Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Fa'asamoa


One of the aspects of Samoa that appeals to so many anthropologists is that despite the influence of European cultures Samoans have managed to maintain much of their traditional lifestyle. Now that we are here we are starting to examine what the “fa’asamoa” is and how it has reacted to Western influences.

There are three important things in the lives of most Samoans: family (aiga), village (nu’u), and church (lotu) and in that order. A person’s family can easily include twenty to thirty people when one considers that it includes parents, grandparents, nieces, nephews, etc. The traditional male/female roles that we associate with in America are also different but I’ll get to that in a minute. The next in importance is one’s village. The village council was responsible for the governance of the village as a whole, and decisions made were final. The one aspect that has changed with Westernization is the church. It now also plays a very important role in Samoan life but has been Samoanized in many regards. Until recently villages all adhered to the same sect and even now dissenters can be thrown out of the village. This does cause some conflict with the national government especially as Samoa attempts to become a member of different international organizations. “Human rights” are expected at a national level but are not always easy to enforce at the village level given the traditional Samoan way of dealing with things.

Back to the different roles. The central role in village and family life is that of the matai- or chief. Each family can have several different matai titles to distribute. They can be held by male or female, old or young, those living here or abroad. Their election must be unanimous and because of this can take several years after the death of a former matai. Since Samoa does not have private land ownership the matai is responsible for looking after all other members of the family and for distributing resources. The culture is very much based upon giving which is completely in contradiction with the capitalist way of doing things. Many other Pacific Island nations have similar cultures and this causes conflict when Western ways of doing things are introduced. Traditionally they would prefer to lead a very relaxed life producing only what it is needed. Those who work harder and create a surplus will be besieged by relatives who do not have as much. It’s always been a give and take. You give when you have and you take when you need. How do you reconcile that with the Western notion of working hard, saving for a rainy day, accumulating wealth, etc. They don’t mesh. One of the two must give way. So far the Samoan’s have been able to retain much of their cultural identity in the villages but there are some changes being made. The next group in importance after the matai are the aualuma- or the daughters and sisters of the village. These are the girls born in the village who are not yet married. They are responsible for hospitality. They also are the producers of wealth in the form of fine mats; care for the children; and serve as peacemakers. Unlike many other societies women were actually seen as equals but fulfilling different roles. The untitled men, or aumaga, were the strength of the village. They were the hunters, planters, cookers, and enforces of curfew. Next are the faletua and tausi, or wives of the chiefs. Finally there are the children or tamaiti. Samoan children have much more responsibility, and there is no set age limit or “right of passage” for when they move from one category to another. Instead it is based on education. When they finish school they become either a aualuma or an aumaga. Just thought that was kind of cool.

So, what has happened with the introduction of Western ideals? Closer to towns you find more Western style buildings, but in many places fa’asamoa is still very strong. For example, four of the five bars in Apia closed down for six months because the villagers complained. Where else would that happen? I think things are beginning to change. You can have matai who live in California or New Zealand but they still fill the same roles. So far they have managed to adapt without losing their own unique identity. Perhaps one of the biggest threats to the traditional way of life is the introduction of universal suffrage mere decades ago. No longer are the chiefs and village council responsible for all decisions made- no question. Now there can be disagreement at least at the national level. How conflicts between the village and national governments play out will undoubtedly be one of the forces that shapes Samoa tomorrow.

But enough of me thinking out loud. A lot of this is me trying to learn the material so that I don’t have to spend as much time studying for the tests. :-P

Today was basically a repeat of yesterday. Breakfast, discussion, language, lecture, lunch. After lunch some of us tossed around a Frisbee. I think that’s going to be what I do when I get homesick. I just felt like I was back at Rice. We tried to get some of the Samoan or Fijian students to play with us but were only able to attract one. We’ll have to get a game going at some point to show them what its all about. They’ve only seen Frisbees thrown to dogs. I think it’s time for the next great revolution here- the introduction of the game of Ultimate. The rest of the afternoon was spent in Apia walking around and doing some shopping. I bought another lavalava and some t-shirts at a thrift store. I’ll probably end up doing a lot of my own laundry so it’ll be better to have some shirts and clothes that are easy to wash and I don’t mind losing at the end. :-P

1 comment:

Monnie said...

I never, ever had an interest in Samoa before now (in fact, I hardly knew it existed), but now I'm quite fascinated!