Ethnography Project
The Life and Culture of Samoans
Climate Adaptation:
Samoan people have a brown-reddish skin tone. This allows their skin to help protect them from the UV rays from the sun but not too dark, so it allows them to absorb vitamin D from the sun as well. Another physical adaptation is their natural strength. Samoa is rich in natural and nutritious food to eat. But the biggest factor came from them migrating from Southeast Asia some 2,000 years ago. This trek was more than 5,000 miles (about 8046.72 km) long, all done by canoeing. Havin to wade through tough waters and surviving harsh conditions in the sea have caused them to gain more strength which altered their physiology.
Food that naturally occurs in Samoa is not diverse. Fish, lobster, crab, and pork are staple meat sources. Lettuce and cabbage are the main leafy greens whereas yams and ta’amu are rooted vegetables. Coconuts and breadfruit can be found on the islands and coffee and cacao are drunk by the locals. Sunday meals, known as toana’i, are ceremonial and food is shared among the people. These feasts are also held for weddings, funerals, conferring chief titles.
Language:
The Samoan language is part of the Polynesian group of Malayo-Polynesian of the Austronesian language family. It is unique in that it uses many vowels, few consonants, a simple syllabic structure consisting of either a vowel or consonant + vowel. Samoan has a small inventory of phonemes, sounds that make a difference in a word meaning. Samoan uses a grammar structure that is unique from other languages. It does not have specific words for past tense words but conjoin words together. Instead of saying ‘hugged’ they would say naopo, which translates verbatim pasthug (na ‘past’ opo ‘hug’).
Gender Roles:
Within Samoan culture, there are four recognized genders. In addition to male and female, Samoans recognize fa’afafine and fa’afatama, which are gender fluid roles that move between male and female roles. These additional genders are tasked with taking care of the elderly and to educate others about sex. The structure of gender roles tends to be more patriarchal, where men tend to make the decision making and income earner while women stay home and take care of the house and children. Matriarchal leadership was more common prior to Christian missionaries arriving in 1830, where male leadership became more prominent. Gender roles are not as rigid as they may seem, with women obtaining more of the decision-making within the household. Gender roles are taught to children through different methods for boys and girls. Boys are separated and taught skills that would prepare them for leadership roles in their family and villages. Girls are taught through role playing and observing of other women in their family and village. They are taught to honor their family through protecting their brothers and honoring their sisters.
After reading “The Blessed Curse” people of intersexuality would be accepted. Samoans believe that everyone, regardless of gender, has a role in their society. One tradition is a pageant that is held for fa’afafine and fa’afatama, where the chosen one takes on the role of taupou. This role is a ceremonial host and does a dance in a graceful and feminine manner but also uses sexual humor to highlight sexual taboos.
Samoans suffer an elevated risk of obesity, with 63% of the population being obese and 89% are overweight. Their diet consists of high protein and starchy foods such as taro and yams. Large amounts of fat contribute to this from meat consumption and trans fats are of concern. There is no lack of abundance for the Samoan diet.
Economic System:
Samoans do produce a surplus of food and tries to sell/trade the extra food they produce. Some of the challenges they face are high costs of imports of shipping material along with the costs of shipping the food items. Some of the issues they also face is the low volume they produce of agricultural products and trying to compete on a global scale with other large agriculture-producing nations. The biggest specialty of labor for the islands are agriculture and fishing. The Samoan Tala is the currency used with an exchange rate of 1 Samoa Tala equating to $0.36 USD.
Marriage:
Samoan practice monogamy when it comes to marriage. During the dating phase, the male will visit the female in the presence of her family. Gifts are presented to the female’s family. Messages can be exchanged back and forth from a friend or messenger. After some time, the female’s family grants the two permission to marry. With the gifts being presented to the female’s family, it is certain that the female is the more valuable person of the marriage. Also, having the male be in the presence in the female’s family while they date makes it seem like the male must prove himself trustworthy for marriage. All marriages are exogamy. Incest is forbidden and a consequence of it is loss of status in the village. When two people are married, they will live in their home yet be a part of the village. Homosexuality is generally frowned upon, especially for men. Females do get better treatment than their male counterparts. Same-sex marriage is not recognized in Samoa.
Kinship:
Samoans practices patrilineal when it comes to descent patterns. Other descent lines are not recognized. Each family has its own Matai (‘chief’ or ‘leader’). The inheritance pattern follows the Samoan principle of “ioe o le uso” where the right of respect is passed to the surviving brother. But when the next generation is ready to have that title passed down, it is passed down from parent to child. The kinship structure follows the same pattern as the Hawaiian model. Male cousins of the same generation hold the same title as brother, same goes for female cousins. Aunts and uncles are not recognized but they hold the same name as a mother and father, it is all generationally relative to these titles.
Social Organization:
The Samoan social structure is stratified. One indicator of status is who has a higher roof over their home. The higher the roof, the higher the status. Each village has a Matai (or chief) that acts as a governing force for that village. Above the Matai is the Ali’i, who are sitting chiefs and are the decision-makers for the Samoan culture as a whole. The men who do not hold these titles are seen as helpers, cultivating common gardens, repairing buildings, and can be a police force in times of crisis. It is difficult to move up in rank for social status unless you are related to the Matai. Power is transferred from the Matai to his brother if he were to pass unexpectedly and follows the lineage from there.
Political Organization:
Samoans follow a democratic process when selecting its leaders. The Matai are voted by an election of consensus. When power is ready to be transferred, it is usually passed down from parent to child. The Matai is seen as someone who is ready to ensure the well-being of the family and village that it is self-sufficient and nourished. It is not seen as a position to be seen as gaining prestige.
