Samoans

Samoans or Samoan people () are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between the Independent State of Samoa and American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States of America. Though divided by national border, the culture and language are the same.

The Samoan people and culture form a vital link and stepping stone in the formation and spread of Polynesian culture, language and religion throughout Eastern Polynesia.

Polynesian trade, religion, war, and colonialism are important markers within Polynesian culture that are almost certainly rooted in the Samoan culture. Samoa's ancient history with the kingdom of Tonga, chiefdoms of Fiji and French Polynesia form the basis of modern Polynesian culture.

Matai

thumb|Samoan chief and family, c. 1914

Matai, otherwise known as the head of the family and extended family, is a very important figure in the Samoan culture. There are many aspects that go into fully understanding the term Matai, such as how one is elected and what their role is.

Matai role

A matai is expected to take his or her place amongst a network of other matai that govern a village or a family. Depending on the type of matai title he or she holds, and how that title ranks amongst other titles, each matai should lend their voice to deliberations and decisions made by the village or family council. They encourage warm family relations, offer advice, direct religious participation, and oversee disputes. As well as watching over the family land and representing the family in village affairs. Overall, a matai must have different demeanor than everyone else, especially other men in the family. Matais are also in charge of economic situations. For example, a matai must manage the amount of food his family brings in and must store some away for when times are hard. The matai’s job as a leader is one that is very important in Samoan culture and helps the overall structure stay in place. Another advantage the son of a matai or any man in the matai’s household is given is being able to observe and help the matai starting from a young age. Most men considered for the Matai position are at least 40 years old, meaning many young candidates don't even stand a chance. One strategy that can be used by any man aspiring to become a matai is to choose to live in a household that has no other men, or to move to his wife's household if there are no men in her family's household either.

Marriage and family

Marriage

thumb|Samoan girl wearing an elaborate Lavalava

Marriage ceremonies are important Samoan cultural events. Marriage involves the transfer of property of the woman, the toga, and the man's property, the oloa. It is a village event, with two ceremonies and a feast at the conclusion. In the first ceremony, the bride and groom march through the village to a district judge. The judge then conducts a civil ceremony. Concluding that official ceremony, the newlyweds next gather in a church where a religious ceremony is performed by a member of the church. At a feast, families provide food from all over the village. After the conclusion of the wedding, the newlyweds choose which side of the family they would like to live with. After moving in with a particular family, they are expected to do work around the land and the house to help provide for their family.

When families have children, they too are expected to help with duties and chores around the land, by age three or four. The young girls take care of other children and housework, while the boys help with cultivation, animals and water gathering. By the time the children reach the age of seven or eight, they are expected to know and be acclimated to the life and chores of the Samoan culture. This includes being adept at "agriculture, fishing, cooking, and child care" along with a multitude of other chores that their elders have directed them to do. As the Samoans grow up, they are given the most tasks and responsibilities they can hold, until they can take over fully for the aging members of their extended family.

Funerals

thumb|Funeral procession of Mau leader, Tamasese Lealofi II in Samoa in 1930

When a member of extended family dies, the funeral preparations start almost immediately.

Land

The elected Matai of the community is the controller of every portion of a village land. The village Matai says what cultivators will do with land and "hold sway over allocation of plots and the ways in which those plots are used."

Underbrush

The underbrush covers the entirety of the land. These plots of land are recognizable to all villagers and are separated by boundaries. Boundaries are usually made up from a variety of rocks, streams, trees and plants. It is very easy to distinguish the different properties owned by separate families.

Music

thumb|Samoa police band

Modern pop and rock have a large audience in Samoa, as do several native bands; these bands have abandoned most elements of Samoan traditional music, though there are folky performers. Recently, the population has seen a resurgence of old Samoan songs, remixed in the style of reggae but with some traditional elements, such as the use of the pate and old chord structure.

Initially in Samoan music,

<blockquote>"there were just two instruments in use; the pate, a hollowed out log drum that comes in various sizes, and the fala, a rolled up mat beaten with sticks. In addition to this was the human voice. This limited range of instrumentation had no effect on the importance of music in Samoan life. Because there was no written language many stories and legends were propagated through song and the complex rhythms from the pate are essential in the performance of many Samoan dances. In fact in many dances, the dancers themselves add to the rhythm by clapping their hands, and dependent upon the way in which the hand is held produce a range of different sounds. Two instruments were developed that are now synonymous with Samoan music, the selo and the ukulele. The selo is a stringed instrument made from a broomstick, or similar object, attached to a large box, bucket or other object that acts as a sounding board. A single length of string joins the top of the stick to the box, which is plucked to produce a sound similar to that of a bass. The ukele is a small guitar-like instrument but with only four strings. It can be found in two forms, one which is like a miniaturised guitar, the other where the body is made from half a coconut shell."</blockquote>

Western string instruments such as guitars are widely available across the Pacific Islands, with many bands performing and recording acoustic and amplified music in Samoa since the 1970s. Younger generations continue to perform in string bands as well as gravitate toward genres such as reggae, hip hop, rhythm and blues, gospel and soul.

