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Ramen Saha
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Kairos
Kairos

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The village of Vaitogi in Tutuila (the main island of American Samoa) preserves a Polynesian fable for many generations: the legend of the Turtle and the Shark. The fable involves a viewing of two sea creatures in tandem who don’t usually swim together. The backstory has variations, but they all have the same simple storyline – two human beings (lovers or family members), who have been rejected by the society-at-large, jump off the lava-rock cliffs to their death and embrace eternal togetherness in the sea. Many a generation of Samoan villagers have summoned these two immortal souls ritualistically by singing traditional songs. Under perfect conditions (or, by pure chance), the condemned souls respond to human pleas and manifest themselves as the shark and the turtle. Upon seeing a shark or a turtle (or both), village children exclaim, "Lalelei, lalelei, lalelei!" (Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!). Today, the lava-rock cove (aptly called the ‘Turtle and Shark’) and this Polynesian folklore are open for visitation six days a week (except Sunday).

Of our four days in Tutuila, we spent three evenings at the cove but did not see any shark or turtle. Seeing these legendary animals would have been nice but that was not the primary purpose of our repeated visitation. The Vaitogi lava cliffs have several picturesque formations including one of the biggest blowholes on the island. At high tide, one can hear the ocean grumble under the rocks one stands on. I was intrigued by a purlicue-like formation (above), where angry tides swerved around and then crashed against the rocky ‘thumb’. Upon slamming on the calm firmness of these rocks, the moody tidewater shattered into fluidic smithereens and created momentary but aesthetic fountains and waterfalls. Viewing them under psychedelic sunset colors was addictive and trance-inducing. In my trance, I heard faint songs floating in the warm seabreeze, perhaps sang long ago by Vaitogi children to summon the turtle and the shark.

“A ua'ina, a la'ina
A solo e mata'ina
Lou galu tu'u la le i'a…”

(“In rain or sunshine
Let us see you
Gaze at the fish…”)

And I whispered to myself, "Lalelei, lalelei, lalelei!".

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Taken on: April 15, 2023
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Sets appears in:   • EXPLORED by Flickr    • 2023 – Ten Moments    more » • Elements – Earth    • Elements – Aether    • Elements – Water    « less
Groups appears in:   • HIMMELSBILDER - SKY    • in explore   
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, f/6.3, 1/6 sec, 24mm, ISO 500 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens: EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
Aperture: f/6.3
Exposure Time: 0.167 sec (1/6)
Focal Length: 24mm
ISO: 500
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: Adobe Photoshop 21.2 (Macintosh)
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