Filo’s Butterflies

Filo’s Butterflies is a charming own voices picture book about how a young Samoan boy calms his nerves before his first siva performance at a family wedding.

Aunty Rosie and Aunty Eve are getting married traditional Samoan style,  and it’s time for Filo to dance his first siva fa’ataupati! He’s been practising for weeks, but as the time for the siva gets closer, the butterflies in his tummy get bigger and bolder – they even flutter right up to his throat! Filo tries to calm them down, but will they stop him from performing the siva with his brothers and cousins?

Filo’s Butterflies features the siva fa’ataupati, a traditional Samoan dance only performed by men.