Samoan Proverbs - pearls of wisdom...

Yesterday I felt honoured when a friend of mine wrote a couple of Samoan alaga upu (proverbs) for me that symbolised the journey that I had been on for the past few years.

"O le umu ua vela" of one who does many things for his/her country and...
"O le sola a Faleata" of one who does not run far but returns.

I also received a painting at the second book launch with a Samoan proverb dedicated to me from my daughters Samoan bilingual pre-school centre teachers and it reads:
"E lele le toloa 'ae ma'au i le vai" which translated into English means that the bird (toloa - gray duck) takes flight but shall always return to its habitat.

For me, as an author/writer, I am honoured that in retelling our Samoan ancient stories of old and adding this content into my plays (with more genre to come) that people can feel cultural pride and an affirmation of being a part of these stories. I remember as a young child in primary school sharing with my mum a love for reading cultural tales from many different countries around the world but there were none published from Samoa.

Now, I have the opportunity to share these stories in schools, at libraries, online, with groups and with individuals and it's been a neat journey so far and hoping to share many, many more stories. It's been a labour of love for a lifetime and now I get the chance to share it with so many with trips forthcoming for Samoa and Honolulu which is such a blessing that I am most grateful to God for to keep living the dream...