1. Environment: Samoa is an island located in the south-central Pacific Ocean about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. It consists of two large islands of Upolu and Savai'i and seven small islets. Climate in Samoa is very tropical and there is a rainy season between the months of November and April. The average temperature is seventy-nine degrees Fahrenheit. Samoa is mainly urban, with developed societies, but also has rural areas. They are separated and very far from possible competition of cultures due to Samoa's isolated location. It's main resources are copra, cocoa beans, and bananas. Many birds are unique to Samoa such as the Samoan Flycatcher and the Samoan Fantail; A few land snails unique to Samoa include the Eua expansa and the Succinea putamen. Plants exclusively in Samoa include certain palms, orchids, and endemic genus. The coral reefs in Samoa suffer environmental stress due to the fluctuating temperature that causes thermal bleaching and destroys many of them.
2. Adaptations: Many Samoans are usually referred to having a strong, big-boned build and usually have a darker tone of skin. Samoans are hunter-gatherers whose ancestors traveled far into the ocean since Samoa is at a far distance from other countries. In order to survive the long travels in the ocean and sun and adapt to the islands and its rainfall and means of finding resources, their bodies adapted into larger bones for strength and warmth and their skin tone became shades darker. Cultural Adaptations would include Samoans traditional flowy and loose clothing to stay cool in the warm tropical weather. Also, the common housing in Samoa is a hut called a fale, it has pebble floors, a thatch roof, and no walls to keep cool, but there are coconut leaf blinds that can be lowered to exclude wind and rain. Language and Gender Roles
1. Language: The Samoans speak Samoan and English. Samoan is a Polynesian language, part of the Austronesian family. They do have their own writing system developed by the London Missionary Society and the alphabet does not include the letters B, C, D, J, Q, R, W, X, Y, or Z.
2. Gender Roles: The Samoan culture has a third gender specific named Fafafini, which are men who have been raised to assume female gender roles. The gender roles in Samoa are defined by division of labor; men have traditionally been assume to take on the work of agriculture, fishing, and constructing while women assume the role of nursing and housework. These roles still continue, but sometimes women will work alongside men in work that is not hard labor such as banks. It is not strictly defined this way, but Samoa is a male-dominated society that does not belittle women, but keeps a more traditional view on genders. Most high positions in authority are occupied by men. The youth of Samoa are taught these gender roles through example; they are influenced by how they are usually raised in a home: a male the leader of the household and a female who cares for the household. The males stronger build is a reason as to why they are usually taught to protect a family and assume authority in their family's home.
The Economy of Culture
1. Subsistence: Due to the variations in altitude, a lot of tropical crops are produced; Samoa's agriculture is rich with copra, cocoa beans, and bananas. These are their main resources because of the large amount Samoa produces. The subsistence pattern will probably not transition any time soon only because Samoa produces up to 15,000 metric tons of said crops, with potential for more if the pest issue was more controlled. The largest industry is fish processing and canning. Young people do most of the hard labor while elders are given roles of education and supervision. Samoans have a tendency to be obese and be highly prone to diabetes because they overeat due to their biologically large bodies that can intake large amounts of food. Both men and women gather food while men do more strenuous activities to find food.
2. Economic Systems: The economy of Samoa is very dependent upon agriculture and fishing, but also tourism. They produce a large amount of agriculture, enough to have a surplus amount to always keep the economy steady because they export so much of their agriculture. The country's currency is the Samoan tala.
1. Marriage: Samoa's marriage pattern is monogamous and one cannot date nor marry a blood relative. Marriage partners can be selected between young people, but it is usually only done if both families are in favor. Families will usually be in agreement if the economic situations between both families seems promising. Almost everyone marries, divorce is rare, and homosexuality is illegal in Samoa. Couples settle in the house of bride or groom, with a household usually consisting of seven people and headed by a matai, who is usually male.
2. Kinship: Still coming from mainly the male descendants, there are many cognitional kinship groups in Samoa. The groups live in sections of a larger community and carries traditional authoritative titles within their section, such as the chiefs and matais. They protect and provide for one another as a family, giving aid in finances and products to one another if needed. The kinship procedures and principles of the Samoans comes from Hawaii.
1. Social Organization: There is no basis of social class in Samoa, but there are authoritative chiefs in certain families. Some families are ranked higher or respected more, but not treated much differently. Anyone can try to be a matai since they are chosen by their agai.
