Row as one! A history of the development and use of the Sāmoan fautasi

Authors

  • Hans K. Van Tilburg Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • David J. Herdrich American Samoa Historic Preservation Office
  • Michaela E. Howells University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Va‘mua Henry Sesepasara American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources
  • Telei‘ai Christian Ausage American Samoa Historic Preservation Office
  • Michael D. Coszalter University of North Carolina Wilmington

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15286/jps.127.1.111-136

Keywords:

Sāmoa, history, maritime vessels, fautasi "longboats", taumualua "double-ended paddling canoes", tulula "oared boats", boat-racing

Abstract

The racing of fautasi (30-metre, 45-seater, oared Sāmoan longboats) remains a central cultural competition that unifies contemporary American Samoa and the two Sāmoan states more generally. However, the fautasi’s emergence and transition into this role has been dismissed as a vestige of colonialism and has been understudied by scholars. This paper examines the origin, development and use of the Sāmoan fautasi with special reference to the taumualua (double-ended paddling canoes) and tulula (9-to -12-metre, 20-seater, oared boats) that preceded them. We describe these traditional Sāmoan boats and the popular racing events that have grown around them in the context of hybrid nautical design, Western colonialism and modern commercialisation. Previous descriptions of the development of fautasi in the anthropological literature are, in many cases, oversimplified. Rather than simply replacing the taumualua when Sāmoan warfare ended, we argue that, pinpointing their origin to 1895, fautasi were developed because of their superior speed, a clear benefit in numerous functions including use as war boats, cargo and passenger vessels and racing craft. Over a period of 127 years all of these functions, except the popular sport of fautasi racing, fell away due to government regulations and the adoption of motorised vessels. Despite these transitions, fautasi retain a strong cultural connection to Sāmoa’s maritime past with the annual fautasi races and represent the single largest cultural event in American Samoa.

Author Biographies

Hans K. Van Tilburg, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Hans K. Van Tilburg completed his BA in Geography (University of California Berkeley) in 1985, MA in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology (East Carolina University) in 1995, and PhD in History (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa) in 2002.  He is currently the Maritime Heritage Coordinator for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in the Pacific Islands region.

David J. Herdrich, American Samoa Historic Preservation Office

David J. Herdrich holds a BA and an MA in Anthropology (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1982, 1985).  He served as American Samoa’s Territorial Archaeologist from 1995 to 2009. He is currently the Historic Preservation Officer at the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office.

Michaela E. Howells, University of North Carolina Wilmington

Michaela E. Howells received her BA in Anthropology from Central Washington University (2002), her MA in Anthropology from Iowa State University (2006) and her PhD in Anthropology from University of Colorado Boulder (2013). She is currently an Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and has an active maternal health research programme in American Samoa.

Va‘mua Henry Sesepasara, American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources

Vaʻamua Henry Sesepasara holds a BS in Biology (1970) and a BA in Education (1971), both from Truman State University, Missouri. He also has a BA in Marine Resources Management from Oregon State University, Corvallis (1975) and an MA in Administration/Management from San Diego State University (1988). His traditional Sāmoan title, Va‘amua, is a Tulāfale title from the village of Pago Pago. He is currently the Director of the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources in American Samoa.

Telei‘ai Christian Ausage, American Samoa Historic Preservation Office

Teleiaʻai Christian Ausage holds a BEd in Elementary Education (University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa, 1991) and a BA and MSS in Sāmoan Studies (National University of Samoa, 2004, 2012). He was Adjunct Professor in Sāmoan culture at the American Samoa Community College (2005-17). His traditional Sāmoan title, Teleiaʻai, is a Tulāfale from the village of Samatau, Samoa. He is currently the Historian at the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office.

Michael D. Coszalter, University of North Carolina Wilmington

Michael D. Coszalter has a BA in Anthropology (University of North Carolina Wilmington). He is currently Executive Assistant at the nonprofit organisation the Full Belly Project in Wilmington, North Carolinaand a University of North Carolina Wilmington Research Affiliate.

Downloads

Published

2018-03-31