Culture of Samoa

The traditional culture of Samoa is a communal way of life based on Fa'a Samoa, the unique socio-political culture. In Samoan culture, most activities are done together. The traditional living quarters, or fale (houses), contain no walls and up to 20 people may sleep on the ground in the same fale. During the day, the fale is used for chatting and relaxing. One's family is viewed as an integral part of a person's life. The aiga or extended family lives and works together. Elders in the family are greatly respected and hold the highest status, and this may be seen at a traditional Sunday umu (normal oven).

Samoan culture is present in both the Independent State of Samoa and in American Samoa (a territory of the United States).

Traditional art forms

thumb|Construction of a Samoan fale, (see: [[Architecture of Samoa)]]

upright|thumb|[[Pe'a, traditional male tattoo]]

Both men and women can be tattooed (tatau). A man's tattoo is called the soga'i miki while a woman's tattoo is called a malu.

Women played a very important part in contributing with their skills in items of important cultural value including 'ie toga, finely woven mats used in ceremony and gift exchanges. In terms of material goods, during ritual exchange, women give fine mats ie toga and decorated bark cloth siapo while men give woodworking items and red feathers.

Bark cloth, called siapo in Samoa (similar to the Fijian tapa cloth called masi), both of which is made from beaten mulberry bark. Patterns or pictures are painted on with a natural brown dye taken from a tree source. These pictures typically depict abstract and realistic depictions of plant life, shells, fish, turtles, and hibiscus flowers. The siapo may be used for clothing, for wrapping objects and even simply for decorative reasons. Ornaments, jewellery and hair accessories are made from naturally occurring materials such as sea shells, coconut and coir. Traditional Samoan medicine is often practiced as a first-line before hospital medicine. This is a type of alternative medicine using plant leaves to massage the affected area.

Wooden figurative sculpture was extremely rare in pre-Christian Samoa, and shares some similarities with Fijian and Tongan sculpture.

'Ava ceremony

The 'ava ceremony is the most significant ritual which takes place before all important occasions, including the bestowal of matai chiefly titles. The overall ceremony is highly ritualized, with specific gestures and phrases to be used at various times. Ceremonial items for the 'ava ceremony include the tanoa (round wooden bowl) similar to those used in the kava cultures of other Polynesian societies. The tanoa are made of varying sizes supported by many short legs around it. These bowls and other related instruments are often highly decorated. Known as kava in other parts of Polynesia, the 'ava is a beverage produced from a plant that is drunk throughout the western Pacific region. The drinking of ava in Samoa is generally done through highly ritualized ava ceremonies. The kava is prepared by a group of people called aumaga. It is brought to each participant by the tautuaava, or ava server, in the order proscribed by the tufaava, or ava distributor. Usually, the highest chief of the visiting party is served first, followed by the highest chief of the host party, and then service proceeds based on the rank of the rest of the participants. The drink is served in a polished coconut half shell.

Dance

thumb|Boy performing a Samoan fire dance ([[siva afi)]]

The traditional Samoan dance is the siva. The female siva is with gentle movements of the hands and feet in time to music. The sasa is a group dance performed sitting to a drum rhythm. Samoan males traditionally perform the fa'ataupati (slap dance), usually performed in a group with no music accompaniment. Other types of dance are modern dance by the younger generations. Traditional Samoan dance is arguably the one area of Samoan culture that has not been touched by Western Civilization. The maulu'ulu is a group dance performed by female counterparts only, also the taualuga is the main Samoan traditional dance that is performed by a village chief (manaia) or village chiefess (taupou). It is often performed at weddings, birthdays and other Samoan celebrations.

In the Samoan culture the Taualuga is used for special celebrations, started by the village chief's son (manaia) or village chief's daughter (taupou). The Tuiga is a Samoan traditional headpiece (crown) that is made out of things like feathers, human hair, and a variety of different types of shells. It is now a privilege to wear the Tuiga because in the 19th century it was only to be worn by the high chief's son, daughter, and also by extended families. Before they start the taualuga, he or she must bow their head and spread out their hands to the people, to thank the people for coming out and for their support. This happens before and after the taualuga. The outfit is made from fine woven mats that symbolizes time, honor, and traditions, then we add red feathers from the birds of the islands. Next the outfit with a Tapa is made from the bark of the tree and it represents the art and the craft of the Samoan culture. Then there was the Ula Nifo, a necklace made from whale-tooth that is worn by the head chief or by the person who dances the taualuga. It was also a symbol of wealth. Finally, the meaning of the dance. Back in Samoa in the 19th century the person who performed the dance was the high chief's son or daughter that was a virgin.

