Tiafau Zahriya Leaoasoma
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA — When Miss Samoa Victoria shaved her head on the weekend, it was a cultural sacrifice as well as a personal one.
Hair is considered tapu, or sacred, in many parts of the Pacific. In Polynesian culture, hair is believed to hold the sacred power of mana, or spiritual energy.
But...

![Miss Samoa Victoria Tiafau Zahriya Leaoasoma says shaving her head is empowering and it feels "really good to be bald". [courtesy photo] Miss Samoa Victoria Tiafau Zahriya Leaoasoma with her head shaved](https://www.samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/miss_samoa_victoria_hair_cut.jpg?itok=79KmglJD)