Read this book and over 1 million others with a kindle unlimited membership. A short history of western samoa by malama meleisea et al. The unique and intriguing samoan culture we experience today is actually more than 3000 years old, and has been preserved by the isolation of the tiny island on which it was born. The samoan islands were first settled some 3,500 years ago as part of the austronesian expansion. Samoan culture is undoubtedly central to polynesian life, and its styles of music, dance, and visual art have gained renown throughout the pacific islands and the world. Characteristics of the samoan language indicate that the settlers probably came from tonga. The following is an excerpt from the tattoo history source book. Enjoy you may like to look at our other resources made with nz teachers in mind. From the earliest inhabitants thousands of years ago whose culture continues to shape samoan life today, to the europeans who brought with them the christian church, there are many layers to this pacific paradise.
It is a religion that worships the loving god, who out of his tremendous love sent his only begotten son, jesus, to save us. Local pottery manufacturing ceased by about ad 200, by which time samoa had become central too much of the settlement of eastern polynesia. A lot of samoan people use facebook and news and entertainment outlets are also visible online, join in. American samoa is a relatively healthy place, but hypertension and obesity are significant health problems in the population. Designed for both classroom and personal use, it features a methodical approach suitable for all ages. An extraordinary, scholarly and richly illustrated work that traces samoan. Guided by the stars, the polynesian ancestors made their way across the pacific in oceanfaring canoes thousands of years ago. Loving and sharing are also values in samoan culture. Nevertheless, despite the thriving traditional culture of samoa, the country is still profoundly christian. It begins at the waist and covers just about every bit of skin, right down to the knees, with intricate designs. Samoan islands history, polynesia history, books barnes. For many samoans, christianity and faa samoa samoan culture are inextricably interwoven.
One of the resources currently available on this site is the o viiga i le atua, the samoan hymnal 2012. The language is a cherished symbol of cultural identity. This extensive treatise of the samoan culture is profusely illustrated with drawings and 56 bw plates of samoan artifacts. Samoas early and more current history is strongly connected with the histories of tonga and fiji, which are in the same region, and with whom it shares historical, genealogical, and cultural traditions. Samoa and other pacific island states between modernisation, dependency, subsistence,sustainability and. An introduction to the enchantingly rich samoan culture. Im a samoan grl and i go to fortuna union high school in cali. The culture in the islands of samoa makes for a fascinating read.
The samoan islands had been inhabited for almost 3,000 years before their first contact with europeans early in the 18th century. Tracing the singular history of samoan tattooing practices during the last 3000 years, this book is the first comprehensive study that looks at the cultural and practical history of samoan tattooing. Even more than their american samoan neighbours, samoans adhere to traditional moral and religious codes of behaviour. With the theme of hokuleahookui i ka pakipika bridging the pacific, the festival was a vivid expression of the pacific islander peoples history, culture, arts, crafts and cooking. Micah explains what it is to be an ethnographer as he catalogs the legends, history, and customs of. Faa samoa celebrates traditional values, culture and environment. Ably discussed by malama and twelve others, lagaga. History of samoa samoa has a long and fascinating history spanning more than 3,000 years. Samoan list of resources for learning language, history and. Samoan mythology and legends say they descended from the gods and heavens to inhabit these islands. It wasnt until the 1830s that regular visits saw british missionaries and traders arrive and duly convert many islanders to christianity.
The myths, legends and customs of old samoa pasefika press, 1976. Contact with europeans began in the early 1700s but did not intensify until the. Nz numeracy place mats original thememinecraft themednz basic. In samoan culture, most activities are done together.
In 1899 after years of civil war, the islands of the samoan. Im so happy that i read through all of this info about our culture. Rebound orange cloth with black lettering on spine and original wrappers bound in. Congregational church, roman catholic, methodist, latter day saints, seventh day adventist and other, mainly christian, beliefs. Robert shaffer began his research on samoa as a peace corps volunteer. Learn about samoan culture with the homestay program from the national park of american samoa. Find out more in the book samos history, culture and tourism. Samoan language books everyday samoan southern reprints. Books about samoa or set in samoa nonfiction and fiction welcome. The homestay program allows visitors to experience samoan culture by staying with a local host family and participating in traditional activities and cultural experiences. The loss of traditional plant lore and traditional plants has prompted the author to write plants in samoan culture. Edited by malama meleisea and penny schoeffel meleisea, lagaga covers samoan history from early polynesian arrival through the missionary era, independence in 1962 and the first two decades of the state of western samoa. The samoan islands are virtually unique in that tattooing has been continuously practiced with indigenous techniques. Christian lifestyle is based on a loving god and loving thy neighbour.
Culture of american samoa history, people, clothing. Until 1997, the western islands were known as western samoa or samoa i sisifo to distinguish them from the nearby group known as american samoa or amerika samoa. Major events highlighted in the film include the partition of western samoa in the nineteenth century, rule by imperial germany. Tatau is a beautifully designed and richly illustrated retelling of the unique and powerful history of samoan tattooing, from 3,000 years ago to modern practices. Little kiddy samoan rhymes for kids, literacy activities, learning resources, cultural. Before christianity arrived in samoa, these great values were there in the life of the. The pea malofie see comments below is what we call the traditional tattoo given to men. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our.
