WEAVING SPACES OF LOVE & UNDERSTANDING

Written by: Kathy Fitisone, Asst Office Mgr
​Fa’asao, fa’alalelei, ua malie, ua malie o.  This is the chant of the women that cries through the village as mats are put on display.  The end result is beautiful culmination of months (sometimes even years) of weaving sessions.  The skillful weavers are able to produce a wide variety of mats – there are mats for sleeping, there are mats for everyday use, there are mats for babies and mats reserved for dignitaries.  There are mats used only for displays and decorations and there are mats used at the end of one’s life.  Then there is the ‘ie’toga, the fine delicate woven art of our people that is such an intricate part of our Samoan culture.  These artifacts are meant to be durable; they have been and continue to be passed down from generations to generations – weaving stories of our lives, culture, and legacies.
The process of weaving these fala usually includes a group of women who work closely together in a fale lalaga.  Often times the women work on individual or paired projects, but they find strength in numbers.  There is singing, laughing, and “talking story”.  There is praying, crying, teaching and learning.  Knowledge is woven among the women, passing through the hands of the elder women to the younger generations, passing back and forth, back and forth.  They spend days weaving culture, customs, advice.  They share, they correct, they direct, they empower.  Even though there is pressure to produce, the overall atmosphere is one of peace and encouragement.  All members of the fale lalaga become this cohesive group, a well-oiled machine that has a collective task at hand: to produce the fala that will go on to serve our people in various ways for many years to come.
Despite your knowledge of weaving or lack of, as women, we can take away so much from this process.  We need to come together as women to weave spaces of love and understanding.  We need to be collective in our approach towards the elimination of violence against women.  We need to be promoters of peace and empowerment and encouragement.  We need to weave awareness of gender equality and the rights of women and girls within our families, villages, our island, and throughout the world.
It is only when we work together as members of our fale lalaga, that we can achieve total elimination of violence against women.  What a sight to behold, a fine mat so fine, and so beautiful, with a legacy that will last lifetimes – Fa’asao. Fa’alalelei!