Samoa Beach Fales

One experience you will never forget is sleeping in a Samoan Beach Fale. In Samoan the term fale means house. Samoan fales are a traditional structure that is built mostly from materials that can be found on their land. The poles from local trees, the thatching from a local palm, and hand-woven blinds. In a fale, there are no walls, but you do get your privacy by pulling down the blinds. The open walls allow for the trade winds to breeze through and cool you down as you relax there during the day or while sleeping at night. If you ask any Samoan, these are the best places to take naps! A mattress is placed in the fale and you have a mosquito net which surrounds you. The best part of the fales is that they are usually set a stones throw from the ocean. You can hear the waves breaking on the fringing reef and the lapping of the lagoon waters on the beach. People tend to love sleeping and relaxing in the fales!

Samoan Food

Traditional Samoan food is very good and some excellent dishes are derived from tropical crops. Meals are not too varied however and they are a people satisfied with a simple diet. The traditional diet consists mostly of root vegetables, coconut products, taro, breadfruit, fresh fruit, pork from local pigs that roam, chickens that graze, fish fresh from the sea and tropical fruits such as mango, pineapple, papaya and banana. A famous Samoan traditional dish is called palusami which is made from coconut cream baked in tender taro leaf. This is a delicious and nutritious food! During Raw Shakti trips we will eat simple vegetarian meals which includes some Samoan traditional foods. However there will be times when local meat may be served and certainly it is your choice whether to eat it.

Fiafia

Fiafia literally means happy. At a fiafia night the participants will dress in a variety of colorful outfits and you will be told stories through dance and song. Fiafias traditionally were held to celebrate a special event such as welcoming a travel party to their village, wedding or house dedication. In recent years, there is an annual festival where people from around Samoa come to the capital city of Apia and compete in song and dance. There is a strong national pride in the stories that are told through this traditional art form of Samoa. You will most likely see the sa sa (a group of dancers synchronized to the rhythm of a wooden drum), siva (a dance by women which tells a story), fire knife dancing and the traditional taualuga (the final dance of the evening). Fiafias are a wonderful way to experience a Samoan celebration! It is the original Luau. We often enjoy a fiafia night on our Raw Shakti Yoga Samoa adventures!