{"id":16420,"date":"2022-07-14T11:00:11","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T15:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=16420"},"modified":"2024-11-19T13:48:58","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T18:48:58","slug":"you-must-remember-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=16420","title":{"rendered":"You Must Remember This"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally Published July 17, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting about American Samoa from Little Rock, Arkansas \u2013 <\/em>On June 23, 2012, I was at the Polynesian Cultural Center on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, with my granddaughter, who was 10. Here\u2019s how it went:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>They found a place for Kayla and me on the back row of the jam-packed Fiji hut, and there we sat, bamboo sticks in hand, learning to chant and sing Fiji style. And, learning how to remember. The presentation at the Fiji settlement in the Polynesian Cultural Center was titled \u201cHistory through Chants & Dance\u201d and we\u2019d just been taught how, as a group, to beat out rhythms, \u201cone-two one-two-three\u201d then \u201cone-two-three-four\u201d fast and slow, stop; then a call to us, \u201cmoo-oo\u201d then our response \u201cmai-ii\u201d and repeat; somehow the roomful of us managed to do this together; and somehow, the feel of it began to stick in our memories. <\/em><\/p>\n

Our narrator explained the value of learning by chanting: \u201cwe had no written language until recent times, so stories and our history were passed down orally. Family is very important in our culture, and children are taught from the beginning about their ancestors,\u201d he continued. \u201cMy 10-year old son can recite our family genealogy for 17 generations.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Kayla and I exchanged glances, startled. Seventeen generations?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Polynesian Cultural Center \u2013 rated the top tourist attraction in Hawaii, is a non-profit organization operated by the LDS church. It is a family place with pleasant walkways and waterways meandering through 42 acres of Polynesian \u201csettlements\u201d representing Samoa, New Zealand (Aotearoa-Maori), Fiji, Hawaii, Tahiti, Tonga, and Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Its purpose is simply to preserve the culture of Polynesia. It\u2019s all about remembering<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As I planned my 2020 RTW<\/em> stops in Hawaii, American Samoa, and New Zealand, I thought back to that day, and how little I really know of Polynesian culture. I\u2019d planned to remedy that somewhat today as I explored the National Park of American Samoa, which of course is closed due to COVID-19, but I\u2019ll share some facts from their website, https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/npsa<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Samoan culture is Polynesia’s oldest. We believe the first people of the Samoan Islands came by sea from southwest Asia some 3,000 years ago. Over the centuries, distinct cultural traits emerged that we now call fa’asamoa (fah-ah-SAH-mo-ah). From Samoa seafaring explorers and settlers journeyed to other Polynesian island groups hundreds of miles away.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

Follow the Fa’a Samoa \u2014The Samoan Way<\/h3>\n

Alofa and Afio Mai! — Hello and Welcome — with some tips for pleasant visits to the villages of the islands.<\/h4>\n