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THE
'IE 'IE VINE, PE'A, 'ENU, and I'A SINA |
STRANGE LOOKING WORDS: PE'A, ‘IE ‘IE, ‘ENU, I’A SINA. WHAT COUNTRY ARE WE IN NOW?
We are in American
Samoa, specifically at a group of three islands named the Manu'a Islands.
START WITH PE'A, PLEASE.
Pe'a is the Samoan word for bat.
‘IE ‘IE?
The ‘ie ‘ie vine grows in trees in the Manu'a Islands and other islands in the Samoan archipelago. It has flowers that are pollinated by at least three kinds of flying foxes; the Samoan flying fox, the Marianas flying fox and the Pacific flying fox.(1)
‘Enu is a fish trap is woven from aerial roots of the ‘ie ‘ie
vine. The roots are used because they are not damaged by being in sea water.
The ‘enu is composed of a basket and entrance funnel. It is tied together with twine plaited from coconut fiber. Coconut tree flowers are also pollinated by bats, but that is another important bat-plant-people story.
Creation of an ‘enu is an art and the skill is passed on to each generation.(2)
I’A SINA?
I'a sina is a fish that is the size of a sardine and arrives at Manu'a on regular migrations. An ‘enu can capture several kilograms of i’a sina.
Whole communities participate
in fishing for i’a sina and the feasts that follow. At these gatherings
songs about the i'a sina harvest are sung. Poetry and legends are recited.(2)
SO BATS ARE PART OF THE CELEBRATION! THEY HELP TO MAKE
IT HAPPEN BY POLLINATING THE ‘IE ‘IE FLOWERS.
That’s right.
There are now fewer flying foxes in American Samoa to ensure that the tradition goes on. Although flying foxes are very rarely eaten in the Samoan Islands(3), the meat is part of traditional fiesta food for the native Chamorro people of Guam.(4) Guam is in the Mariana Islands, north and west of the Samoan Islands.
Flying foxes were hunted to near extinction in Guam after World War II and the people of other Pacific islands, including Samoa and American Samoa, were encouraged to hunt and export their native flying foxes to Guam. Commercial trade of flying foxes to Guam from the Samoan Islands stopped in 1989.
Later, in 1990 and 1991, two devastating cyclones took human and animal lives and destroyed homes and animal habitats. The flying fox population was again adversely affected.
Good news from recent bat research in American Samoa is that the populations of pollinating flying foxes are now doing quite well. Woven 'enu can still be seen in Manu'a villages and in Samoan and American Samoan shops.(5) The traditions associated with the harvest of i'a sina in 'enu woven from pe'a-pollinated 'ie 'ie can continue.
References:
(1) Fujita, M.S. 1991. Flying Fox (Chiroptera:Pteropodidae) Pollination, Seed Dispersal, and Economic Importance: A Tabular Summary of Current Knowledge, Resource Publication No. 2, Bat Conservation International
(2)Balick, Michael J., Cox, Paul Alan, Plants, People and Culture, The Science of Ethnobotany, Scientific American Library, 1997; Fishing Implements: The Vanishing Art of 'Enu Weaving, pages 128-132
(3)Dr. Mafa Laulauafolasa R. Mafaituuga, M.A., MA., PsyD., personal communication.
(4)Wiles, Gary J., Giving Flying Foxes a Second Chance, BATS Magazine, Bat Conservation International, Volume 8, No. 3, Fall 1990, pages 3-4
(5) Anne P. Brooke, Personal Communication
| THE PLANT The 'Ie 'Ie Vine Order: Pandanales |
THE BATS* Samoan flying fox (Pteropus samoensis) Marianas flying fox (Pteropus mariannus) Pacific flying fox (Pteropus tonganus) Fujita, M.S. 1991. Flying Fox (Chiroptera:Pteropodidae) Pollination, Seed Dispersal, and Economic Importance: A Tabular Summary of Current Knowledge, Resource Publication No. 2, Bat Conservation International
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Text and illustrations by ML Alley-Crosby who thanks Dr. Mafa Laulauafolasa R. Mafaituuga, M.A., MA., PsyD. of Samoa for factual information and artistic advice and Dr. Merlin D. Tuttle, President and Founder of Bat Conservation International, Austin, Texas, for permission to use his photograph of a Marianas flying fox feeding on an 'ie 'ie flower as source material.
July 2010 July 2008 February 2006 November 2004 |
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