‘Youth the future of Voyaging’: AIGA FOLAU SAMOA to host inaugural Open Day.
Youth wishing to learn about the ways used in Polynesian Navigation in the past are being urged to attend the AIGA FOLAU (Samoa Voyaging Society) Open Day event at Sails Restaurant this Saturday, March 19.
Aiga Folau Samoa believes that Samoans were once known as “the great navigators of the Pacific.” "O Samoa o tagata folau sili ia i aso anamua.”
The Voyaging Society invites the public to tour their flagship "Gaualofa" on Open Day at Sails i Mulinuu, from 11am to 4pm. Guests will meet the Captain and Crew of Gaualofa, hear voyagers share their stories, and learn some easy skills used by sailors during voyaging.
The goal of Gaualofa Open Day is to raise awareness and inspire the next generation of voyagers.
Captain Karl (Kalolo) Steffany wants more youth trained in this ancestral traditional voyaging navigation knowledge when Gaualofa sails around Samoa in the next year.” He explains, “Voyaging was the beginning of Samoa, it's people, and our traditions.” "O le amataga lea o Samoa, ma le aganu'u."
Capt. Steffany wants to encourage and inspire our people, youth groups schools and families to value voyaging and describes folauga as: “O le tomai fa'a'auro lenei a Samoa."
Aiga Folau voyager once said : "0u te tatalo, ia fa'asusuluina i tatou, i le tāua o lenei iloa, o lenei tomai, o le folauga a tua'ā o aso anamua." (My prayer is that we see the light of the importance of the voyaging knowledge and skills of our ancestors.)
“We must not forget our indigenous knowledge,” Captain says. “It is our living traditional form of navigation. And it's all right here, on our Va'atele, Gaualofa."
"Voyaging is for anyone, for men, women, youth,”
Capt. Steffany explains. Gaualofa’s first Samoan captain was a young woman, Fealofani. He challenges youth to step up to be caretakers of Samoa’s traditional knowledge and skills of navigation.
Aiga Folau hopes everyone and youth will attend and see Gaualofa and hear the voyagers' stories on Open Day. “Our greatest hope is that a "seed is planted" in young hearts, minds, and souls will be the future of voyaging for Samoa and its people.”
Captain Steffany and Le Aiga Folau invite everyone to come on Open Day to learn more about Gaualofa and share our stories.
Capt. Karl and others in the current crew have been sailing since their late twenties and early thirties but now hope to pass the knowledge on to the young people.
He admits, "I took on voyaging in 2010 at the age of 30, knowing nothing about sailing. I came, I learnt, because I really wanted to know about folauga. It's deep in my heart and soul. It's amazing - the knowledge our ancestors had.”
GAUALOFA.
Gaualofa is a reconstruction of a va'a-tele ("large canoe"),a double-hulled Polynesian voyaging canoe. It was built in 2009 by the Okeanos Foundation for the Sea.It was given to the Samoa Voyaging Society in 2012, on the occasion of Samoa's 50th anniversary of independence.It is used to teach polynesian navigation.