Abstract
Samoa is one of the few countries in the world with a strong and vibrant indigenous culture as evidenced by their uniqueness in food, clothing, tattooing, body art, music, family values and many other factors. This essay is an ethnographic narrative of the Samoans. It offers a description of the history, origins, culture and beliefs of the Samoans. It also compares the similarities and differences between Samoan culture and the African American culture from which I come. There is also an analysis of two of the five role perspectives from Thinking like an Anthropologist and how my study of indigenous societies has influenced my perspectives. In conclusion, I raise a pertinent question to which I would like to obtain a response from a knowledgeable Samoan.
Samoans of the Pacific Islands
Samoa is a country in the South Pacific Ocean, and it is among the westernmost island nations of Polynesia. According to oral traditions, the god Talagoa created the Samoan archipelago when history began. The islands were until 1997 known as the Samoa I sisifo or Western Samoa to distinguish them from a nearby group of islands known American Samoa. The names were apportioned when the islands were partitioned. Since then, the local people have adhered to the local dialect- Samoan language. Although English is spoken as a second language, the Samoan culture is made unique and strengthened through the Samoan language. The island nation stands on a submarine mountain range as a set of nine inhabited islands. The largest islands are Savai’I with an area of 1820 square miles and Upolu at 1114 Square Miles. The capital is located at Apia. The country had a population old 172,000 by the year 2000 of which 94% were ethnically Samoan. There are small numbers of Chinese, Melanese, and European and some Polynesians who had settled in Samoan islands sometime in the 19th century and 20th century. Samoa is largely considered a country that is holding strongly to indigenous cultures.
Samoans practice fa’a Samoa, which is a set of core values and practices. There are three main aspects of Samoan Culture; faith, family and music which are highly intertwined in their practice. The Samoan culture is very central to the life of the Polynesian people. Their style of music, visual arts, and dance are famous world over. On the international scene, people know Samoa as a tropical paradise that welcomes people especially tourists with flower-wreaths. The primary language in which almost all their music has been sang for thousands of years is Samoan, which is close to the Tahitian, Tongan, and Hawaiian. The cultural music and dances reflect maritime traditions with numerous cultural issues involving ocean currents, stars, winds, direction, and landforms.
The second aspect of Samoan culture is faith. Samoan culture has maintained a healthy mix of Christian and traditional values (Wildermuth, 2012). For instance, respect for the elders is justified as compliance to Samoan traditions and Christian scriptures (Wildermuth, 2012). Other than infancy when a child is under the close care of parents, older children, aged above five years are supposed to obey their elders unquestioningly. Culture dictates that a good child is the one who shows obedience to the elders, politeness and great respect for Christian values and Samoan customs (aganu’u fa’a Samoa) (Wildermuth, 2012). The Christian faith coupled with the traditional Samoan faiths form a foundation for the formation of character in children. As such religion, which is a central pillar of culture, among the Samoans is largely Christian although there are a few Muslims and people of the Bahai faith (Wildermuth, 2012).
Family and food go hand in hand among the Samoans. The staple foods among the Samoans include local foods- lobster, fish, chicken, crab, pork, cabbage, and lettuce. Root vegetables such as yams, talo, and ta’amu, have been consumed by Samoans for millennia. The people also enjoy tree crops such as breadfruit and coconut while cocoa and coffee are the favorite beverages among the Samoans. In the last 100 years increased importation of canned meat, flour, honey, sugar, tea, bread, jam and carbonated drinks have seen the Samoans adopt a vibrant westernized culture on food. In most cases, Samoans take beverage throughout the day and have a single main meal in the evening as families.
The sharing of food in families is a critical custom. It is a practice common in Sunday meals known toana’I which occurs after a wedding, a funeral or the conferment of chiefly titles . Characteristically there is the presentation of a pig cooked whole, 20-liter drums of salted beef and other delicacies. Music is also a significant aspect of the Samoan culture. The people sing very melodious songs while gathered in the evenings as huge families after meals as they tell stories.
There are a few similarities between the Samoan culture and the African American culture. The African American culture is rooted in the West and Central African cultures from where the majority of the slaves who later became bonafide US citizens came. Samoans and African Americans value music because it plays a crucial role in their social interactions and expressions. Oral traditions encouraged music among African Americans as a way to relieve stress and suffering, teach lessons and also to relay messages. These reasons for singing are very evident in the Samoan culture. There are other subtle similarities such as significant body art although done for different reasons. Moreover, the two cultures tend to live as large extended families and have a profound value for the extended families as evidenced by the family reunions among African Americans and the sharing of meals and houses by Samoans.
