Palolo "no longer respected"

By Cherelle S Jackson

As locals from all Palolo reaping villages made their way to the sea in the early hours of the Sunday morning in search of the much- valued delicacy old grandmother Faleasiu Tiatia is near tears at home.
She sighed: “It is sad what has become of our people during the Palolo season, they no longer respect the old traditions of welcoming the fish.”
As a child growing up in Avao, Faleasiu is well aware of the local tradition of waiting for the Palolo.
“Back then we had respect for the catching and everyone wore good clean clothes, wore mosooi ulas or ula maile to welcome and attract the fish,” Faleasiu said.
These days it is a rare sight to see a Palolo catcher wearing good clothes or ulas to catch Palolo.
“Now people just go in with dirty clothes, there is no respect whatsoever, zero!”
She said that the Palolo catch was always an event to look forward to in her days because it was a celebration of a gift from God.
“Palolo is food and God gave it to us for free, to show our appreciation we dress up so that the gift would keep coming.”
That is no longer the case and the belief has been described as “old fashioned” by some but Faleasiu still sticks to her beliefs.
“You see the reason why the Palolo does not come strongly nowadays is because people have no respect for the fish anymore,” she said.
But the seasons have changed and peoples perception have changed with it.
Rarely would you see a local dressed well to catch Palolo and a ula of any type is now only just a memory on the oceans during the Palolo season.
To Faleasiu the most painful stab of change is the sale of the Palolo for money.
“It hurts me to see that people are selling Palolo for money. It is no longer treated as a gift from above, now it has become a commercial product for our people whose ancestors valued it like gold in our time,” she said.
Samoa still values Palolo like gold, but unfortunately this time it’s not for the taste but for the money.
Faleasiu knows that the traditions of catching the Palolo will never return but she is thankful that the Palolo is still faithfully arriving despite of the ‘hostile reception’ and ‘selfish people.’
“Someday our people will go out to the see to find nothing because of our selfish ways, but lets hope that day will never come,” she said.
Faleasiu has very strong feelings about the Palolo tradition and so as many other elders of our country.
What was once an event of cultural thanksgiving, celebration and sharing has become just another way to make money.
Palolo is still a delicacy as it was when it was free and respected only now it has become a scarce and expensive one.