There She Stands

Tautua na ma oe lau tofi

There she stands in the midst of the crowd,
Dressed in full splendour her family are proud

The lauti around her wrist,
Her connection to the malae, the nu'u, the ele'ele
The ele'e which gave birth to her Samoa
Which gave birth to her culture, her language, her gafa
The lauti around her wrist,
A symbolism of our tofi as tausi fanua,
A tofi that is from God himself,
The lauti around her wrist,
A symbol of all that comes from the fanua,
A symbol of life itself

You see she stands in the midst of the crowd,
Dressed in full splendour her family stand proud

To wrestle a boar was not an easy task,
But to obtain a boar's tusk,
Wrestle and fight she must,
You see that ula nifo that adorns her neck,
It is her way of showing one's own mana,
Because you see a taupou,
Is a warrior princess,
And leading up to battle at the front she stood,
And woth power and might,
She continues to fight

Because there she stands infront if the crowd,
Dresses in full splendour her family are surely proud

Beside the ula nifo lays an ula fala,
A symbol of status and importance,
You see around her neck the ripe pandanus key shines red,
A symbol of her beauty, her maturity,
A symbol of her royalty

And there she stands high sbove the crowd,
Dressed in full splendour her family cannot help but be proud

The layers of siapo,
The layers of 'ie sae,
These layers of wealth,
Are her layers of pride,
Representing those who came before and those who paved this path,
Showing the sacred bonds that were weaved upon this malae,
Showing her gafa, history and wealth,
Showing her family's story

There she will stand in the midst of the crowd,
Dressed in full splendour her family stand proud

Ua le mamae ua se'ese'e mai,
O lona lauao lea ua tu ma ti'e ai,
Upon her head sits the tuiga,
Her Samoan crown,
A symbol of status,
A symbol of her role,
A symbol of knowledge that one must know,
The hair of her ancestors are bound around her head,
To notify her,
That her ancestors are no longer dead,
They continue to walk beside her and through her movements the story will unfold,
Of those who came before,
And created this mold,
This mold of the siva Samoa that she fills with her body,
Her ancestors are the oar,
That moves her vessel to tell this story

There she stands in the midst of the crowd,
And dressed in full splendour her family are proud