Samoan Culture

For many Samoans, business involves fisheries or agriculture as this is the main source of income for people on the islands. However, there is still business etiquette that needs to be followed. In Samoan business culture, it is very important to show up to the meeting either slightly early or right on time but never late. Be aware that meetings may start late because Samoans run on their own time. At the beginning of the meeting, it is expected that a gift be given to the higher power in the meeting. This gift-giving is done publicly as a show of appreciation. If the gift is inadequate, apologize and state it is a token of appreciation. Samoans care more about the gesture of the gift than the gift itself. When one is accepting a gift, they bow slightly and raise the gift above their head to say thank you. This gift-giving is usually the greeting and start of the meeting. Always dress modestly when attending a Samoan business meeting. For men, this will mean a t-shirt and trousers,...

  Nonverbal communication is extremely important in everyday communications. For example, a person might say a nice thing to another person and then roll their eyes. While the words are nice the nonverbal communication tells another story. In different cultures body language and facial expressions can have different meanings and often times they can tell a different story then they actual words being spoken. Before traveling to another country or communicating with someone form another culture it is important to research nonverbal etiquette. This is so that you don’t show signs of disrespect on accident but also, so you know how to properly communicate. This can be very difficult because often times we subconsciously send nonverbal cues to people we are talking to in our own culture. In my personal culture holding eye contact is a polite thing to do in a conversation and it shows that you are interested and focused on the conversation. In Samoan etiquette holding eye contact ca...

The two primary languages spoken in Samoa are English and Samoan . The Samoan language is the oldest Polynesian language and around 510,000 people are fluent in Samoan. There are two different speech registers , colloquial Samoan ( tautala leaga ) which is informal speech, and formal Samoan ( gagana fa’ aaloala ) which is polite speech. Formal Samoan is used with people of rank or official business. Colloquial speech is used between family and friends. When English was introduced, it was taught to the Samoans and now it is the second most common language spoken in Samoa. English became the lingua franca of the country, and it was widely adopted. Samoan schools teach primarily in Samoan, but English is taught as well as a secondary language. The Samoan alphabet consist of 17 letters. Constants never appear together and syllables consist of a vowel alone or a constant plus a vowel. Apostrophes are used to emphasize breaks in a word or certain letters. The apostrophe is considered a le...

         After the first Europeans came across Samoa the country became a hotspot for war. Countries like Germany, Great Britain, and the U.S. wanted to gain control of Samoa because of its location. The islands served as a great mid-way point for refueling ships and naval bases. In the late 1800s Germany, Britain, and the U.S. signed the General Act of Berlin in 1889 . This act essentially determined the island as a neutral territory for the three countries. This was only achieved because a typhoon destroyed all three countries' ships and a war was not possible. In 1899 Great Britain gave up interest in Samoa and the islands were divided up between Germany and the U.S. This divide created Western Samoa, controlled by Germany, and American Samoa.      In 1914 New Zealand troops occupied Western Samoa. At the end of World War I, The League of Nations gave a mandate over Western Samoa to New Zealand. This was met with a lot of pushback and gave ...

Tagaloa   https://samoanculture.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/mata_o_tagaloa.jpg      Samoans are very religious and spiritual. The indigenous religion is based around Tagaloa which is the ancestor of all living things. These living things include humans, animals, plants, the sea, the land, and the cosmos. They believe that earth was created by the separation of Lagi the heavens and Papa the rock . Then Tuli , Tagaloa’s messenger was sent to germinate the earth and all living things were born. This idea resonates with the scientific theory of the “Big Bang”   but also has some Christian ideals with the presence of a God or creator of all things.           The indigenous religion also has other gods. The atua gods were non-human and were believed to come from Pulotu , the other world, or Lagi . The human gods were called aitu and they were believed to be ancestral spirits. Samoans do not believe that death is the end of existence...

       The traditional family structure is Samoa is mainly patriarchal. The men work and provide for the family and the women take care of the home and children. Family is very important to Samoans. They place family above all else, the family’s needs come before the individual needs. Children are raised to respect elders and to obey the rules that are set for them. Samoan families believe that each member represents the family and must be honorable and act honorable. Each member of the family is expected to participate in family roles. Elders are seen as the wise ones and are given a lot of respect. These elders determine the rules of the family and also decide who the land that they are given goes to. The most respectful and well behaved children will inherit the land.      They often form large family units consisting of several generations and they live very close to each other. Extended family is referred to as aiga potopoto and more immediate ...

For as long as I can remember I have always had a fascination with Oceania countries. One country in particular always stood out to me and that country was Samoa. I have chosen to dive deep into Samoan culture and learn as much as I possibly can about their beliefs, traditions, and just daily life. I am hoping that this research will help me gain a bigger understanding of Samoan people and also a greater understanding of the world. By slowly researching another culture even if it is just one culture maybe I can start to better understand other cultures. I have lived in one area my whole life and although I have done some traveling, I consider myself not very culturally diverse. There is a lot that I do not know about even the cultures in my own hometown. By doing this research and putting in the effort to understand another culture I will be able to communicate better with people from other countries and other cultures. This will expand my worldview and help break me out of my little f...