2. Political Structure: Samoa has a House of Representatives and a Senate. The House of Reps, governor, and lieutenant governor are chosen by popular vote. The chiefs in the Senate are selected by paramount chiefs of each county. The matai is the leader of villages and is selected through respectable traits such as economic promise, knowledge, diplomacy, etc.
3. The Role of Violence: Highly common crimes in Samoa consists of assault, burglary, disorderly conduct, and property damage. However, crimes involving murder and sexual violence are less common. They have a police department, attorneys, and a court.
Togiola Tulafono, the Samoan governor
Religion and Art
1. Religion: The Christian Church is the most common religion involved in Samoa, with Catholicism coming second. Samoans are very involved in their religion and widely respect church leaders who are usually Samoan. The religious practices of Samoa are very similar to that of Western practices, with music and singing as a key part of worship.
2. Art: Art is very big in Samoa, from the traditional gender specific tattoos to the worship and liveliness of their song and dance. Oral story telling is very common amongst Samoans; the chiefs usually pass down oral legends and tales to their respective communities. Samoans partake in large group singing and dancing in unison between men and women with a lot of clapping.
A male Samoan's tattoo.
Conclusion: Cultural Change
a. My culture has been affected by other cultures, such as the Polynesians who stemmed the beginning of the Samoan language. The Hawaiian culture influenced the kinship traditions of Samoa and the west, most exclusively the United States, affected the country's religions and political systems.
b. I believe this culture to be healthy and thriving, they stick to so many of their cultural traditions, such as the authoritative figures, gender roles, their dance and music. So much of their culture is loyal to their religions and general systems of organizations.
c. In the modern world, Samoa is important due to its mass amount of exports.
Bibliography
"SAMOA." Countries of the World (Toucan Valley). 2004. eLibrary. Web. 02 Aug. 2012.
Webb, Virginia-Lee.. "Picturing Paradise: PHOTOGRAPHS OF SAMOAN LIFE AND CULTURE, 1875-1925." USA Today Magazine. 01 Jul. 1996eLibrary. Web. 02 Aug. 2012.
"American Samoa: Chapter 1. General Information." Countries of the World. 1991. eLibrary. Web. 02 Aug. 2012.
"Samoa." CIA World Factbook. 2011. eLibrary. Web. 02 Aug. 2012.
Mayer, E, Carol.. "Samoan Art & Artists: O Measina a Samoa." Contemporary Pacific 1(2005):255. eLibrary. Web. 02 Aug. 2012.
There was interesting things about the culture that you had chosen. The one thing that I liked was the fact that no marriaged into relative family members. I know that some culture do have marriages in relative families and just how we all were raised is its different to us, but it is nice reading about a culture that doesnt do that. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteNicely done. Great section on gender roles.
ReplyDeleteUnder economy, what is the situation with wealth distribution. Is it relatively equal or unequal? Do they have a system of wealth redistribution?
You note that homosexuality is "illegal". What sexual role is assumed by the Fafanini you mentioned earlier in gender roles?
For political structure, it was the structure of the village/cultural group that was to be the focus, not the countrywide structure. You did cover that in the latter half of the section.
Can you offer a little history on the religion of Samoa? Was it only Christianity or is that a relatively recent introduction? If it wasn't original, are their any remnants of the original religion/faith incorporated into their version of Christianity?
I was so overwhelmed when reading about the Samoan tattoos. I just find it absolutely gorgeous because the way they do tattoos in samoa is far more significant than tattoos in the western culture. I was also unaware of the Samoan alphabet and that it was so scarce. It was very clever of you to put a picture of samoan currency, it was really intriguing. This project was so informative, well done with the research and detail!
ReplyDeleteI always wondered why Samoans are normally big and strong. Pretty interesting reason why they physically adapted in that way. How do Samoans treat Fafafinis? Are they treated equally? Im surprised that homosexuality is illegal in Samoa since they have a third gender. They seem to incorporate singing and dancing in a lot of their activities. The tattoo in the picture is huge. I wonder if this is common in Samoa. While reading your post I felt like a lot of their culture is similar to my culture, or other common cultures in the United States. Yet theirs has distinctions, such as singing and dancing. Good post!
ReplyDelete