There wasn’t any big party that I know on our island, but the government offices were closed, and that is good for me. Manu’s is a wonderful place, it is said that it is the place were the people of Polynesia came from. Certain areas of the islands are so “sa” (sacred, taboo, no permitted), that many inhabitants from Tutuila discouraged me for going there: “so many ghosts!!! Do not walk alone EVER, do not let your hair down…”.
But what I find even more interesting is the flag of Manu’a.
But let’s start from the beginning, to fully appreciate this artistic revelation. What is the meaning of “Samoa”? “Sa” means “holy, sacred, taboo”, “Moa” means “center” but also “chicken”. Some people argue that Samoa means “Holy center” considering that, as I said before, the people of Polynesia came from. Other people argue that Samoa means “holy chicken”, after a legend about giants and, surprise, holy chickens… (I personally prefer the translation as “holy chicken” as there are chicken everywhere. Note, also, that chickens, pigs and dogs were carried on board of the canoes as a source of food when those first crazy Polynesians were scouting the immense South Pacific looking for islands to live on… so, yes, if you were in the middle of the ocean, I bet a chicken would look very holy to you!!!!).
Very proud of this story, the creator of Manu’a flag decided to place a chicken on it, guarding three eggs (representing the three islands of Ofu, Olosega and Tau)!!! This, naturally, pissed all the believers of the “holy center” hypothesis, and the Manu’a’s flag did not experienced lots of flights (in opposition of samoan chickens that do FLY!! And a lot!!). I wonder how people did see this flag with their own eyes, as, in 2 years, I never saw it.
To me, Manu’a’s flag day was a perfect day to get a bit intoxicated with Vanuatu kava. Kava is the root of a plant, triturated, and cooked into a kind of a tea (ideally, the kava should be first chew by a virgin, but we skipped that step, and also filtered using a sock, but we also decided that a tea filter would work as well). Kava relaxes you, numbs your mouth and your senses…
The Vanuatu kava is supposed to be the strongest, and my friends Brian and Nadia also carefully let it soak for few days in coconut milk to make it stronger. He needed to paint his house, and the offer kava and painting, sounded just like a perfect way to spend the afternoon.
The kitchen was already red when I arrived to their house, the eating room was yellow, and what was left was the living room, to be painted green. Drink, paint, drink, paint…
until there was very little paint left in the bucket.
At the point, a comment: “ops… look… the did not mix the color well at ACE…. There is a bunch of bright green on the bottom…. Oh…. Yeah, this really did not look like the color you choose, in effect… oh well… by the way, I do not think we have enough color left to finish the living room… well, no, we cannot buy more… this color is a mistake, what are the chances they are going to mistake again exactly in the same way…”
But, AUA LE POPOLE! NO WORRIES! The kava definitely kicked in, and life is good no matter what.
So we ended up giving repainting the all living room again (that is not small) with a second barrel of green color. Until, again… “ops…” Nadia gives me the look ‘act cool, like if nothing happened!’. “Maybe if we stretch the color this time we can finish the room… just do not tell anything to Brian yet…”
Yes, it happened again! Even in the second barrel, the paint has not been mixed right! But after all, we all liked the color that ACE choose for the living room, and, yes, we were able to make the paint last long enough to finish the room!!!
(Noa and I in my mobile bed this morning at Brian's)
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