Critically-acclaimed Queer Indigenous collective FAFSWAG take over HOME – with stunning digital art, live cultural ceremony and a programme of films and talks grounded in Pacific identity and culture – as part of Manchester International Festival. After visiting the exhibition, we caught the show (aka “ceremony”), SAUNIGA.
SAUNIGA is a cultural ceremony that explores the majestic world of our earliest ancestors: the animals from the land, sky and ocean – recalling the sacred connections between Aitu (Spirits) of the old world and the lives of their Samoan descendants. This live activation brings together dance, chanting and ceremony.
Seeking out playful discoveries and posing curious reflections on our relationship with animals and the environment, SAUNIGA is told through a Samoan world view.
The piece opened with hauntingly beautiful singing and chanting. We had no idea what they were saying but that did not matter. It was not about the words. We were warmly welcomed into a community but they were not prepared to change or adapt to suit our needs. Centuries after Britons colonised New Zealand and terrorised the indigenous population, an indigenous group is now sharing their beautiful culture with respectful British audiences.
After a slow start to the ceremony, three other performers came onstage in stunning traditional attire and danced ferociously. There was then a passionate back and forth between the two groups with very different vibes but both equally important and captivating. Things would slow down before coming to life again.
The collective is made up of people of various gender and sexual identities. Interestingly, the performers wore traditional attire that was not queer-ified but actually already quite queer, at least to Western eyes. Many communities in the Global South, including indigenous communities, have long celebrated queerness, including genderqueer identities, from three-spirited people in the Americas to the Hijra in the Indian Subcontinent. This ceremony, then, challenged Western hegemony and the ignorant Western narrative that transness is a new phenomenon when it has actually existed since antiquity. This ceremony was not just artistry but also activism. It was not preachy, though; the performers were much more subtle and slick. Their existence is resistance.
Some of the singing went on a little long. It can be hard to stay focused, especially when it is not in your language, but it was all aurally enchanting. The dancing was fiercely choreographed and passionately performed.
Joshie Harriette’s ethereal lighting simultaneously celebrated the magical quality of indigenous cultures and turned the studio into a ballroom. Grayson Gilmour’s sound design and compositions were simultaneously authentic and fresh.
Creative direction came from Apulu Pati Tyrell with writing by Grace Iwashita-Taylor – Upu Artist. The cast consisted of performers Peni Fakaua, Jaycee Tanuvasa and Apulu Pati Tyrell. The singers were made up of Aivale Cole (Soprano 1), Agness Nyama (Soprano 2), and Siliga Sani Muliaumaseali’i (Male Voice). Every single individual shone onstage. Jaycee Tanuvasa is especially striking.
The piece could do with some bigger, bolder moments throughout, but the first dance scene and the closing number, which brought the two groups together, were utterly mesmerising.
SAUNIGA is a wonderful introduction to another culture. I hope that FAFSWAG return with an even more ambitious, artistic concept. How electric and exhilerating would it be if the ceremony had been performed immersively in the round? That would have broken down the barrier, destroyed any disconnect, extinguished that unfortunate feeling of voyeurism, and forced the British audience to celebrate the beauty and joy of the indigenous culture which we tried to destroy.
FALE SĀ / SACRED HOUSE Exhibition runs at HOME (Gallery) until August 10. Manchester International Festival runs until July 20.
Photo: Darren Robinson
JADAR 