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Written by Staff
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Fa’afetai i le Atua
Muamua ona si’i le fa’afetai i le Atua…
(I would first like to give thanks to God…)
How often have we heard this phrase spoken or seen it written? It
prefaces letters to not only loved ones but letters that are more of an
official nature. Even public speakers will begin speeches with
the phrase. This familiar phrase reveals an insightful fact about
all Samoans; they love and openly recognize the hand of God in
their lives.
There was a teacher, a palagi atheist, in Samoa who expressed his
irritation with his students who would hand in essays each of which
began with: Muamua ona si’i le fa’afetai i le Atua… He frequently
stated that it was unnecessary and should not be included in any
assignment that was to be handed in. Alas, essays weren’t the
only homework that contained this or similar phrases, there were also
narratives, journal entries and more. As you might imagine the
teacher didn’t last long in Samoa. Not that he didn’t have a
valid point, but more importantly he didn’t take into account the
influence of the culture of Samoa on his students, a culture that
recognizes the importance of God.
The importance of God in the culture of Samoa is evident in the
village. Take for example the faife’au (minister). Although
not of the same gafa (genealogy), the minister receives similar gifts
and formal greetings as the village matai (chief). This honor is
received because the faife’au is seen as a person doing chores
(faife’au) for the Almighty. Like God is to be thanked and
recognized, so also are his servants thanked and recognized by Samoans.
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Written by Gene Carl Feldman
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The Shark, the Samoan, and the boy from New York CityWe
read this story and thought it both humorous and insightful in regards to Samoan fishing. The
author kindly gave permission to SA'O to publish it here.
I was living as a peace corps volunteer in a little village called
Aleipata on the southeastern tip of the island of Upolu, Western
Samoa. This is a small village composed mostly of fishermen.
From afar, it looked like the idyllic South Seas paradise with palm
trees, thatched houses without walls sitting atop platforms of lava
rock, and blindingly white coral paths weaving their way through the
village. Offshore, were a few small, uninhabited islands with
names like Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Namu'a and Fanuatapu (a former leper
colony) that form the basis of another tale.
One of the things I used to do as part of my job was to go out daily to
catch fish to feed the baby sea turtles that we were raising in the
hatchery (yet another story). We had our own boat but I would
often go out with the local fishermen as well. The most common
boat in Samoa was a small (15-18') dugout canoe with an outrigger to
one side to prevent it from rolling over in the high, pacific swells.
Remember, Samoa is in the middle of the pacific with the next land to
the east being South America, nearly 6,000 miles away and to the south,
Antarctica. So, there is little margin for error when you run
around those waters in a small boat. The smaller boats were
paddled, and generally stayed within the reef, fishing for things like
reef fish and octopus in the relative calm of the reef-protected
lagoons.
The larger canoes (18-24') often have a small, 25 horsepower outboard
strapped to the outrigger support. You haven't lived until you
have tried to make it through a narrow opening in the reef, at night,
when the wind is knocking the crests off the waves and all you have to
navigate by is the sound of the surf crashing on the coral heads on
either side of the opening.
Anyway, I digress. One afternoon, I went out with one of the
local fisherman to see what we could catch. I think his canoe was
about 18 feet and it certainly wasn't one of the newer models. It
had seen it's share of coral heads over the years and the engine looked
like it would have been more at home in a museum rather than on a
fishing boat. Oh, just in case you are wondering, nobody in Samoa
has ever heard of life jackets. Besides, it is a pretty safe bet
that the sharks would find you long before another boat would.
So, we head out east from the village (remember, next stop, South
America) and go about 15-20 miles offshore when we spot a school of
tuna feeding at the surface.
The way you spot a school of tuna is to look for birds. The tuna
chase large schools of small fish up to the surface and just pick the
ones they want for lunch. The poor little fish with nowhere to go
to escape the voracious teeth of the pursuing tuna, jump out of the
water, only to be pounced on by the flocks of diving seabirds,
screeching at the top of their lungs. It is really something to
be in the middle of since the birds and tuna are both in a feeding
frenzy and completely ignore the boat. The sounds of splashing,
the large tuna leaping out of the water in pursuit of their prey, and
the screeching and crashing of the birds as the hit the water trying to
catch the same, poor little fish from above. Not a good place to
be if you happen to be a small fish.
So, here we come along with our little boat and a few squid-like lures,
trolling through the middle of this scene right out of Dante's Inferno,
and within seconds, tuna are hitting the lures, mistaking them for the
little fish that they have their minds set on.
Within minutes we must have caught 25-30 small skipjack tuna and a few
larger yellowfin tuna. So we are literally sitting there in the boat
with fish, some of them pretty darn big, jumping like crazy. Now
tuna have a very interesting anatomical feature at the base of their
tail fins called scutes. These sharp, hard protrusions can break
your hand if you are not careful. Remember, that tuna are some of
the fastest swimmers in the sea and they have some serious strength in
their tails.
Before I go any further, I need to add one more bit of
information. Now, when tuna are feeding on small fish, they don't
always chew with their mouths closed as we have all been taught to
do. So consequently, the waters around one of these feeding
frenzies are often littered with bits and pieces of partially eaten
fish and whatever used to be on the insides of those fish....including
blood. And, what animal in the ocean is attracted by blood in the
water? Come on now, you know the answer to that one..... right!
SHARKS.
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Written by Staff Writer
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Faaaloalo is the foundation of the Samoan Culture
While growing up, being a half cast Samoan-Caucasian, I faced many
challenges pertaining to my dual heritage. To some extent, I was taught
fundamentals of both cultures as I lived most of my life in American
Samoa where there was influence from both Samoans and Americans.
Through a series of interviews that totaled eight hours, I searched
for answers to explain how the Samoan culture is organized and what
stands as the basis of its organization. To get these answers, I found
a consultant who speaks the language very well and has practiced and is
still practicing the Samoan culture.
My consultant was born in Samoa and raised in the faasamoa (Samoan
way). He was taught in every aspect of the culture, and still lives it
today while he continues to teach it to his children. He is very
steeped in the culture and knowledgeable of the topic, mainly because
he is a Samoan chief who is expected to uphold his culture with honor.
The Samoan culture is very complex and unique. There are many facets
of the faasamoa (Samoan way) and they are hard to comprehend even when
one can speak and understand the language. One part of the culture that
is always heard of when mentioning faasamoa is the word faaaloalo
which means respect. Faaaloalo is huge in the faasamoa because the
cultre is built upon it. Faaaloalo is involved somehow in everything
the Samoan people do. Faaaloalo begins in the home and expands into the
inbred values and standards that Samoan’s live by.
I chose faaaloalo as my topic because it is an aspect of the culture
that can be found wherever Samoans are gathered. Most Samoans teach
faaaloalo because it keeps their children disciplined and polite. They
also teach it because in the culture they believe that what the child
does reflects what the parents teach in the home. If a child does
something disrespectful then his or her parents are to blame, and the
name is shamed. Samoans uphold a high standard of honor in the family,
and children are taught very early on to take care of the family name
and not to tarnish it in any way. Faaaloalao is an important part of
keeping this honor. Therefore it remains with the people no matter
where they travel or wherever they live.
Faaaloalo is a principle that governs every Samoan’s behavior in the
culture. My consultant compared it to a code of conduct that dictates
what you are supposed to do in terms of relationships with other
people. He also said that it is showing respect to others, but respect
alone does not define it’s profoundness. Faaaloalo is best described
through examples of it’s practice.
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