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Fautasi
A fautasi ( ; also fa'utasis) is a Samoan boat, similar to a longboat. Fautasi boats are around 100 feet in length and can accommodate a rowing crew of 50. A coxwain uses a drum to beat a tempo to coordinate the rowing. Each fautasi also has a captain. The meaning of ''fautasi'' is "to build as one," which reflects the need for teamwork in using the boats. Prior to the use of modern-day ferries, fautasi were the main mode of transport between Upolu and Savai'i. Today fautasi are mainly used in racing events. Traditionally, men involved in the racing spent eight weeks away from their families and other luxuries, and training with their captain. The races take place during Independence Days week celebrations in June. The top three finalists in the races receives a cash prize from the Government of Samoa. The sport used to be male-only, but in 2013, there was an all-women crew. The first woman to become a fautasi skipper was Zita Martel in 2001. Entrants from Samoa, American Samoa ...
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Fautasi Training
A fautasi ( ; also fa'utasis) is a Samoan boat, similar to a longboat. Fautasi boats are around 100 feet in length and can accommodate a rowing crew of 50. A coxwain uses a drum to beat a tempo to coordinate the rowing. Each fautasi also has a captain. The meaning of ''fautasi'' is "to build as one," which reflects the need for teamwork in using the boats. Prior to the use of modern-day ferries, fautasi were the main mode of transport between Upolu and Savai'i. Today fautasi are mainly used in racing events. Traditionally, men involved in the racing spent eight weeks away from their families and other luxuries, and training with their captain. The races take place during Independence Days week celebrations in June. The top three finalists in the races receives a cash prize from the Government of Samoa. The sport used to be male-only, but in 2013, there was an all-women crew. The first woman to become a fautasi skipper was Zita Martel in 2001. Entrants from Samoa, American Samoa ...
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Zita Martel
Vaimasenu'u Zita Sefo-Martel (born 15 July 1961) is a Samoan women's rights activist, '' fautasi'' skipper, and archer who has represented Samoa at the Pacific Games. She is also an honorary consul of France. Biography Martel attended Canterbury University, where she had been a rower. In 2000, her local church needed a skipper for their longboat, or ''fautasi''. At first she refused the request, but was eventually persuaded to give it a try. When she became the skipper for her church, she also became the first woman to act as captain in the fautasi races in 2001. Her boat won the race at Samoa's 50th independence celebrations in 2012. In 2020 her crew won the Faleula to Apia fautasi race. She represented Samoa in archery at the 2007 Pacific Games in Apia, winning silver (alongside Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi and Eddie Chan Pao) in the mixed recurve matchplay and in the individual compound. At the 2011 Pacific Games in Nouméa Nouméa () is the capita ...
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Samoan Islands
The Samoan Islands ( sm, Motu o Sāmoa) are an archipelago covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa and most of American Samoa (apart from Swains Island, which is geographically part of the Tokelau Islands). The land masses of the two Samoan jurisdictions are separated by of ocean at their closest points. The population of the Samoan Islands is approximately 250,000. The inhabitants have in common the Samoan language, a culture known as '' fa'a Samoa,'' and an indigenous form of governance called '' fa'amatai''. Samoans are one of the largest Polynesian populations in the world, and most are of exclusively Samoan ancestry. The oldest known evidence of human activity in the Samoan Islands dates to around 1050 BCE. It comes from a Lapita site at Mulifanua wharf on Upolu island. In 1768, the eastern islands were visited by the French ...
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Longboat
A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat carried. In the early period of use, a ship's longboat was often so large that it could not be carried on board, and was instead towed. For instance, a survey of 1618 of Royal Navy ship's boats listed a 52 ft 4 in longboat used by the First Rate ''Prince'', a ship whose length of keel was 115 ft. This could lead to the longboat being lost in adverse weather. By the middle of the 17th century it became increasingly more common to carry the longboat on board, though not universally. In 1697 some British ships in chase of a French squadron cut adrift the longboats they were towing in an attempt to increase their speed and engage with the enemy. The longboat was used for transporting heavy weights. The two most important of these we ...
