Each tatau is unique, containing geometrical patterns and embedded symbols as well as carrying special meanings for the wearer of the tatau. For Matai, there are two kinds of gender-specific tatau for male and female. For women, the tatau is called malu and it covers the legs from the upper thighs to the knees.
There tends to be a distinction between the urban and village areas in Samoa. Most Samoans have lived in coastal villages and continue to do so, with about four-fifths of the population located in rural areas. In the village area, local law prevails, which can vary from village to village.
Most of those who live in the cities like Apia often move to earn more money for their families and communities. For many, living in the city is temporary as they often intend to return to their village later.
While village and city life differ in terms of work and lifestyle, there are general similarities across both settings. For example, many Samoan families wake up early and begin the day with a prayer, followed by preparation for their work or school day. Daily Interactions and Respect. Samoans are typically friendly and warm people who offer smiles to those they meet. For example, being hospitable to friends, family and new acquaintances is very common and valued.
Cooperation and consensus are also common principles that influence interactions with others. Many will socialise with their family and friends on a regular basis, particularly on Sundays after attending church services. For example, youth are expected to defer to elders and those of higher status.
Join over organisations already creating a better workplace. You can download this cultural profile in an easy-to-read PDF format that can be printed out and accessed at any time. The figure of the total population of each country is drawn from the global estimates listed in the CIA World Factbook , unless otherwise stated. All other statistical information on the demographics of the migrant population in Australia is based on the Australian Housing and Population Census.
Samoan Culture. Core Concepts. Geography and Lifestyle There tends to be a distinction between the urban and village areas in Samoa. Daily Interactions and Respect Samoans are typically friendly and warm people who offer smiles to those they meet. This spot is perfect for swimming and diving, and an idyllic place to have a picnic and escape from the heat of the afternoon. The best way to find it is to go with a local. Ask in villages, the tourist office, or at your accommodation for detailed local information.
Around the islands, fishing leases are owned by the individual villages, so you will need to ask in the villages and hand over a few Tala if you want to try your luck locally. In Samoa, you can try anything from a day trip to the beach, to a weeklong epic that will have you staying in villages, eating local food and tramping through the jungles. One of the mainstays of village entertainment is Kirikiti.
The rules are unbeknownst to anybody except a few of the players the number of which can vary , and the scoring is completely arbitrary, depending on whose plantation the ball lands in. Out of Apia, the most interesting and cheapest option is to stay in one of the beachside fales dotted around the coast. Just turn up at any of the many beach fales in the Lalomanu area and inquire locally.
If you are traveling through the villages, you may well be invited to stay with people in their homes. This is a marvelous opportunity to understand Samoan life, and you may well make some lifelong friends. When you are leaving, it is polite to repay your hosts in some way, either with cash, luxury goods such as tins of corned beef which people would not normally buy themselves , or something you have brought from home. Gifts should reflect the value of the generosity you have received.
There are very few designated areas and when you are in sight of a village, you may embarrass the locals as they will feel obliged to invite you to stay with them. In Apia, eating options are many and varied. You can enjoy anything from pancakes to palusami for just a few Tala. Outside Apia, especially if you are staying in a fale , you will find more traditional fare.
As imported food is expensive, local crops, coconuts, fruit, pork, chicken, and seafood will form the bulk of your diet. There are a few traditional dishes that occur in various forms throughout the Pacific, some of which are more palatable than others. For example, the grey-green worm-like palolo on toast, or Coca-Cola bottles filled with sea-cucumber insides both delicacies could send you packing. Often drunk before gatherings and village meetings, it looks and tastes like old dishwater!
Exported from New Zealand, they are basically the bits from the cutting-room floor. A hot fire is made in a pit and covered with stones. The food is placed on the stones and the whole thing is covered and left while everybody goes off to church. Sunday meals are nearly always cooked in this way, and some of the dishes are wonderful: fresh-caught octopus baked in taro leaves and coconut cream, suckling pig, or palusami taro leaves, sweet potato, and onion and breadfruit.
One unavoidable dish is taro. This local root vegetable looks and tastes a lot like greying lumps of wallpaper paste.
If you miss out on a Sunday feast with a family, you can still try the traditional fare. An inexpensive buys are baskets and other items of woven pandanus, or carved painful-looking weapons. There are also a number of more expensive craft shops selling all of the above, as well as local works of art and larger carved artifacts.
Visas are not required for visits to Independent Samoa for trips under 30 days, but you must have a valid passport and an onward ticket. Samoa is not the cleanest place on the planet, and quite a few travelers pick up mild stomach problems here.
The best way to avoid this is to only drink bottled water or soft drinks, available in most places. No immunizations are actually required for a visit to Samoa, but you may want to think about having a few basic ones such as Typhoid and Hepatitis A. As with all destinations, check this out with your doctor or travel clinic at least a month before you go. There is no malaria, but occasional outbreaks of dengue fever and filariasis occur, so protect yourself from insect bites.
Wear long clothes at and after dusk, and use a good repellent containing DEET. There are medical facilities here, but they are fairly Spartan. If you do come down with anything serious, get yourself to New Zealand, Hawaii or Australia.
However, it is expensive and awfully slow. A few of the hostels are catching on, and should be providing services in the near future. Many people still live in villages in fales, traditional open-sided huts on stilts. Each village consists of groups of aiga, extended families.
The chief of each family is the matai, and the individual matais make up the village council. These matais are responsible for enforcing the strict village rules within their aiga, and handing out punishments, which can range from small fines of money or animals to banishment for the most serious crimes.
Property within the aiga is communal, which can lead to light-fingeredness, so watch out for small, covetable items! Different groups share different responsibilities: the young men are responsible for growing food.
Single women are traditionally responsible for producing luxuries, such as fine mats, oils and siapo tapa cloth made from beaten bark and painted with vegetable and bark dyes. Married women are dedicated to looking after their husbands and extended family.
There is a closely observed hierarchy of respect in each family. Matai, priests, doctors, and teachers are all at the top, and in turn respect the other members of the council. Children respect their parents and everybody respects the elderly.
The ie faitaga and island shirts can be purchased at the market or most shops in town or made to measure at clothing shops in town. Skin infections can develop quickly so have a good supply of plasters, antibiotic cream and antibiotics.
There are public hospitals in both Upolu and Savaii complete with a qualified dentist. Although you should have adequate health care in-country you will need to be responsible for managing your own health while on assignment. We provide all selected volunteers with a thorough security briefing and specific local issues are covered prior to your departure.
In general, there are no problems moving around. Land ownership is complex in Samoa and strangers cannot wander freely through private or empty land without first seeking permission. Take care when walking alone and avoid this at night. You can open a local bank account once you arrive in Samoa where monthly living allowances are paid into. Local currency is the tala. Visit oanda. Samoa has two cellular providers, Blue Sky and Digicel.
Coverage is generally good within urban areas but fades quickly as you move to rural locations. Internet connections are widely available at reasonable speeds. Quick Facts Samoa was governed by New Zealand until its people voted for independence in Savai'I Island is an active volcano; it last erupted in Samoa is a deeply conservative and devoutly Christian society.
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