A primarily Samoan mob under the leadership of Alema Leota briefly took over. Ĭhung's death led to a power vacuum of organized criminal activity in the islands, with crime bosses rivaling over control. In July 1967 Chung was shot to death in a Honolulu gambling den. The smaller ethnic gangs all vied for control of organized crime, leading to disorganized clashes, over time Chung was able to create an environment where every gang could do business. The first change came when a local Korean named George Chung formed his own criminal organization in 1962, recruiting among local Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, Samoans, and Native Hawaiians. Through the 1960s organized crime in Hawaii was controlled primarily by local Asian criminal organizations, mainly Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza, Korean Kkangpae, and Samoan criminal outfits. The Company, also called the Hawaiian Syndicate, is the name given to an organized crime syndicate based in Hawaii that controlled criminal activities in the state from the late 1960s to the mid 1990s. Logan and his mum both felt his journey of reconnection to their Samoan culture had given him valuable insight.Organized crime syndicate based in Hawaii ![]() His mum ran a business in Melbourne teaching classes in Samoan language. His uncle worked as an instructor in Samoa, teaching cultural practices such as cooking, dance and garment-making. Passing on knowledge of Samoa is a common calling in Logan's family. It was a workshop run by Mr Schwenke's daughter Moemoana that inspired a young Logan in the first place. ![]() It takes a lot of patience, effort and discipline to progress to using it with fire and using a real Nifo Oti." "It's like a lifelong lesson, where you overcome all those things like the time spent practising, sometimes hurting yourself. "Siva Afi is a very important part of the culture, because of the time and energy it takes to learn," Mr Schwenke says. In the 1940s, famed Samoan performer Freddie Letuli, seeking an even more dramatic show, added fire to the ends of his Nifo Oti ahead of a knife dance performance in the US.įred Schwenke, director of Matavai Cultural Art Centre, says nowadays the Siva Afi is performed globally for entertainment and in competitions.īut, he says, it's the process of learning the dance that is most important. The hooked blade was deadly to adversaries and to any warrior who might miscalculate a throw. The Nifo Oti, first carved out of wood and stone, then with a metal blade as technologies progressed, was the classic weapon used by Samoans heading to war. It began more than a thousand years ago as a ceremonial demonstration of a warrior's strength. The Siva Afi wasn't always performed with fire. The Nifo Oti his grandmother had gifted him were too special to set alight, so he saved up his pocket money and with his mum’s blessing, bought himself a set that he could use with fire. ![]() He spent every day out in the backyard throwing, catching and spinning.īut he was frustrated that in-person workshops were often not available, so resorted to watching YouTube videos to improve his technique.Īs his skills grew, so did his confidence. His grandmother travelled to Samoa and bought Logan his first Nifo Oti to practise with. The director of the school where Logan learned Siva Afi says the committment required to master Siva Afi is key to its cultural significance.
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