Jump to content

Falealupo

Coordinates: 13°30′S 172°48′W / 13.500°S 172.800°W / -13.500; -172.800
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Teinesavaii (talk | contribs) at 06:36, 13 February 2011 (→See also: wikilink). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Falealupo
Village & Electoral Constituency
Falealupo sunset
Falealupo sunset
Main road in the afternoon, Falealupo Tai
Main road in the afternoon, Falealupo Tai
Country Samoa
DistrictVaisigano
Population
 (2006)
 • Total943 Constituency
Time zone-11
Falealupo-uta (inland) & Falealupo-tai (coast)
View of Falealupo rainforest canopy walkway and old wooden tower.

Falealupo is a village in Samoa situated at the west end of Savai'i island 20 miles (32 km) from the dateline. The village has two main settlements, Falealupo-Uta, situated inland by the main island highway and Falealupo-Tai, situated by the sea. The road to the coastal settlement is about 9km, most of it unsealed, from the main highway.

Families have moved inland for the convenience of living by the main road near public transport, as well as the extensive damage to the coastal village from cyclones in the early 1990s, which left behind old church ruins along the coast. Rock pools, caves, and sandy beaches contribute to the natural beauty of the area. Falealupo-Uta has small shops and facilities for Western Union money transfer while there are beach fale accommodation and a shop at Falealupo-tai.

The settlement is part of Falealupo Electoral Constituency (Faipule District) which forms part of the larger political district of Vaisigano.[1]

Roman Catholic Cardinal Pio Taofinu'u (1923 - 2006), the first Polynesian bishop and cardinal, was born in Falealupo and attended the village school.[2]

Myths and Legends

Falealupo is mentioned in different myths and legends in Samoan mythology.

In the sea at the farthest point of the peninsula, the Fafā, an outcropping of volcanic rocks, is said in legend to be the gateway to the underworld Pulotu, where aitu, the spirits of deceased persons, reside.[3]

The ruler of Pulotu is Saveasi'uleo, the father of Nafanua, a goddess of war from Falealupo. Another legend tells that Nafanua's mother is Tilafaiga, who brought the art of Samoan tattoo with her sister Taema from Fiti. The village is also associated with the legend of Moso.

Falealupo Rainforest conservation

Falealupo land include large tracts of lowland rainforest. Most of Samoa's land is locally village owned under customary land governed by family matai, the chiefly heads of extended families. In 1990 the Samoan government gave the remote village of Falealupo an ultimatum to build a better school or teachers would be removed and their children would not be educated. Education in Samoa is a partnership between villages and the government, and with most of the land under customary ownership, villages provide land and school buildings with the government providing teachers and the curriculum.[4] Most of the island's economy is based on subsistence living from plantations and fishing and with no other source of revenue, the villagers sold logging rights to their rainforests. Before the logging could take place, however, Seacology co-founder and chairman Paul Cox, an American ethnobotanist who had lived for many years with his family in the village, discovered that the pristine rainforests surrounding the village of Falealupo were to be logged. Cox worked with the village chiefs and promised to raise the funds for the school in exchange for a covenant protecting the 30,000-acre (120 km2) rainforest.[5]

Satellite image of Falealupo at the west end of Savai'i island. (NASA photo 2009).

The Falealupo Rainforest School was constructed, and since that time Seacology has had a close relationship with the village. In recognition of this achievement, in 1997 Cox together with the late High Chief Fuiono Senio won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. Shortly thereafter, a permanent endowment was created for the Falealupo Rainforest Preserve, using Cox's Prize stipend and matching donations from Nu Skin International and Nature's Way. Also in 1997 the Falealupo Rainforest Canopy Aerial Walkway was dedicated. Seacology funded the walkway in order to help the community generate revenues from eco-tourism. At the ceremony dedication, it was announced that the village would extend the 50-year covenant and promised to protect the rainforest in perpetuity.

In 1988, Cox was bestowed a matai chief title by Falealupo in honour of his work.[6]

In 1999, the village announced that beginning January 1, 2000 monthly tourist revenues from the aerial canopy walkway would be used to fund a modest retirement fund for village elders. In February 2008, the canopy walkway was closed due to rot in the 10m wooden tower leading up to the aerial rope walkway and platforms in a giant banyan tree. Seacology funded and constructed a new aluminium tower which was completed and opened on 10 June, 2010. [7]

Entry to the Falealupo rainforest walkway is about 2km from the main road, on the way to the Falealupo Tai.

Looking west at the western tip of Savai'i

Member of Parliament

Notable Samoans from Falealupo

Falealupo beach fale, local owned tourist accommodation

Notable Samoans from Falealupo include;

  • John Schuster, a former All Black (rugby union national team of New Zealand).
  • Leo Lafaiali'i, a player for Manu Samoa (rugby union national team of Samoa) and a former Auckland Blues player.
  • King Kapisi, a hip hop artist in New Zealand. The chief title of his family in Falealupo is A'eau. The grave of King Kapisi's great grandfather Aeau Fa'aloaga is behind the new church in Falealupo-tai. In 1999, King Kapisi filmed his music video Reverse Resistance at Falealupo as well as Fagamalo, Safotu and at the Taga blowholes in Savaii. The opening shot in the video starts at the old church ruin in Falealupo (now the new church) and the closing shot is a sunset at Falealupo beach with children from his family. The song became the first hip hop song to win the prestigious APRA Silver Scroll Award in New Zealand.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Population and Housing Census Report 2006" (PDF). Samoa Bureau of Statistics. July 2008. Retrieved 19 December, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ "College of Cardinals Biographical Note". Holy See Press Office, Vatican. 21 January, 2006. Retrieved 23 January, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Religious and Cosmic Beliefs of Central Polynesia‎". Cambridge University Press archive. p. 156. ISBN 100140985X.
  4. ^ "Savai'i Schools". Samoa Ministry of Education, Sports & Culture. Retrieved 4 July, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ Zeppel, Heather (2006). Indigenous ecotourism: sustainable development and management. Volume 3 of Ecotourism (Hardcover). CABI. p. 58. ISBN 1845931246.
  6. ^ "Falealupo matai defend Nafanua Cox". Samoa Observer. 25 January, 2009. Retrieved 4 July, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Samoa, Falealupo village, Savai'i Island". Seacology Island Projects. June 2010. Retrieved 4 July, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ "14th Parliament 2006 - 20011, Members of Parliament & Ministers". Parliament of Samoa. Retrieved 23 May, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

13°30′S 172°48′W / 13.500°S 172.800°W / -13.500; -172.800


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Falealupo&oldid=413639329"