The Fautasi Race
Ex: The Village of Nu’uuli’s Fautasi Boat (Manulele Tausala 2023 Fautasi Champions)
The Fautasi (faw•oo•tah•see) race is an annual Samoan tradition that consists of village longboats racing to place top three. The boats represent specific villages of American Samoa and is rowed only by qualified men from those villages (the number of boats vary each year).
The Samoan word Fautasi means 'build together' in English. This annual tradition allows Samoans to build their village pride together by cheering on their village boat, and decorating their village/houses/buildings with their 'village colors' to show support to the rowers. The sport of the Fautasi race has become a rich tradition for the Samoan people. This sport is so unique because it only occurs once a year, which is always before American Samoa’s flag day celebration on April 16. Flag day festivities will not be completed without a Fautasi race. Rain or shine, the boats are always out on the waters ready to compete.
Preparing for a Fautasi race is not an easy task; it takes very long days of hard training. The training is very strenuous as it tests you both physically and mentally. Some Fautasi crew members wake up early in the morning to train, go to work/school/live their daily routine, and train some more afterwards. The amount of hard work and dedication these crew members put into being a rower is truly astonishing and unbelievable.
You can watch this short clip that provides a brief explanation about the Fautasi race (American Samoa's National Ocean Service) https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/magazine/3/fautasi-the-race-for-flag-day
Interview: Former Fautasi Crew Member (Fagava'a Alema Seā)
I had the opportunity to interview a former crew member of the Manua'tele Matasauā boat (Manu'atele district) to speak about his experience as a rower.
Mr. Seā started his rowing career when he attended Samoana High School, which was led by the well known Ve’evalu Meauta Lauoi Mageo. At that time, Samoana High School had a Fautasi boat and Fagava’a was a crew member for 3 years until he graduated. In regards to the Fautasi training, Mr. Seā heavily compared it to Military Basic Combat Training because it both included a lot of running and body weight training. He believed that the hardest part about training was waking up everyday to do it.
When asked "Why do you do it?" Mr. Seā stated,
“It’s all about pride for your Village/District. For me, I chose to row for Matasaua because both of my parents are from Manu’atele”.
As a way to incorporate change, we asked Mr. Seā what the American Samoa Government can do to improve the Fautasi races. He believes that the office of Samoan Affairs should have a plan B in case the weather is terrible and the waves are too rough, as a safety hazard for all crew members. The last 2 years, American Samoa had high tides during race day, yet they still continue the race. It is stated that the race will only happen if weather permits, however, that was not the case in the past 2 years. The American Samoa Government should prioritize everyone's safety before deciding to put the crew members out in the ocean during heavy waves and high tides.
Fagava’a is currently serving in our United States Military as a Combat engineer, your service is greatly and highly appreciated by the people of American Samoa.
As the date of the Fautasi race approaches, we want to wish everyone competing GOOD LUCK! We want to hear your thoughts, who do you think will win this year? Comment down below or leave a like!
