Samoan Islands

Samoa, a small island nation found in the southern end of Pacific Ocean. Although, what they lack in size is compensated by their rich, Polynesian culture. Music is a powerful force in Samoan culture, and shapes their identity with the use of resonant lyrics sung in their native tongue, song, and dance used to parallel their everyday lives and beliefs. Storytelling is as big of an element to Samoan music and dance as any rhythm produced by their instrumentation, and if it is not directly addressed

to our Economic growth, however, did not have the consideration of the actual word outside. Economy, sure! If I had to define the word back in my young days, I’d probably say it does not apply to us, rather it was a white man’s word. See! The Old Samoan life was more reliant on our back yard and the skills that were possessed and passed on down by generations and generations before us. We, at the moment had to literally work in obtaining

Samoa is a small island nation found in the southern Pacific Ocean, although, what they lack in size is compensated by their rich, Polynesian-based culture. Music is a powerful force in Samoan culture, and shapes their identity with the use of resonant lyrics sung in their native tongue, song, and dance used to parallel their everyday lives and beliefs. Storytelling is as big of an element to Samoan music and dance as any rhythm produced by their instrumentation, and if it is not directly addressed

The old Samoan life was more reliant on our back yard and the skills that were possessed and passed on from generations and generations before us. We would literally work

Margaret Mead’s ethnography of the Samoan people details many facets of culture and traditions that shape their society and contribute to their easy-going way of life. Their system of enculturation includes babies and young children being cared for by children only a few years their senior, who will transition to small gangs of boys or girls free to play. Later, as growth sets in and puberty nears, the changing, dynamic role of becoming a productive member of their society happens unceremoniously

Mead’s book “Coming of Age in Samoa” is an anthropological study of a “primitive” group of people under completely different cultural conditions than people of western society, namely America. She chose to study a group of adolescents in the South Sea Island of Samoa, a place where one might study a people: “Whose society has never attained the complexity of our own.” Mead attempts to determine whether or not the experience of turbulence and difficulty during the time of puberty and adolescence was

It’s been said, “Behind every cloud, there is a rainbow.” To most, living on a tropical island sounds like paradise or something out of a dream. People often fantasize about tropical islands filled with warm breezes, swaying coconut trees, sandy beaches, and exotic animals. Unfortunately I know that those dreams are not an accurate reflection of most tropical islands. I know because when I was six years old my parents decided that our family of five should become missionaries in the South Pacific

differences between the Yanomamo and Samoan peoples. Cultural differences and similarities need to be paid attention to. Also, the similarities need to be celebrated. The Samoans and Yanomamo have different and similar subsistence methods, division of labor, occupational specialization, exchange of goods, and the economic link to power. The differences and similarities between the Yanomamo and Samoan peoples are striking and deserve thorough examination. The first aspect of Samoan and Yanomamo life that is

American Samoa, Mead had no knowledge of the Samoan language, and began studying less than a week after her initial arrival in Tutuila (Orans 1996). Mead reports her fluency of the Samoan language after the first months, and her ability to speak with a variety of Samoans in their own language. However, Freeman would later question Mead’s claim of the language in Margaret Mead and Samoa, by stating that the period Mead gave to obtaining a fluent command of the Samoan language “was far too brief” and Mead

of resourcefulness, intellect, and competence that both reflect and sustain local Hawaii culture.” (Kanae, np) There is no other place in this world like Hawaii. There is a mixture of nationalities and languages that have made our islands the unique and special place it is. One of the most important components in a culture is language. Language is used to communicate daily among multiple ethnic groups. In Hawaii, many members of these ethnic groups have created their own “broken