Samoan heritage is dedicated to the unique history and culture of samoa and will be offering other resources in the near future with other materials for the samoan people. The samoan culture is the oldest polynesian culture, and has existed for nearly 3,000 years. Americans may have brought christianity and modern conveniences to american samoa, but its people have still successfully preserved polynesias oldest culture. Because of a lot of inaccurate information floating around, i grew up thinking that only matai chiefs receive the malofie, and that it carries great spiritual almost occult. Using culture as a category to process people and dispense services, however, can create its own problems and unintended consequences. Vos207 full episode studying samoan culture youtube. Samoa, it seems, was the cradle of the polynesian culture, and archaeological evidence suggests settlers from samoa then spread to the other islands of. Contains legends in samoan in one half, with english translations in the other. According to legend, samoa is known as the cradle of polynesia because savaii island is said to be hawaiki, the polynesian homeland. Culture of samoa history, people, clothing, traditions. Whatever religion or denomination one belongs to, the message is the same. Ably discussed by malama and twelve others, lagaga, first published in 1987. Faa samoa the samoan way is a way of life that stretches back more than 3,000 years and is reflected in every aspect of samoas communal society. See more ideas about books, career goals and samoan food.
Toward the end of the 19th century, conflicting interests of the u. Religion profile religion is important to most samoaborn. Browse through our amazing selection of unique books and digital media. Im doing my project about our culture and i found this website and it really helped me for what im doing for my isearch paper. The hourlong documentary covers 3000 years of samoas history. There is also a belief that samoans would not live very. Aug 30, 2018 thirty centuries of samoan tattooing have been chronicled in a new book released earlier this month.
American samoa, unincorporated territory of the united states consisting of the eastern part of the samoan archipelago, located in the southcentral pacific ocean. A hospital on tutuila provides medical, surgical, obstetric, pediatric. Samoan is the language of instruction in elementary schools and is used alongside english in secondary and tertiary education, government, commerce, religion, and the broadcast media. Samoa our culture travel experience pacific island.
Samoan tribes and families have their own unique tattoos, and the art is still widely practiced across the islands. There is a strong love of history and culture among the samoan people. The samoan language is one of the most commonly spoken languages in new zealand and samoan language week is the longest running pacific language week and leads a lineup of seven pacific language events in 2016. The first europeans who set foot on samoan soil were members of a 1787 french expedition who had a close look at natives and reported that the men have their thighs painted or tattooed in such a way that one would think them clothes, although. Samoa and other pacific island states between modernisation, dependency. Samoas earliest arrivals lived for thousands of years before the first official contact.
Central to the festival was the visit to san diego of the hokulea ship photo above a symbol of exploration among pacific islanders. Samoan culture is undoubtedly central to polynesian life, and its styles of music, dance, and visual art have. Samoan history migrants from southeast asia arrived in the samoan islands more than 2,000 years ago and from there settled the rest of polynesia further to the east. The truth about the samoan tattoo tatau one samoana. Thirty centuries of samoan tattooing have been chronicled in a new book released earlier this month.
In passionate pursuit of details, he interviewed hundreds of samoans, absorbing and understanding their culture. Micah explains what it is to be an ethnographer as he. The three main pillars of faa samoa are the matai chiefs, aiga extended family, and the christian church. Polynesians, possibly from tonga, first settled in the samoan islands about b.
The traditional culture of samoa is a communal way of life based on faa samoa, the unique sociopolitical culture. The same is true for the samoan language, still spoken in most households even though english is taught at school. Oral tradition holds that the samoan archipelago was created by the god tagaloa at the beginning of history. One great way to get into samoan society and culture even if you cannot be in samoa is to add samoan content to your daily social media feeds and online life. Tattooing is a very important part of traditional and modern samoan culture.
The distinction was necessitated by the partitioning of. Although there have been many decades of european and western influences, samoans have continued to maintain their older customs, language, and government ways. One of the resources currently available on this site is the o viiga i. Leading causes of death are heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease. Samoa was explored by dutch and french traders in the 18th century. Tatau a history of samoan tattooing was born of two mens passion for the culture and history of the distinctive art form.
Read on to find out more about a system based on mutual respect, strong societal values, and fraternity the samoan culture. Based on the rich history and mythology of the samoan islands, shaffer created an epic saga spanning 3000 years, samoa. Samoa books, samaon language books, fale faatautusi. Samoa history, language and culture history of samoa. I originally constructed this social history of youth in samoa because freeman argues that the transition to adulthood was stressful in samoa before contact with the west, yet meads main conclusion was that this transition was largely unstressful in the 1920s and likely had been throughout samoan history. The introduction to samoan language and culture samoan and english edition. Samoan list of resources for learning language, history. The capital, pago pago, was a strategic naval base for the u. Tattoo history samoan tattoos history of tattoos and.
Contact with europeans began in the early 1700s but did not intensify until the arrival of english missionaries and traders in the 1830s. Thanx anyways for this good info about the samoan history and culture. The samoan islands in the south pacific are politically divided into two groups. The traditional living quarters, or fale houses, contain no walls and up to 20 people may sleep. Uses a fairly small vocabulary, so good for learning sentence structure without getting too overwhelmed. There are 3 main parts in the samoan culture, that is faith, family and music.
Originally published as bulletin 75 in 1930 by the bernice p. The very core of the samoan culture is respect and it is one of the great virtues in christianity. Samoa, country in the central south pacific ocean, among the westernmost of the island countries of polynesia according to legend, samoa is known as the cradle of polynesia because savaii island is said to be hawaiki, the polynesian homeland. Samoan culture profile an initiative of community partners program.
A description of the complexity of samoan culture would fill library shelves, but below you will find a quick taste of the samoan way. The samoan culture is a precious gift, like all other cultures and is lived by people who are not perfect. Where we once belonged by sia figiel, sons for the return home by albert wendt, freelove by sia figiel, telesa. Ethnobotanist paul alan cox traveled with his family to a remote samoan village at the. Jun 01, 2018 the hourlong documentary covers 3000 years of samoas history. They call this faa samoa, which is a philosophy of life that focuses on traditions. Books to read samoa blog pacific island holiday guide. Wife of samoan chief oceania south pacific, papua new guinea, popular culture, historical.
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