Vi'i o le Fu'a at CHOGM

'The furore over the version of the Samoa national anthem sung at the opening ceremony of CHOGM was not a change made by the conductor of the choir; it was a line that was in the original words by composer Sauni Kuresa.' (Rita Seumanutafa-Palala).

Sauni Kuresa's composition 'Samoa Tula'i'. Credit: Rita Seumanutafa

As a primary school student at Utuali'i Primary School i le early 1960's, the words we sang was the line 'o Samoa ua mafai ona tautai' which were changed (according to some music historians, by the composer Sauni Kuresa himself) to 'o Iesu na maliu mo Samoa'.

The Samoan ethnomusicologist Rita Seumanutafa-Palala believes the 'mafai ona tautai' was a reference to the movement and struggle by Samoans for self-government and a rejection of colonial rule.

It may be that the Jesus reference suited those who wish to advance the Christian influence on Samoan life, but the line sung at CHOGM was the one originally penned by the composer of the Samoa anthem, Sauni Kuresa.