The Miss Samoa Pageant concluded another Teuila celebration this year, and the crowning of the new Miss Samoa 2023-2024, Moemoana Safa’ato’a Schwenke, made it an enjoyable festivity. Representing the Samoan community in New South Wales, Ms. Schwenke outshone her fellow contestants. Her journey to the crown was marked by an outstanding performance in the traditional Siva Samoa. Graceful and elegant in her movements, and with the showcasing of her malu, she portrayed the true image of a ‘tamaita’i Samoa.’
In the most favourite part of the competition, Moemoana stood out with her talent performance – the portrayal of the Samoan warrior Nafanua. Nafanua is a legendary figure known for her strength, courage, and wisdom. Ms. Schwenke embodied all of Nafanua’s characteristics on stage, performing as a warrior in her knife dance and fire knife dance. She brought Nafanua to life on the stage, delivering a powerful representation of Samoan women who have faced challenges with resilience and emerged as leaders in their communities. Her fire dance electrified the stage, using not just one, but three knives – a testament to her bravery and skills.
It was evident from the start that the New South Wales representative was destined to be crowned as the new Miss Samoa. While other contestants struggled to put together answers to their interview questions, Ms. Schwenke took her time to carefully choose her words in response to the question on Climate Change. This was another win to add to her points for the evening.
There is no question, our new Miss Samoa will do well in the next Miss South Pacific competition.