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Coxswain
The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boat, and ''swain'', an Old English term derived from the Old Norse ''sveinn'' meaning boy or servant. In 1724, a "cockswain" was defined as "An officer of a ship who takes care of the cockboat, barge or shallop, with all its furniture, and is in readiness with his crew to man the boat on all occasions." When the term "cockboat" became obsolete, the title of coxswain as the person in charge of a ship's boat remained. Rowing In rowing, the coxswain sits in either the bow or the stern of the boat (depending on the type of boat) while verbally and physically controlling the boat's steering, speed, timing and fluidity. The primary duty of a coxswain is to ensure the safety of those in the boat. In a race setting, the coxswain is tasked with m ...
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Ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi. Ferries form a part of the public transport systems of many waterside cities and islands, allowing direct transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges or tunnels. Ship connections of much larger distances (such as over long distances in water bodies like the Mediterranean Sea) may also be called ferry services, and many carry vehicles. History In ancient times The profession of the ferryman is embodied in Greek mythology in Charon, the boatman who transported souls across the River Styx to the Underworld. Speculation that a pair of oxen propelled a ship having a water wheel can be found in 4th century Roman literature "''Anonymus De Rebus Bellicis''". Though impractical, there is no reason why it could not work ...
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Upolu
Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximately 145,000 inhabitants, it is by far the most populous of the Samoan Islands. Upolu is situated to the southeast of Savai'i, the "big island". Apia, the capital, is in the middle of the north coast, and Faleolo International Airport is at the western end of the island. The island has not had any historically recorded eruptions, although there is evidence of three lava flows, dating back only to between a few hundred and a few thousand years ago. In the Samoan branch of Polynesian mythology, Upolu was the first woman on the island. James Michener based his character Bloody Mary in ''Tales of the South Pacific'' (later a major character in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, '' South Pacific'') on the owner of Aggie Grey's Hotel on the so ...
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Public Holidays In Samoa
Public holidays in Samoa are defined in the ''Public Holidays Act 2008'': In addition to holidays with fixed dates, polling day and the day before polling day is a public holiday in any year when an election is held. In addition, the ''O le Ao o le Malo'' can declare public holidays in accordance with the Act.''Public Holidays Act 2008'', section 2. References Samoa Events in Samoa Holidays Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
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Politics Of Samoa
Politics of Samoa takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic state whereby the Prime Minister of Samoa is the head of government. Existing alongside the country's Western-styled political system is the '' fa'amatai'' chiefly system of socio-political governance and organisation, central to understanding Samoa's political system. From the country's independence in 1962, only ''matai'' could vote and stand as candidates in elections to parliament. In 1990, the voting system was changed by the Electoral Amendment Act which introduced universal suffrage. However, the right to stand for elections remains with ''matai'' title holders. Therefore, in the 51-seat parliament, all 49 ''Samoan'' Members of Parliament are also ''matai'', performing dual roles as chiefs and modern politicians, with the exception of the two seats reserved for non-Samoans. At the local level, much of the country's civil and criminal matters are dealt with by some 360 village chief ...
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American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International Date Line, while Samoa is west of the Line. The total land area is , slightly more than Washington, D.C. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States and one of two U.S. territories south of the Equator, along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island. Tuna products are the main exports, and the main trading partner is the rest of the United States. American Samoa consists of five main islands and two coral atolls. The largest and most populous island is Tutuila, with the Manuʻa Islands, Rose Atoll and Swains Island also included in the territory. All islands except for Swains Island are part of the Samoan Islands, west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some south of Tokelau. To the west are the islands of the Wall ...
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Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, according to Johnson's Tribune, Tonga has a population of 104,494, 70% of whom reside on the main island, Tongatapu. The country stretches approximately north-south. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest; Samoa to the northeast; New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the west; Niue (the nearest foreign territory) to the east; and Kermadec (New Zealand) to the southwest. Tonga is about from New Zealand's North Island. First inhabited roughly 2,500 years ago by the Lapita civilization, Tonga's Polynesian settlers gradually evolved a distinct and strong ethnic identity, language, and culture as the Tongan people. They were quick to establish a powerful footing acr ...
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