samoan people

8/9/2019 Samoan People

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The traditional culture ofSamoa is a communal way oflife based on Faa Samoa ,(aunique socio political cultureof Samoa). There are 3 mainparts in the culture, its faith,family and music. Thetraditional fale (house),containno walls and up to 20 peoplemay sleep on the ground in thesame fale. During the day, the

fale is used for chatting andrelaxing. Elders in the familyare greatly respected and holdthe highest status, and thismay be seen as a traditionalSunday umu (underground

oven.)


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The items of important cultural

value ie toga, finely wovenmats used in ceremony and giftexchanges. Other items includebark-cloth,siapo (equivalent tothe Fijian tapa cloth),wich ismade from beaten mulberry

bark. Pattern or pictures arepainted on with a naturalbrown dye. This picturestypically depict fish , turtlesand hibiscus flowers. The siapomay be used for clothing ,for

wrapping objects and evensimply decorative reasons.Other handicrafts areornaments or jewellery andhair accessories using naturallymaterials such as sea shells,coconut and coir.


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The traditional Samoan

dance is the Siva. Thefemale Siva dance is withgentle movements of thehands and feet in time tomusic. The mauluulu is agroup dance performedby female counterpartsonly. The sasa is a groupdance performed sitting ta drum rhythm.Samoanmales traditionally

perform the faataupati(slap dance), usuallyperformed in group withno music,and the siva afi(fire dance) performed y

males.


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In AmericanSamoa, mostpeople arebilingual;they

speak Englishand Samoan. InSamoa, mostpeople speak

Samoan.This is howyou spell thecolors in

Samoan.


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The traditionalladies clothing is thepuletasi which is amatching skirt beand tunic with

Samoan designs.The lava lava is asarong wich may beworn by men andwomen. They are of

different patternsand colors, but tendto be plain for menwho may wear it as

part of an officialuniform.


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Samoa isCongretionalist34.8%,RomanCatholic 19.6%

and plainCatholisismplays little roll inits every day life.


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The main sports playedin Samoa are rugbyunion and Samoancricket (kirikiti).About30 ethnicSamoans,many from

AmericanSamoa,currently playin the NationalFootball League.RugbyUnion is very popularin Samoa and the

national team isconsistentlycompetitive againstteams from vastlymore populousnations.


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The most salient andperhaps the mostprominent part of Samoanculture at formal events isthe process ofFaaaloaloga. Atweddings,chiefly

installations(saofaiga),funerals,opening of houses/churches,orany other public gatheringof Samoans Faaaloaloga

will always be performed.


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Sundays are traditionally aday of rest, and manyfamilies congregate toshare an umu together fora Sunday an afternoonmeal. In a traditionalhousehold, the oldermembers of the family willsit and eat first, and asmeal continues theyounger members and thechildren are invited to eat.The umu contains anabundance and variety ofdishes ranging from freshseaweed and crayfish to

bake taro and rice.


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In modern Samoamany homes are now

constructed usingwestern materialsand designs;but still,each village,indeedusually eachextended family inSamoa,traditionally

has a fale talimalo(guest house) and/ora fale fono (meetinghouse) where the

chiefs convene.

samoan people

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