In Samoa, music is a big part of their culture. Traditional Samoan music still has a purpose and a function in today's society, but has partially given way to contemporary or externally-influenced genre of Samoan music. Of them are high mixture of Reggae and Hawaiian music which can also illuminate as an important influence on Samoa. There are many popular musicians who hail from, or who are of Samoan descent. They include the likes of Reggae artist: J Boog, the hip hop group: Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., and one of the most recognizable bands of Samoa: The Five Stars. Opera singer Jonathan Lemalu was a co-recipient of the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for his work on "Britten: Billy Budd" at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Samoa is home to the guitar style of fingerpicking which is in known in the islands as “Le Igi”. It hails from Hawaii and is known to their people as “Slack Key Guitar”. One traditional instrument of Samoa is known as the Fala. It is made up of rolled “wicker style mats” and is beaten with drum sticks to make the sound of a drum. Another instrument popular in Samoa is a form of drum called the Pate. It is originally from Tahiti and introduced to Samoa about 500 years ago. It is made of wood from and carved with tribal references or designs.

Dance

thumb|Samoans on Harmony Day

The Fire knife dance or Siva Afi is the most popular Samoan dance among tourists in Samoa. The Fa'ataupati or slap dance, performed by men, consists of fierce slapping of the body in rhythmic motion to drum beats. Other Samoan dances include the Maulu'ulu, which is an all-female dance that is more elegant. The Sasa is a dance that can be performed by both men and women in a seated position or standing. The Siva Tau is a war dance performed by Samoan sporting teams before each match. The Taualuga, a celebratory siva, and center of Samoan culture, has been adopted and altered throughout Western Polynesia. Traditionally performed by the virgin highborn son or daughter of a Samoan chief, a taupou (female) or manaia (male) will dress in full festive attire for the siva. Usually consisting of a finely woven ie'toga mat decorated with feathers of the "sega"(collared lory or blue crowned lorikeet). However, modern performances primarily consist of dyed chicken feathers. Performers also dress in a surplus of anklets and armbands made of ti leaves, sea turtle shells (uga laumei), coconut shells, or boar's tusk. Followed by the crowning attire of the taupou or manaia, the headdress or "tuiga". Taupous or Manaias, are finished off with a drenching of coconut oil for cosmetic purposes. Throughout this performance, performers are accompanied by upbeat yet simple drum beats usually performed at a variety of cultural celebrations.

Sports

thumb|Samoa RLWC team performing a [[Siva Tau in 2008]]

Athletes of Samoan descent are widely known for their success in full-contact sports such as American football, rugby union, rugby league, boxing, professional wrestling, and mixed martial arts.

Samoa is said to produce among the highest number of top-level rugby union and rugby league players per capita. American Samoa produces the highest number of NFL players and has been dubbed "Football Island" by mainland coaches and media. It's estimated that a boy born to Samoan parents is 56 times more likely to get into the NFL than any other boy in America. Wrestlers of Samoan heritage have had high representation within professional wrestling with Samoans winning championships across many major promotions including multiple world championships. Three Samoans have held the WWE Championship, one has held the WWE Women's championship, and one has held the AEW World Championship. A majority of these champions are members of the Samoan-American Anoaʻi family. Eight Samoans have been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Samoans are also well represented in limited-contact and non-contact sports such as basketball, baseball, netball, soccer, and volleyball.

Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead

Margaret Mead, an American anthropologist, is famous for her ethnography turned novel titled Coming of Age in Samoa. This ethnography has information on problems adolescents in Samoa face, and the approaches to understanding these problems. Mead wrote, "A Samoan village is made up of some thirty to forty households, each of which is presided over by a head man called a matai". Regarding Samoan social structures and rules, Mead wrote, "Until a child is six or seven at least she associates very little with her contemporaries." "The women," she observed, "are completely dependent upon their husbands for their status in this village group". Regarding attitudes toward female sexuality, Mead wrote, "Where parents of lower rank complacently ignore their daughters' experiments, the high chief guards his daughter's virginity as he guards the honor of his name".