Cramped Planes, Political Posturing, Ava Rituals, And Other Dispatches From Pago Pago

Talofa is Samoan for Hello or Welcome, and it's been a word in heavy use on this first day of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Meeting here in Pago Pago, American Samoa. I arrived late last night on an absolutely packed flight in from Honolulu. I mean absolutely packed because while the flight was completely full, it felt exceptionally full since it was jam packed with Samoan men.

Now I'm a big guy myself, so it's saying something for me to bestow superlatives of size on anyone else. Samoan men are not delicate Pacific Islanders. Conservatively speaking, they tend to make the Maori of New Zealand look like Munchkins. My flight last night had a full platoon of American Samoan army reservists returning home for a visit. I pity the poor people who got sandwiched in the middle seat between these mountainous men for the five hour flight. I dunno if the Samoan size is genetic or if it's the result of Spam (or a little of both), but I know I'd hate to have been on the receiving end of Samoan wrath during the Polynesian expansion several hundred years ago.

But back to the meeting. I awoke this morning and peeked out the window to a lovely view of a harbor surrounded by soaring lush green volcanic ridges. American Samoa, a U.S. territory, is comprised of the main island of Tutuila, along with the smaller Manu'a Islands, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island. Pago Pago (pronounced Pongo Pongo) is on Tutuila, and I'm staying with most of the delegates at Sadie's by the Sea, a hotel just across the street from the meeting hall. It's location right on the water and just a hike from the National Park of American Samoa would make you think it's always buzzing with business. Unfortunately, that's not quite the case. But I'll have to leave the subject of American Samoa's struggling tourism for another time.

This morning was a closed session meeting for the All Islands Committee, a subgroup of the Task Force consisting of state and territory points of contact and local partners. This gave me a chance to brew a pot of coffee in my room and wash the sheen of sweat residue from my face. The All Islands Committee opened up for general discussion at 9:30AM on the topic of International Year of the Reef (IYOR) 2008 planning. Not unexpectedly, this was a topic of interest to a lot of attendees so it turned into a standing room only event in a much too small room. Planning? Not so much.

This is my first Task Force meeting and I have to admit I may have set my expectations a wee bit too high. What we basically have here is a federal and state agency love-fest. On the periphery of this governmental assemblage, NGOs vie for a receptive ear. But by and large, this is the turf of big government acronyms. There's NOAA, and NFWF, and NMS, and NMFS, and EPA, and USDA, and DEP. It's enough to give someone with ADHD the FITS. Attendees here are either Special Assistant to this, or Undersecretary for that. There's certainly considerable power here as well, and it's fascinating to watch the well-practiced political theater play out. I personally watched a particularly hierarchically disposed higher-up get irritated today when someone referred to him by his first name and not as Mr. Chairman.

The highlight of my morning was the official opening of the Task Force Meeting with a Samoan Ava Ceremony. It was a lavish spectacle involving village elders in ceremonial dialogue, an easily 300 pound, traditionally tattooed Samoan warrior serving as ava carrier, and a stone-faced young woman practically carried into and out of the ceremony for the sole purpose of wringing the liquid out of the mashed ava roots.

Ava is the local Samoan name for kava, the mildly intoxicating liquid preparation derived from the roots of a pepper-plant species common throughout the South Pacific islands. I've participated in several kava ceremonies in Fiji, but sadly I was relegated to just be a voyeur here. This Samoan ava ceremony was specifically to pay honor to the assembled federal mucky-mucks. It's that political hierarchy thing again. The above photo doesn't do the ceremony justice (I was in the far back of a large room). Aside from the federal ass-kissing aspect, it was a wonderful peek into Samoan culture.

The afternoon session is focused on the incorporation of traditional knowledge and practices into marine protected area science and management and the panels they have assembled look fascinating. Once I find an internet connection I'll try to post some thoughts.