- Fa'asamoa
Fa'asamoa is a word that refers to the
Samoan way of life.Concept
The "fa'asamoa" consists of the Samoan
language , and customs of relationships and culture, that is a traditional and continuingPolynesian lifestyle of thePacific Islands anddiaspora . This is completely understood by all Samoans, and provides support and direction.Practice
The "fa'asamoa" is practiced in all nine islands of Samoa, (including
American Samoa andWestern Samoa , and other small islands (such asManua andAunuu ).History
When
missionaries arrived fromEurope in 1830, they found that many Samoan cultural beliefs were similar toChristianity Fact|date=March 2007, which contributed to the spread ofChristianity in nineteenth-century Samoa. An example of these shared beliefs is the concept of respecting and honoringelders -- even powerless elders. In the "fa'samoa", the youngrespect anyone that is older than them, especially their parents.Tauanu'u Leotasili
The Samoan way of life was hard before the arrival of EuropeansFact|date=July 2008. Tauanu'u, an old chief, gives his account of Samoan life before the Europeans. He was one of the witnesses of the arrival of the "
palagi s" or Caucasian:"I remember when I was a little boy." said Tauanu'u. "I heard everyone talking about it: "E! O mai e va'ai tagata ese ia o mai! E papa'e ia o lakou kigo!", which translated to "Hey! Come look at these strange people approaching! Look at them! They are so white!".
Tauanu'u Leotasili continued by saying, "I saw my aunt trying to figure out what to do. By then, everyone in the village was awake at about 5 o'clock in the morning to come and see the white folks. I was one of them. All of a sudden, my cousin Giu told everyone that there are going to create an "siva samoa" (the samoan Dance). "Lue mai!", the dance started and every Samoan village member of what is now called "leone". So they danced and that's all I remembered".Fact|date=April 2007
External link
* [http://www.nps.gov/archive/npsa/fa_asamoa.htm "Fa'asamoa - The Samoan Way"] , American Samoa government website
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