Samoans

have diverse ways of experiencing aspects of their culture. There are many commonalities and distinctions between the Yanomamo and Samoan peoples. They have different and similar subsistence methods, divisions of labor, occupational specializations, exchange of goods, and economic links to power. These differences and similarities are striking and deserve thorough examination. One of many aspects Samoan and Yanomamo life that is different is their subsistence methods. The Samoans mainly rely on agriculture. According to Holly Peters-Golden, “clearing the land for planting is hard work” (225). The Samoans use cutting tools like axes and knives get rid of trees and bushes and other foliage. Then the Samoans use small fires to eliminate everything else. Peters-Golden writes that “digging sticks are then employed to dislodge rocks and loosen the soil for…

It is said that the Samoan tattooing tradition actually came from Fiji. There is a myth about two Fijian sisters who swam across the sea. On their journey they chanted, “we shall tattoo the women, not the men.” (In Fiji it is customary that the women are tattooed). Along the way the two saw a giant clam on the sea bed and dove for it. In excitement they jumbled the words and, on their return to the surface, again began chanting, “we shall tattoo the men, not the women”(A.R.). Anders Ryman, a…

This project is connected to me because im samoan. Also my mother and father had experiences with dancing.Actually both sides of my family have dancing backgrounds. My mother is a taupou of her family. Growing throughout my elementary days i would always help them prepare also watch them perform at PCC.Traditional choreography comes from place and custom; the dances tell a story of cultural values and celebrate simple events. They are graceful, exuberant, comic, and emblematic of the oldest…

Kj Siufanua Professor Perez Gonzalez English 68 Tatau Tatau [tah-tou] is the formal word for tattoo in samoan. The Samoan tatau is very unique. Its legacy began over two-thousand years ago. In Samoa, the tradition of applying tatau by hand has been unbroken even to this day. The pe’a [beh-ah] is the tatau for males only it covers the body from the torso to the knees. In doing this signifies that the boy is to become a man ready to take on the responsibilities and tasks of his village. Every…

Samoan 2009 tsunami report: What caused the earthquake and tsunami? On Tuesday the 29th of September 2009, a huge tsunami hit Samoa – as well as several other islands – and impacted many, leaving a path of destruction. Tsunamis are big waves that are generated from earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions that occur in the ocean. When the waves move inland they gradually gain height as the ocean gets shallow. So, the speed of the tsunami is related to the depth of the ocean. Tsunamis travel very fast…

criticism, it did shed some light into why American adolescent face great emotional and psychological stress. Margaret Mead, an American anthropologist, wrote the book Coming of Age in Samoa. It outlines her research of the sexual lives of the youth on the island of Ta’u in Samoan Islands. Mead believes that adolescents in America face many problems in society and sought to find if all cultures experienced this. She set out to find whether nature or nurture played a role in these problems. Her…

purpose of improving the economic position of themselves, their families and their communities is a fairly recent form of consensual diaspora. People are electing to leave their homes in search of a better future. In moving to another locale this individuals becomes a migrant transplanted into a new physical location. The uprooting of a person’s lives changes them and their identity, they must orientate their identity in their new locale. A strong example diasporic community who actively…

Tattoos of all kinds are seen on the bodies of most of these young people. The Samoan tatau (or pe’a), is the term for ‘tattoos’. The Samoan traditional tatau worn by men begins from the waist and extends below the knee cap, while the malu, “tattoo,” worn by females extends from the top of the thigh down below the knee. These are the traditional adornments by which the tatau and malu are supposed to be worn and the older Samoan people who grew up with the traditions tend to have differing views…

At the age of 24 in 1925, Margaret Mead traveled to Samoa to conduct ethnographic research on the Samoan culture with a focus on female adolescent’s. Her findings were then compiled into her book Coming of Age in Samoa, published in 1928. She portrayed growing up in Samoa as uncomplicated and offering “…no period of crisis or stress, but was instead an orderly developing of a set of slowly maturing interests and activities” (Mead 109). This can be attributed to their societal structure as is…

race, it’s like talking to a wall. I struggle to find an answer to their lack of support or their lack of attention on these issues. I truly believe that most Polynesians specifically the Tongan & Samoan community internalized the notion that they have white privilege or are exempted from racial oppression because they are not exactly Latinx or black. As a result, they often turn blind eye to racial issues that has been happening so far. It was not until this event that most of them realized how…