Thursday, 11 October 2018

Lotu Tamaiti - White Sunday preparations...

This week is the last week for the annual 'Lotu Tamaiti' or White Sunday preparations. It's been held for decades since the missionaries docked on Samoa's harbour and proclaimed that the children needed a Sunday whereby they could wear white clothes, recite bible verses, sing hymns, perform Christian stories and receive a big to'ona'i (feast) at the end of it.

My parents both said that it was like Christmas where the children were served first in the toonai and getting new white clothes (or recycling the old ones) were like a very big celebration unless one didn't do very well in performing their part on the church stage, as they might be ridiculed.

Over the years I've had my fair share of Lotu Tamaiti roles starting with my father's inaugural induction of myself and my two siblings reciting Psalm 1 in Samoan to our church in acknowledging Lotu Tamaiti in Samoa in the late 1970s (before it was ever a part of our NZ church culture) and then from there playing Jesus (earlier blog), conducting the choir, singing various songs, bible readings or recitals, plays, you name it - I've probably done it and now that my children have experienced it, it's been interesting to watch their reactions too.

This year, two or our children are participating with our youngest doing a dance to Annie's song 'Iesu e lo'u uo alofa' which is one of my favourites of her songs. It has a fast tempo and when I watched my daughter's class dancing to the song, I think they did a good job.

This was one of Annie's songs in her younger years when her mother (my auntie) cut her first album. Since then she has gone on to produce two more albums of which I enjoy listening to. So I'll often hear her music at wedding receptions, at school dance performances or on the radio which is really neat. A music ministry that reaches out across the globe to many a Samoan needing inspiration.

So as the young people gear up for our annual Lotu Tamaiti this Sunday, the second Sunday of October, not only will there be a lot of white clothes and shoes snapped up, but also preparations for the feast and relief for many a child that their memorisation of long biblical passages or roles are over for another year...

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