SAMOA & FA`ASAMOA

Fa’asamoa encompasses three values: Faith, Family, and Respect. You cannot have one and not the other. It’s the very foundation of our entire culture and the concept of Fa’asamoa is instilled within us from birth. –Thomas Masaniai

I begin now with the faith concept of Fa’asamoa and how it’s greatly valued in the Samoan Culture. Religion and the idea of God is the foundation of all three concepts. It’s the foundation of my culture because Samoans in general believe, without God, you have nothing to live for, and without God you cannot survive this world. You cannot have family and respect for anything because God teaches and creates your family, and respect.
The concept or idea of God was instilled in my life upon my very first day upon this earth (if I’m able to exaggerate a little). My father’s a well respected Samoan pastor of the Christian-Protestant faith and since birth he’s lectured, and explained the importance about God. How it’s important to always have him in our lives and what he’s done for us. My father’s reputation is quite famous in Samoan communities here in the United States, as well as in American Samoa, and Western Samoa. He’s always tried to live and discipline himself with morality and honesty, through his family, and his lectures at church. In Samoan cultures around the world, faith consists of the Christian faith only. I’ve never witnessed seeing any Samoan person become anything else but the many branches of Christianity.
My life for the first eighteen years was nothing but family, faith, and football. I proudly state that I’m of the Christian-Protestant faith and I try to mirror my father every day of my life. In my childhood, my father raised his kids with nothing but the idea of Church. My father had us reading the bible at such a young age quizzing us on the commandments and passages we had to read. My mother also joined the bandwagon and put us in choir, youth groups, and volunteering in countless things. I fancied this part of my life because it’s made me to the man I am today. My parents have raised me with such awe and unimaginable amounts of love; I cannot help but appreciate the faith and God for them.
I incorporate the faith in my life today because of my strong belief and faith I have in God. He has blessed me with everything I could ever want and he has provided innumerous blessings. I still attend church every week with my family and continue to pray for blessings and the change to play NFL football. Before every university game I play, I pray and ask for the strength to play hard and to make my family proud. I also ask for every player on the field to be safe, and pray for a good game. I also incorporate God everyday because before every meal, I ask God to bless the food, and the hands that have prepared it.
I continue on now with the Fa’asamoa concept of family. Indescribable is the word I use to describe family because I’ve witnessed the colossal happiness and greatness of having family. A common Samoan saying my family states is, “Fa’amuamua Le Aiga.” This quote translated in English means, “Family First.” In Samoan culture family besides God are the only things you can live for in this life. Family is so important in Samoan culture because Samoan’s strongly believe that the idea of family is where you attain all knowledge and everything you’ll need on this earth. I often hear stories from my father when he returns from either Western, or American Samoa, about the poverty of Samoa. Thoughts of sadness appear from my unconscious mind and move forth to my conscious mind when I hear my father speak about the poverty. However these thoughts of sadness quickly dissipate when my father speaks about Samoan poverty with happiness and gratification. I ask why he does this and he responds, “Son, these people have barely anything, but what they do have is each other, and their strong traditions.” This astounds me because I’m like many other Americans who are in need of many things. These Samoans strongly raise my awareness about family, and how important they’re to me. Upon hearing Samoans living in poorly conditioned houses, broken down cars yet having positive and optimistic attitudes really does surprise me. It makes me realize as a Samoan, I must alter my ways of wanting, and convert my attention to the needy.
In addition, family’s importance in Samoan culture is very interesting. When a death occurs within a Samoan family families provide the deceased’s’ family money. They do this to show respect and one way of remorse for this person. But, in every family there are poor people, who cannot provide the same terms. So, in Samoan culture outside families provide their children for a short period of time to help around the house, and to help the family with what they’re able to do.
Furthering upon the Fa’asamoa concept of family, traditions and culture are also things that are passed through family. Children are taught from very young the traditions and language. The stress placed upon children nowadays is very hard for Samoan children because children must now value education so that they may acquire great occupations and support their families. However these children who attend school attain a great deal of knowledge and it’s hard for them to cooperate and still abide with the traditional conservative Samoan society/way. It’s very important that these children continue to balance between their education and Fa’asamoa. Thus leading into our last idea of Fa’asamoan respect.
Respect in Samoan culture is probably the biggest concept you’ll have to deal with upon a confrontation with another Samoan. Samoans in general are very physical and many Samoans often enter fights because of respect. Samoa’s biggest tradition is respect thus making it hard for anyone outside of Samoan culture, to understand.
Respect starts with respecting the higher powers, and elders. Beginning the social ladders are the Paramount chiefs. The paramount chiefs are highly respected chiefs who govern the governors and caretakers of the land. They tell and order the “matais” on what to do and they’ve the power to fire or remove matai’s beneath them. Matai’s are men or women given the power to govern many villages, or given the title because they represent their families. These are men and women you respect because they’re often corrupt. Next in line would be the elders. The elders are men and women who are not only older than you, but also men and women who hold great standings within the Samoan social ladder. Even Matai’s respect the Elders because their knowledge is often much greater than their own. Lastly at the lowest levels you’ve the children, and the children are often mistreated, disrespected, and often uncared for.
A story I’d like to share to portray the idea of respect is when my father took my sisters and I to Western Samoa to attend a Matai meeting My grandfather (who passed) was the leading paramount chief and he held a meeting within his village calling the other 5 paramount chiefs and all of the Matais for an annual meeting. In total there were about 80-90 people in the room and I had to sit behind the rows of matai’s to witness something I had never seen before. Out of nowhere my grandfather called my sisters and I to come before him and sit down. When my sisters and I stood to go before him we heard countless voices whispering and saw many hands pointing with such rudeness. As we sat my grandfather yelled for the servers to come forth and lay food before the children and him. I saw countless chiefs staring us down and giving us unimaginable looks you’d ever witness in a lifetime. My grandfather yelled a command and the room quickly fell silent. However just as he began to eat his food, two paramount chiefs stood up next to him and inquired why he disrespected the room full of Matais and the rest of the Paramount chiefs. By this time, my sisters and I were scared with all the yelling and stopped eating. We saw in full motion my grandfather standing up, slapping the two highly respected chiefs, and asking them to remove themselves from the room. I gasped and wondered what on earth was going on, and after we ate my grandfather asked us for a kiss and we exited the room to go to sleep. My father later explained that my grandfather disrespected the other chiefs and Matais by having us eat. My father continued explaining that the leading paramount chief eats first and only when he’s finished may the other paramount’s and Matais partake in their food. Lastly, he explained, even though my grandfather disrespected the entire room by having us eat before everyone else, no one was allowed to question him, and his authority.
The story above was to show that Fa`asamoan respect allows someone above you to discipline you for right reasons such as disrespect. My parents are in their older ages of life and to this day, they still slap or hit me if I show signs of disrespect. Fa’asamoan respect teaches you to not only respect the Samoan social ladder and each other, but to respect all people’s who you meet in life.
Fa’asamoa is the basis of my choices and decisions I make. Every aspect of my life is filled with the “Samoan way” and I’m proud to know and acquire friendships because of my beliefs and teachings from Fa’asamoa. Fa’asamoa has shaped and is the concept I try to live by in all aspects of my life. Fa’asamoa shapes my life for the better and contributes a great deal to the betterment of my life.