Role of Violence:
Violence has a place in Samoan culture and not in a good way. Domestic violence is high for Samoans with 60% of women experiencing domestic violence with an intimate partner and 20% of women being raped. The women who are victimized often say silent because of the collective nature of Samoans. They see the impact it will have on their family and the family of the perpetrator and would rather stay silent on the issue.
Religion:
Samoans practice Christianity as their religion of choice, mostly as Protestants and a few as Catholics. Prior to Christian monasteries arriving to Samoa, they believed in a more polytheistic, with Aitu being gods for each family as dead ancestors who effect the day-to-day lives of Samoans. There is a creator recognized, Tagaloa, who is the creator of Samoans as well as the other Pacific Islanders. The origin story in summary is Tagaloa created a place on Earth where he could stand, called Manu’atele. Happy with his work, he divided Manu’atele into smaller rocks and scattered them in the ocean, what would be Samoa, Fiji, and other islands. Seeing the islands were too far apart, Tagaloa created a sacred vine to spread over the rocks. As the leaves fell, worms were created from the leaves. Tagaloa took the worms, created humans, and placed them on each island.
Funerals for Samoans are a big gathering. It was always preferred that Samoans died on their homeland otherwise the deceased’s spirit may cause trouble for its family. A funeral normally lasts up to two hours with gifts being exchanged between the family and guests, but mourning can last for two weeks. Attire for men consists of a lavalava, white shirt and tie, and leather sandals. For women, a muumuu is worn for such occasion.
Art:
One of the biggest art forms in Samoa are tattooing. It is seen as a form of self-expression but can also be shown as a sign of maturity as one transitions into adulthood. Woven mats are another form of artwork. These are woven from pandanus palms and are seen as a status symbol based upon how many of these mats one family has. They are highly regarded being passed down from generation to generation and given be given as gifts for weddings or funerals.
Music has played a vital role in Samoan culture. Traditionally, there have only been two instruments, the pate and fala. A pate is a drum made from a hollow drum and a fala is a mat that is rolled up and beaten with sticks. Since there was no written language, storytelling was passed down through song and the playing of these instruments. With music comes dancing as it is a big aspect of Samoan culture. One form of dance is called the Taualuga. Traditionally, it is performed at the end of a feast. It is performed by the high chief’s daughter. In the past, only virgins could perform this dance as it was seen as sacred but with the passing of time the rules have been relaxed and many other groups within the tribe could perform the ritual.
Bibliography:
https://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Samoa.html
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gender-responsiveness-samoas-education-system-brief-ronna-lee-m-ed-
I'm not going into depth on my review here. It is clear you did a lot of work on this assignment so I am primarily going to review for missing topics. I will note anything missing below with deductions indicated.
ReplyDeleteEnvironment (12/15) - Can you be more explicit on the "flora"? Can you identify the specific environmental stresses that will drive physical/cultural adaptations?
Adaptations (10/10) - Good, but then solar radiation/Vitamin D stress should have been part of your first section.
Language (10/10)
Gender (15/15) - Good, though it is interesting that you feel a person mirroring the "Blessed Curse" would have been accepted given the generally negative response to those who don't practice sexual norms in this populations (referring to your discussing in "Marriage").
Subsistence (12/12)
Economy (13/13)
Marriage (13/13)
Kinship (12/12)
Social (10/10)
Political (7/10) - Don't confuse politics of the *country* with politics of the *culture*. How do individuals populations within the country determine leadership and power? Consider the Samoan traditional culture in this question as opposed to the Samoan *country*.
Violence (3/5) - While I agree that domestic violence is a *modern* issue, that isn't the question here. Just like revenge killings serve a positive benefit to the Yanomamo cultures as a form of justice, how is violence serving an adaptive benefit to the Samoan culture? Samoa is traditional a warrior culture and value strength and appearances of strength, such as with the Siva Tau dance (similar to the Haka dance from New Zealand). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI93YHILSgk
Religion (13/13) - I'm looking for their traditional faith, not their adopted faith. Good coverage of that here, but it should have been your primary focus.
Art (11/12) - Good, but the warrior dances should have been included here.
Change (13/13)
Formatting (12/12) - That's a serious bibliography!
Hello Aaron I really enjoyed reading your ethnography on the Samoans. The information is very concise and gets the point across. I found it interesting that the American diet has influenced this island but it makes sense. I have met people who are Samoan so there is probably a lot of people who have family in the United States and Samoa. The horticulture of Samoa seems very fertile since it is a tropical island in the Pacific. It makes sense that they would always have food since there is low chance of droughts and other climatic crises that could affect subsistence. I also found it interesting that the Samoans came from Southeast Asia on canoes. This must have been an incredible journey and very tough. But they made it and started there own people with their own interesting and distinct culture. Overall I think your project covered them very well and showed there amazing culture and how they have also adapted to the modern world with there religion and political structure.
ReplyDeleteHey Aaron!
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job in giving us a thorough post on this culture. I personally believe that you provided lots of information/answered all the question and I learned a lot from you. I found it pretty surprising that most Samoans are obese because the culture I chose to research also had a similar diet where they only ate meat and very little vegetables. My culture choice included genes that show obese qualities but for the most part, the people were relatively slim. Onto another topic, would you say that Christian's were more of a benefit to this culture rather than a drawback? They adopted Christianity so the Samoans must have welcomed them in some way.