Po o Tefolaha

Tefolaha’s Day

Also sometimes called Asopati

This is an important part of Nanumea’s annual festival season, “Big Days”, Po ‘Lahi.

The Po o Tefolaha, also called Aso Pati, falls around January 8 or the weekend closest to it. It commemorates the founding hero, Tefolaha, and also the day in January, 1922 when the remaining Nanumean families who had chosen to continue to worship the old deities agreed to become Christians.

Nanumeans, wherever they live in the world, try to celebrate this holiday each year

“Big Days” — Paper by Keith and Anne Chambers about Nanumea’s Po Lahi celebrations.

Men dressed in traditional Polynesian costumes with green leaves, floral crowns, and dance skirts, participating in a faatele dance in Nanumea's Ahiga.

Po o Tefolaha — 2009 in Nanumea

Photos from Milo Teuea

Other Po Lahi and Po o Tefolaha Photos

Tamatane faatele - Po o Tefolaha in Nanumea — 2009

Thanks to Milo Teuea for this and the other photos from this exuberant celebration of Po o Tefolaha.