Summary: <br> A story of transformation from Kitch to Taitu'uga <br> <br> <br> <br> Written and Spoken by Greg Dodge<br> <br> <br> <br> This poem came about from observing the growth and changes of young Kitch from 2007 to today. His own drive and passion to not only explore and find his own true cultural story about his <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/17/9458" target="_blank" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/17/9458" rel="noreferrer noopener">Samoan heritage</a>, but to learn the customs, stories and language of <a href="https://www.samoa.travel/" target="_blank" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.samoa.travel/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Samoa</a>. Kitch also discovered his heritage was an interwoven fusion with German, Chinese and Samoan cultures. He was Walking in 3 Worlds.<br> <br> <br> <br> Kitch was a street kid, turned beat boxer, who toured with Joel Turner and the Beat Box Alliance. He then pursued his own musical career as MC Kitch and then started to mentor other young people, which he continues today.<br> <br> <br> <br> Then to find a partner, Sharnee, a First Nations <a href="https://www.gunggaripbc.com.au/gunggari-country/" target="_blank" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.gunggaripbc.com.au/gunggari-country/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gunggari </a>women and together, create their own family, with children who WALK IN 3 WORLDS, The Samoan, Aboriginal and Australian.This is my version of Kitch's story of transformation through an ancient initiation process of 7 - 14 days of the traditional male <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pe%27a" target="_blank" data-type="URL" data-id="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pe%27a" rel="noreferrer noopener">tatau (tattoo) of Samoa,</a> also known as the malofie or Pe'a. It covers the body from the middle of the back to the knees, and consists of heavy black lines, arrows, and dots.<br> <br> <br> <br> Then he is invited to be a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fa%CA%BBamatai" target="_blank" data-type="URL" data-id="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fa%CA%BBamatai" rel="noreferrer noopener">Matai </a>in his village back in Samoa. Today he is known as Taitu'uga, in honour of his grandfather and is a Talking High Chief in his village in Samoa and lives with his family in in Brisbane.<br> <br> <br> <br> We will have a special video version of Taitu'uga's life, with the poem, that will be released on Wednesday the 15th of September 2021 on our Yarn Up page of this web site. We are honoured to have <a href="https://walkin3worlds.com.au/about-walk-in-3-worlds-podcast/" target="_blank" data-type="URL" data-id="https://walkin3worlds.com.au/about-walk-in-3-worlds-podcast/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Taitu'uga</a> as a co-host on our podcast.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> https://youtu.be/bRhuvwijG4E<br> <br>
