Thirty-five students of Don Bosco College at Alafua in Samoa presented a traditional apology or ‘ifoga’ to the school last week. The students and two parents were seen on bended knees in front of the school offices while the school held its daily morning assembly.
Director of Catholic Education, Aeau Chris Hazelman, said the students were involved in some misconduct in the previous week and had been sent home by the principal, Sr Monica Vaipuna. And the Principal is reportedly sticking to her guns.
She did not accept the traditional presentation and instead reaffirmed to the students “they were under suspension for a week.”
Samoan culture has strict ways of showing respect to one another, and the ifoga (pronounced ee-FONG-ah) is perhaps the best example of atoning for one’s wrongdoing. The ifoga is a ritual apology where the offending party demonstrates remorse by begging for forgiveness.
Before dawn, the guilty party arrives at the home of the person whom he has offended and kneels outside the home. An important part of the ifoga is the fine mat, or ‘ie toga, considered of the highest value in Samoan culture, ‘Ie toga (ee-ah TONG-ah) are woven with pandanus leaves and take months, if not years, to complete. Fine mats represent the wealth of the weavers’ community and are presented as gifts. ‘Ie toga are so labor-intensive that they will never be used on the floor. Once those receiving ifoga have forgiven the guilty party, they accept the ‘ie toga as a symbol of the atonement and forgiveness. Regardless of any legal action taken by a court, the ifoga remains an essential part of Samoan culture as a demonstration of sincere remorse and respect.
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News category: Asia Pacific.
