Heritage Talanoa series starts with UNESCO support

Apia, Samoa – 24 September 2025 – The Tiapapata Art Centre has launched a national initiative to safeguard endangered material knowledge and promote intergenerational cultural transmission across Samoa.

Funded under UNESCO’s culture program for the Pacific, the Upu ma Tala – Heritage Talanoa Sessions project will run from September to November 2025 and will focus on the preservation and revival of five (5) iconic Samoan cultural heritage practices.

These include the Fagufagu (Samoan nose flute), Pā-alo-atu (composite trolling lure), ‘Afa (coconut sennit), Va‘a tā palolo (outrigger canoe carving for the palolo rise), and Siapo (tapa cloth making).

Each of these cultural expressions embodies intangible cultural heritage and elements that are no longer widely known or practiced.

While siapo is still produced across Samoa, certain aspects are endangered. For example, few makers today weave and use the ugu—a special matting woven from fine strands of fau fibres (beach hibiscus)—to extract the rich red dye from the bast of the o‘a tree, a primary pigment for decorating siapo.

Likewise, the traditional burning of lama (candlenut) to produce black soot has largely been replaced by soot collected from burning kerosene, a much easier but toxic alternative.

The Upu ma Tala Heritage Talanoa Series brings together master practitioners, community members, and youth for hands-on workshops, oral history exchanges, and digital documentation.

Saia Tu‘itahi demonstrates how the Fagufagu is played.

The sessions will produce open-access educational resources—including audio-visual recordings, photographs, annotated metadata, and 3D models—ensuring lasting benefits for schools, cultural institutions, and communities in Samoa and across the Pacific.

“This project is more than preservation—it’s a revival of living heritage that strengthens our identity, creativity, and resilience,” said Galumalemana Steven Percival, Director of the Tiapapata Art Centre.

“With UNESCO’s partnership, we will create opportunities for interested people to actively participate in safeguarding the knowledge and skills that define who we are as Samoans.”

“This initiative reflects our shared commitment to safeguarding living heritage in the Pacific,” said Mr Sardar Umar Alam, Officer-in-Charge of the UNESCO Regional Office for the Pacific States.

“By supporting the transmission of traditional knowledge and encouraging the participation of young people, UNESCO seeks to ensure that intangible cultural heritage continues to strengthen community identity, foster creativity, and contribute to sustainable development.”

The Upu ma Tala series began this week with some 25 people gathering at Tiapapata to learn how to make and play a fagufagu.

Mr. Saia Tu‘itahi, a fagufagu practitioner of Tongan and Samoan heritage, grew up with the instrument in his family home and provided expert instruction, sharing insights into this unusual instrument little known to modern Samoans.

The session began with the screening of a short film produced by Tauiliili Alpha Maiava, another fagufagu practitioner.

All materials produced under the project will be made freely available under a Creative Commons license, contributing to national inventories, regional archives, and global cultural databases.