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Overview
This costume is from the Auckland Girls' Grammar School Samoan group that performed at the ASB Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, or Polyfest, in Auckland, New Zealand in mid-March 2005. The group presented five dances, this costume featuring in two of them, and came first overall in the Samoan all-girls' school category
Fuataimi
The costume was worn by the fuataimi (literally 'to measure time'), who guides both the dance and music, conducting the choir as it accompanies the dancers with singing or movement. The fuataimi also has solo roles. In the pese o le aso (song of the day), she becomes the speaker for the group, formally addressing important guests and the audience. In the taualuga, a solo dance, she entertains the audience before the dance begins.
Details
The costume consists of a tapa dress made from ngatu (Tongan tapa), a beaded pale (headpiece), a feather headpiece, a feather overskirt, and accessories - a taulima (armband) and ula lei (necklace) - made of coconut shell and coconut sennit. It was made by Mrs Line Pulou, the mother of the fuataimi.