Languages

In American Samoa, most people are bilingual; they speak both English and Samoan. People in Samoa are also bilingual, but Samoan is stronger and more widely spoken, although the inhabitants of Swains Island speak Tokelauan.

Names

The meaning of a given name is important when naming a child in the Samoan community:

personal traits: Malosi (strong), Umi (tall), Vave (fast), Fa'avalevale (foolish)
religious: Toefuata'iga o le talalelei (restoration of the Gospel)
events: Dodiana (this name was created to commemorate Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana's death)
objects: Tala (dollar) "selegi"(quarter) "lima sege" (nickel) "sefulu sene" (dime)
animals: Maile (dog) pusi(cat) pusi feai (wildcat) lioga(lion) aeto(eagle)
descriptive: Leilani (heavenly flower)
traditional: Pua'a'elo (this was the name of a Samoan high chief)

Dress

Casual day to day wear will usually comprise an i.e. lava lava and T-shirt with jandals for shoes (also known as thongs in other regions of the world). Shorts are an alternative to an i.e. lava lava.

For events or work attire, the traditional ladies clothing is the puletasi which is a matching skirt and tunic with Samoan designs. The lava-lava is a sarong which may be worn by men or women. They are of different patterns and colors, but tend to be plain for men who may wear it as part of an official uniform. Some men have intricate and geometrical patterns that are tattooed onto their lower body and upper legs. The tattooing process is performed without any anaesthesia and is extremely painful. Ceremonial attire includes a headdress called tuiga which is made of shells and feathers.

Cuisine

thumb|Samoan [[Earth oven|umu, an oven of hot rocks above ground]]

Sundays are traditionally a day of rest, and many families congregate to share an umu together for a Sunday afternoon meal. In a traditional household, the older members of the family will sit and eat first, and as the meal continues the younger members and then children are invited to eat. The umu contains an abundance and variety of dishes ranging from a whole pig, fresh seaweed and crayfish to baked taro and rice. Coconut appears in many Samoan dishes, for example, luau, a parcel of coconut cream wrapped in taro leaves baked in the umu. This dish is eaten in its entirety including the leaves and is rich in taste due to its coconut content. The green young coconut is a main ingredient in samilolo, a kind of sauce made using the flesh and sea water that is cooked inside the nut on an open flame and then fermented, usually within the palolo fishing season. Breadfruit is often roasted to serve on its own or eaten with stone-cooked coconut sauce (‘ulu pe‘epe‘e), or shaped into balls (taufolo); any surplus could be preserved as masi.

thumb|Pisupo and supoketi served with white rice

A staple of the modern Samoan diet is pisupo, or canned corned beef. Commonly imported from New Zealand or Australia, pisupo is conventionally served alongside white rice or alaisa fa'apopo (coconut rice), combined with vegetables and noodles to make sapasui, simmered with taro leaves in coconut milk as in palusami, or mixed with supoketi (cooked spaghetti). The word pisupo is derived from pea soup, which was one of the first canned foods introduced to the island in the 19th century. Today, the word is applied more generically to all foods preserved in cans, especially corned beef, which has become incorporated into the daily social and gastronomic life of Samoans. On occasions such as weddings and birthdays, it has become commonplace to receive cans of corned beef as gifts. Critics claim that pisupo represents a form of "food colonialism" wherein Western dietary standards displace those of the indigenous populations of the South Pacific, creating a dependence on foreign trade and the importation of processed goods. In recent years, pisupo has been targeted for contributing to an emerging health crisis in Samoa, which has seen a steady increase in obesity and diabetes since the 1960s. It was projected that, by 2020, 59% of men and 81% of women in Samoa would be classified as obese. Nutritionists have pointed to the influx of imported processed foods, sugary beverages, and rice as contributing to the rise in obesity and diabetes in the island. Canned corned beef, in particular, is high in saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol

Religion

thumb|A church in Matavai village, [[Savai'i]]

Religion in Samoa encompasses a range of groups, but nearly 100% of the population in Samoa is Christian. The 2001 Census revealed the following distribution of Christian groups: Congregational Christian, 34.8 percent; Roman Catholic, 19.6 percent; Methodist, 15 percent; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 12.7 percent; Assemblies of God, 6.6 percent; and Seventh-day Adventist, 3.5 percent. The country hosts one of only seven Baháʼí Houses of Worship in the world. Although there were no official data, it is generally believed that there are also some practicing Hindus, Buddhists, and Jews in the capital city. In addition there are a number of arts centres.

Other

In American Samoa, there is a location called Turtle and Shark which is important in Samoan culture – it has a legend about two people who turned into a turtle and a shark.