American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean. The main (largest and most populous) island is Tutuila, with the Manuʻa Islands, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island also included in the territory.
Geography
American Samoa is located within the geographical region of Oceania. With a total land area of 76.8 square miles (199 km²), it is slightly larger than Washington, D.C. Consisting of five rugged, volcanic islands and two coral atolls, it is frequently hit by typhoons between December and March, due to its positioning in the South Pacific Ocean.
Economy
Employment on the island falls into three relatively equally-sized categories of approximately 5,000 workers each: the public sector, the two tuna canneries, and the rest of the private sector.
Demographics
Approximately 89% of the population are native Samoans, with just 2% of the population White. Most of the population is bilingual, having the ability to speak both English and Samoan. American Samoa is heavily Christian, with 50% of the population belonging to Congregationalist churches and another 20% being Roman Catholic.
American Samoa is small enough to have just one ZIP code, 96799. The island contains 23 primary schools and six secondary schools, all of which are operated by the American Samoa Department of Education. American Samoa Community College, founded in 1970, provides post-secondary education on the islands.
Culture
The traditional Culture of Samoa is a communal way of life. In the Samoan culture all activities are done together. There are 3 main parts in the Samoan culture, that is Faith, Family and Music. The traditional living quarters, or fales (houses), contain no walls and up to 20 people may sleep on the ground in the same fale. During the day, the fale is used for chatting and relaxing. One's family is viewed as an integral part of a person's life. The aiga or extended family lives and works together. Elders in the family are greatly respected and hold the highest status, and this may be seen at a traditional Sunday umu (underground oven). Most people speak Samoan, although the inhabitants of Swains Island speak Tokelauan.
Fa'a Samoa
Fa'a Samoa, means the Samoan Way. This is an all encompassing concept that dictates how Samoans are meant to behave. It refers to the obligations that a Samoan owes their family, community and church and the individuals sense of Samoan identity. The concept of respect is also very important. You must always respect you betters, this includes those older than you, matais, ministers, politicians doctors and teachers.
Aiga
In Samoa the aiga (extended family) is all important. Every village is composed of several aiga. The larger the aiga the more important it is and more power it can wield in village affairs. This leads to, what is a usually, healthy competition between aiga.
Religion
Religion is one of the most important aspects of Samoan culture, to the extent that it is incorporated in Samoa's motto: "Samoa is founded on God".
Matai System
The word matai means chief, and is an honour that is bestowed upon someone. The role of the matais is very complex and interwoven deep into the fabric of Samoan culture and history. Matais have family, civic, political and prior to the arrival of the European, religious duties to perform.
Dress
The traditional ladies clothing is the puletasi which is a matching skirt and tunic with Samoan designs. The lava lava is a sarong which may be worn by men or women. They are of different patterns and colors, but tend to be plain for men who may wear it as part of an official uniform. Some men have intricate and geometrical patterns tattooed onto their lower body and upper legs. The tattooing process is performed without any anaesthesia and is said to be painful.
Marriage, Family. Kinship
Marriage. Young people choose their marriage partners, but marriage is primarily an economic alliance between families. In earlier times, high chiefs' sons married high chiefs' daughters, and lower status couples often eloped. One cannot date or marry a blood relative. Nearly everyone marries, usually in the middle to late twenties, and weddings involve elaborate gift exchanges between the two families. Divorce is rare, but remarriage is fairly common among younger people.
Domestic Unit. The household averages seven people and consists of one or more nuclear families and some collateral relatives. It tends to involve three generations and is flexible in composition. The occupants are related through blood, marriage, and adoption. After marriage, couples settle either in the household of the bride or the groom, each of which is headed by a matai. All social and economic activities are under the control of the matai, who is usually a male.
Kin Groups. The largest kin group is the 'aiga, which includes all individuals tracing kinship to a common ancestor. This extended family may have households in different parts of a village or in several villages. The matai of these households exercise various levels of authority within the 'aiga. Matai are members of the village council (fono) which is a regulatory and decision-making body for the community. A matai settles family squabbles and makes decisions about the family's financial contributions to weddings, funerals, and church donations. The entire 'aiga interacts primarily at weddings, funerals, elections and installations of matai, and family emergencies.
Resources and Websites
www.samoa.co.uk/whatsnew.html :: News and cultural information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Samoa :: General information about American Samoa
www. everyculture.com/A-Bo/American-Samoa.html :: General information about American Samoa
www.samoaworld.com :: Forum that brings Samoans together from around the world. It has language help and some good cultural information.
http://chasingmylife.blogspot.com :: Another Palagui's Blog
http://www.saolelei.com :: Learn Samoan
http://www.samoa.as/faasamoa.htm :: Some handy Samoan words and phrases
References
www.wikipedia.com
www.samoa.co.uk
www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/American-Samoa.html
