Samoan Fireknife Dancers | Video

Kristin Clouston | 9/7/2012

There are many Native American tribes celebrating this weekend at the annual International Powwow at United Tribes Technical College, but there`s also another group of performers from a different part of the globe. This year`s featured performers are Polynesian fire dancers. More than a thousand Pacific islands make up the area known as Polynesia, although one of the performers actually grew up in Bismarck.

Moses Timali made a special trip to perform with his family, but this isn`t his first pow-wow.

"I went to Riverside Elementary, then Wachter and graduated from BHS."

He says the International Powwow is the perfect place to educate kids about life outside of North Dakota.

"It`s a great way to get kids together and show them culture from other places they don`t know and it`s just a great way to bring it to them."

As part of the show his uncle, Kap Te`O Tafti, teaches the proper way to crack a coconut and how to make fire, but the highlight of the show is the fire dancing.

"It comes from our culture as a way to before war, going into war it`s a way to show intimidation to other people we would be fighting," Timali said.

It may look like they`re twirling sticks, but the dancers are actually performing with knifes.

"It makes it a lot more difficult to do so if you mess up you cut yourself," Timali said.

These days it`s a form of entertainment, but kids like Moses` cousin Fatu, start at a very young age.

"Probably like 6, like 4 or something," Fatu said.

Fatu came all the way from Hawaii to perform with his dad and cousins and says although it`s a lot of work, he wouldn`t have it any other way.

"It makes us like more stronger as a family to be together always."

Not only do they dance, but during the presentation they also said Samoan men cook and you can tell if someone`s single by the way he wears a flower in his head wreath. They perform tonight at 9:30.

COMMENT ON THIS STORY