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    My Scholarship Entry 2013 (2) and 2014

    Samoa

    There are [5] photos and [1] story about Samoa

    Samoan culture is highly social and here the use of the coconut tree leaves can be seen used for leg and neck decorations for the dancers and musicians performing the traditional fire dance at the end of an evenings meal and entertainment. by: mcw Views[1831] Traditional Cooking, Of course the coconut provides food and ingredients for cooking. The tree also provides other uses in this activity. The basket in the foreground is woven from coconut tree leaves and is used to collect banana leaves for covering the traditional “stone” oven during cooking and gathering cooked foods when done. The coconut shell is used as a container to heat liquid foods, such as this tuna in coconut cream being ladled (by a shell) in the picture. by: mcw Views[1129] Fale is the Samoan word for houses, from small to large. Generally oval or circular shape, there are no walls. Traditionally the fale is lashed and tied together the plaited sennit rope. Making enough lengths of afa for an entire house can take months of work. The construction of an ordinary traditional fale is estimated to use 30,000 to 50,000 feet of ʻafa. by: mcw Views[1477] Practically every part of the tree, can be used by the Islanders, trunks, leaves, mid ribs, husks, husk fibers, shells and the nuts themselves. Here a local “husks” a “nut” using the traditional methods, piercing the husk with a stake and pealing away the husk from the better known brown hard shelled nut. Plaited sennit rope called ʻAfa is made from the husk. They are soaked in fresh water for 4-5 weeks then old men or women beat the husk to separate the fibres. After a further washing fibres are tied together in bundles and dried in the sun, then manufactured into sennit by plaiting, a task usually done by elderly men or matai, and performed at their leisure. by: mcw Views[1035] In Samoa the coconut tree is known as the “Tree of Life”. It is reported that the coconut tree has helped to sustain life in Samoan Islands more than any other plant. Both in local uses and as export products, such as Copra, coconut cream and the whole coconut. In the early 1980’s coconut tree exports amounted to around 58% of the value of Samoan exports. There has been declines but currently there is a healthy come back, and again the tree is seen as a potential source of economic livelihood. by: mcw Views[1636]
     

    Photos: My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

    Thursday, 4 Jul 2013 | Photo Gallery | Scholarship Entry

    Photography, a passion, fueled by my father, who provided my “Box Brownie” when 7. My enthusiasm and commitment was rewarded by my 21st birthday present, an OM2n, used over many years (I still have it), while now getting to get to grips with the digital ... Read more >
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