Differences with African American
There are numerous differences between the Samoan and the African American cultures. The Samoans were left in their native lands to continue their culture and lifestyle unaltered after they regained their independence from New Zealand. However, the African Americans comprise of people who were disoriented and had to make a new culture after slavery. The ancestors of the African Americans adopted the culture of their white masters and intermixed them with the cultures from their native lands. Over the years, African Americans have adopted a sophisticated western lifestyle and culture, unlike the Samoans majority of who live in Samoa and have continued their culture unaltered. For instance, many Samoans still live in traditional living quartered called fale (houses) comprising of a large domed house with no walls, only a huge roof that inclines almost to the ground. About 20 people can live in one fale. African Americans, on the other hand, have lived or gotten exposed to a westernized culture since the slavery days. They have lived in modern houses (townhouses, bungalows, apartment block and the like). The dress code for the African Americans has been modern while a good number of Samoans still wear traditional regalia especially those who have maintained conservancy of the Samoan cultures in their native Samoa.
Roles from perspectives from Thinking like an anthropologist
As an African American growing up in a middle-class family, I have had to deal with some significant issues borrowed from my culture. I have to address matters related to feelings of defeat, and being at a disadvantaged point by the virtue of what people of my culture- my ancestors went through as slaves and the issues that have carried on to date. According to Hogue, (2013) many African Americans have their current situations affected heavily by some generational issues such as slavery, racism and discrimination. I have adopted other habits, beliefs, and practices from the evolving American culture characterized by intense multiculturalism. Out of the five roles perspectives I have identified that I am a humanist and informer because I “respect, appreciate, celebrate and interpret humanity in all its diversity” (Omohundro, 2008, P. 8).
Attendance to the class on cultures and anthropology issues has opened me up to be more confident in playing my role as a part of the wider global community of people united by the virtue of being a human being first and ethnic or cultural groupings later. I have learned that the issues that make me different culturally from indigenous communities involve my inborn features, religious beliefs, cultural constructs and influence from my environment. I have been aware of the social divides and silent classes in my culture not to mention the race issues. To address these issues, African Americans tend to congregate through family reunions, reference to brotherhoods ties and tight friendships with the members of my culture. Over the years, I found myself valuing my extended family deeply and longing to family reunions and the sharing of means, stories, and jokes during such occasions. I have been significantly religious too because I was raised in a Christian family. I believe that I borrowed many aspects from my African American heritage. These likes and tendencies have grown weaker with every generation in my lineage because of external influence like the evolution of indigenous cultures currently under the heavy influence of technology and globalization.
I consider myself a reformer because social injustices stir me to act in the interest of the oppressed. Whether I am addressing a bullying situation or a case where friends fall out due to the selfishness of one, I have compassion for the lowly one and I long to see a society where people treat each other as equals. I believe that my quests for information and knowledge to enrich myself coupled with my humanism are strong perspectives to help me deal with the feeling of inadequacy that may result from my cultural background. The study of indigenous cultures such as Samoans opens me up to the diversity of humanity and the beauty of multiculturalism on a global scale.
There is one major question that remains unanswered especially about the Samoan culture. The major one is the genuineness with which the current Samoans see technology, globalization, and other modern issues. Do Samoans and other indigenous communities see the modern issues as intrusions into their cultures or are the issues welcome to them? Response to this question from a person in that culture would address my concern on how they deal with global and seemingly unstoppable modern forces.
References
Omohundro, J. T. (2008). Thinking like an anthropologist: A practical introduction to cultural anthropology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Wildermuth, G. (2012) “Heaven and Earth” Samoan Indigenous Religion, Christianity, and the Relationship between the Samoan People and the Environment. Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. SIT Graduate Institute. Paper 1488
Foster, S. (2016). Samoa. The Pacific nation. Retrieved April 2, 2016, from Encyclopedia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/place/Samoa-island-nation-Pacific-Ocean
Hogue, L. (2013). Postmodernism, traditional cultural forms, and African American narratives. Albany: State University of New York Press.
