The Fa'ataupati is a dance indigenous to the

Samoans Samoans or Samoan people ( sm, tagata Sāmoa) are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between th ...

. In English it is simply the "Samoan Slap Dance". It was developed in Samoa in the 19th century and is only performed by males.

History

The word ''pati'' in Fa'ataupati means "to clap", Fa'ataupati means to 'forcefully clap or to slap'. Dances in

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 Island, Manono an ...

would reflect on everyday life activities. In the 19th century there was an invasion of

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es to the Kingdom, which later on became another part of everyday life, and it was there that the Fa'ataupati was created from when a man would forcefully slap his body. This dance mimics a person slapping the mosquitoes off their body when bitten. From then on it became part of the Samoan culture.

Performance

The Fa'ataupati is traditionally performed by a group of men and requires strength and stability. The men would clap and slap in sync with each other. This dance is the only dance in Samoa that does not require any instrument, as the slapping of the bodies, the clapping of the hands and stomping of the feet create the music for this dance. It is the only all-male dance in Samoa. The Fa'ataupati is rarely performed alone. This dance requires a lot of

coconut oil frameless , right , alt = A cracked coconut and a bottle of coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut butter) is an edible oil derived from the wick, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat; in warmer climates duri ...

rubbed on the skin, as the slapping can sometimes leave marks on one's body. Regardless, it has never stopped the Samoan males having fun, and also having the opportunity to express themselves in a dance that is specifically for them. In other cultures this dance would be seen as a "

war dance A war dance is a dance involving mock combat, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual connected with endemic warfare. Martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settin ...

References

{{reflist Samoan dances Samoan words and phrases