world and more than 200 play Division I football. A Samoan boy, according to estimates, is 40 times more likely to make it to the NFL than a boy from the mainland.