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Samoan Material Culture

Dance Accessories

page 581

Dance Accessories

Some forms of kilts were specially made for the siva dances, and other activities that took place during festivals and food presentations. At these dances, model clubs were usually carried by the village maid and manaia chief of the parties. Hence the opportunity for display in the dances gave a certain amount of stimulus to the kilt making and model club industries. At the night dances of the poula type, the stiff ceremonial relaxed somewhat and extra clothing was not so much in evidence. Different forms of dancing were indulged in, and in many the various methods of making a noise, thus adding to the efforts of the orchestra, were in vogue.

A piece of coconut leaf midrib was trimmed and the ends split and termed a sasa lapalapa. These were used by the dancers and struck against the thigh and against the sasa of a neighbor in the various evolutions of the dance.

In some dances, each performer carried a stick in either hand with which time was beaten in company with the orchestra. The sake is the dance in which the sticks are used and is said to have been introduced from Uvea Island.

Two half coconut shells (ipu) are used as cymbals, really for marking time, in a form of dance termed fiti and perhaps introduced.

Stair (33, p. 134) says that the young people of inland villages used a pipe or flute ('ofe) of bamboo which they blew while dancing the siva-a-'ofe.