“Our history is there but has seemed to be hidden in journals and other academic literature that isn’t easy to find. It is slowly fading which I guess is our job to revive an interest in it” (Tony Laulu/Them Savaii Boys founder).
How well do you know your heritage and cultural roots? It’s a question that many Pacific islanders living abroad face in their daily lives.
It’s also a question that Tony Laulu has asked himself, and what started as a conversation with his Dad, has sparked a journey of discovery to an untapped wealth of archaeological history in his homeland of Savai’i, Samoa.
His instagram page, “Them Savaii Boys” has surpassed 8000+ followers online, creating a massive response to Laulu’s findings on the island of Savai’i.
“At the start there wasn’t really a social media strategy behind what we were doing. We were just interested in the archeology sites we came across in Savai’i and in particular my Dad’s land and wanted to just put it out there” Laulu stated.
“Even within our own personal self discovery journeys we notice the base knowledge some Samoans have of Samoa, it’s history or just fun fact type things is small or non-existent. We wanted to provide another channel that our people can learn from.
Laulu is no stranger to the social media world having already established two other instagram pages each serving their own purpose. But it is the authenticity of real life stories from the people that draws his attention to making sure it is heard.
Archaeology may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Laulu admits that what started out of curiosity has now become an obsession to learn more in the field.
“To be honest, I’ve always been fascinated by it when I come across it but it wasn’t something I exactly went out and sought after” he says.
“There were periods of time I’d take out a few Samoan books at the library but since seeing these actual old sites that are 100s of years old, I’m reading as much as I can about it and also talking to my Dad and uncles about what they know about their local knowledge and Samoan history in general.”
There is no question how rich the Pacific is filled with stories and history, and it is something that Laulu is adamant to push through his content online. However, he also believes that there are limited resources for people to get a grasp of these historical stories and findings.
“If anyone’s been to the Samoa museum, there’s nothing really in there. I don’t think Samoa has its own artefacts or not many of them anyway”.
“Our history is there but has seemed to be hidden in journals and other academic literature that isn’t easy to find. Outside of that, living in the diaspora it’s hard to fully grasp what a Samoan life is without living in Samoa. In a sense, yes it is slowly fading which I guess is our job to revive an interest in it”
While pushing out his content to educate his followers and audience, Laulu has also found it as a way of educating himself.
“Man, so many. I’ve learnt a lot about the different theories of migration patterns of our people. I’ve learn about the depth Savai’i had in our history of Samoa and its spiritual depth, its importance to the Samoa story and even it’s linkages to places like Hawaii and Aotearoa”
For now, Laulu travels back to Samoa as much as he can in order to discover more and also hopes to grow the reach of the page that will allow more people to engage through the content, especially Samoans living abroad.
“The page isn’t really the end game here. Eventually we want to establish a historical or archeological tour of what we have found back there in the bush. The content right now is to build towards that so it’s a bit of a long game approach but we are definitely appreciative of the small interest it’s had over the last few months”.
