Anthropologically and historically, Samoans are people of Polynesia who migrated, according to some historians, from Malaya or India, and, according to others, from India or Asia; even some believe that they came from Raiatea or Hawaiki. Culturally, they are polite, respectful, generous, and outstandingly hospitable. Morally, they are jealous, envious, revengeful and prone to falsehood. Samoans are defined in the Webster s Dictionary as One of the natives of Samoa, among the finest and purest in type of the Polynesians, known for their cleanliness, dignity, and intelligence.
The two articles I chose to use were on the topics of their mythologies about birth and death, and their body art, or tattooing. The Samoans of today are much different in many ways from the old ways and traditions. This was caused by the arrival of such groups as the Ambassadors of Christ invaded the island in attempts to civilize them and convert them to Christianity. I will be referring to the period prior to these invasions occurring, for I believe that was the true culture and nature of the Samoans. There are many customs and superstitions common to the Samoan people in connection with the birth of a child as well as in the case of a loss of life. Tattooing to the Samoans was not only a method of expression but also a rite of passage from child to becoming a man.
The customs and superstitions connected to the birth of a child also varied. These started with the first month of pregnancy and continued during the whole period until delivery of the child. I found all of these customs and superstitions to be very interesting. The birth of a deformed child and the death of the mother during labor were both contributed to the non-observance of these customs and superstitions of these prenatal taboos. The worries of a young wife began when she came to live with the family of her husband. The women of the family knew just how long it took a newly married woman to become pregnant. When a certain length of time passed and the wife showed no signs of pregnancy, the women of the family would approach the husband for an explanation. If the husband knew that his wife was not pregnant, he would try his best to not directly answer their questions. He would usually make up excuses for the wife, but rarely fooled the elderly and experienced women. For fear of an early leave of absence without pay, the young wife had no alternative but to resort to the old trick of simulating pregnancy if she knew she wasn t. This included faking morning sickness, nausea, and allergies to certain foods. Many young would were forced to the extreme of wearing a pillow stuffed with cotton of fern for months to increase the size of her stomach.
Many superstitions were also followed once a woman had become pregnant. A pregnant woman was never allowed to go anywhere alone for fear that evil spirits, called aitu, would affect the child by touching the mother or might kill the mother and take the unborn child. Women were not allowed to wear garlands of flowers around their neck for if she did, the child would be born with the umbilical cord around its neck and strangle it to death. The husband was warned not to make the pregnant wife angry or upset, for the child would become a villain if she did. A prolonged period of labor for the wife was blamed on the husband. When the labor would last for days, the husband was forced to face his wife and confess of an extramarital affair during the pregnancy. Once the confession was heard, the birth of the child unexplainably followed.
While the birth of a child was seen as a blessing, the death of a Samoan was seen as a punishment. There were four main beliefs on the cause of death. The first was a direct punishment from the gods. Another was due to the commission of acts contrary to the established custom of family and village life. The third belief was the fulfillment of a curse by a parent, sister, or a witch doctor. The final belief was that death could be caused by revenge by an already deceased individual.
Whenever death visited a house, it became a scene of indescribable lamentation and wailing, and acting. Loud and long cries could be heard plainly 300 yards away from the house accompanied by the most frantic expressions of grief. These included such things as contortions of the face, tearing out of the hair, shrugging the shoulders and extending the arms, pounding the face and eyes, rending garments, beating the head with stones until the blood ran, and burning the body with small, piercing firebrands.
One of the most popular forms of art expression was tattooing. Now a lost artform for the Samoans, it was once a thriving industry and held a significant meaning in the Samoan culture. Until a young man was tattooed, he was considered in his minority, would not think of marriage, and was constantly exposed to taunts and ridicule as being poor and of low birth, a coward, and as having no right to speak in the society of men. But as soon as he was tattooed, he passed into his majority and considered himself entitled to the respect and privileges of mature years.
In order to be fully accepted as a tane, or a he-male, he must be tattooed. A young man was initiated into the aumaga, or the Young Men s Guild, once he passed boyhood. The Samoans set this age to be sixteen. This was the age where a young man would be tattooed and receive all the benefits as a Samoan man. A lavish ceremony always followed a young male s initiation into manhood.
The mythologies of birth and death and the art of tattooing are just two of the fascinating cultural aspects involved with the Samoans.