 The word luma means embarrassment or shame, and fā'aluma means to embarrass someone or make a fool of them. In Sāmoa long ago, the person who was called the fā'aluma had an important role. At times of tribal war, the fā'aluma made fun of the enemy warriors, to embarrass them and to boost the morale of his own side. Doing this meant taking a risk, because all the enemy warriors would be watching the fā'aluma and getting angrier and angrier. A very brave performer was highly respected in his village. He was called an ulavale fa'avalevalea, a person of "stupid courage".
When Christianity came to Sāmoa, the Sāmoan people became more peaceful and the fā'aluma became more of an entertainer. At village song and dance concerts, the fā'aluma would add comic words and movements to make the concerts funnier. Fā'aluma went on doing their morale boosting, too. During sports or any competitions the fā'aluma would lead the cheering for their own side – and make fun of the other side. Fā'aluma also performed in faleaitu (the word means "house of ghosts of spirits"). Faleaitu are short, comic plays in which two or more fā'aluma act together. Once, they acted out the antics of ghosts in a way that made everyone laugh. The more afraid of ghosts people were, the louder they laughed. Nowadays, a faleaitu may not have ghosts in it at all, instead the fā'aluma make fun of important people and things that are usually very serious. They also imitate animals, or they sing nonsense songs – anything that makes the audience laugh. |
 Usually, fā'aluma are recognised when they are still quite young. If a child is very bold or mischievous, people might say "Se matuā luma amio a le tama, ai o se fā'aluma. This means something like "The things that child does, making fun of everything, embarrassing everyone! – that child must be a fā'aluma." Most people don't want to shame or embarrass others, but for fā'aluma, it is part of their gift. People are proud to be recognised as fā'aluma and work to develop their comic skills. They don't just perform on stage. Their role as fā'aluma is part of their everyday life. |
|
|
Fā'aluma still act as cheerleaders for sporting events like rugby and kirikiti (cricket) matches. They also lead singing groups, especially in competitions. The fā'aluma will encourage their own group and mock the other groups (to embarrass them and to boost the morale of their own team). Sometimes they even conduct the music. Most fā'aluma are men, but women can be fā'aluma, too.