No, Samoans are overwhelmingly Christian. Muslims represent a very small minority of the population in Samoa, accounting for less than 1%.
The preamble to the constitution describes the country as “an Independent State based on Christian principles and Samoan custom and traditions.” The constitution states, “Samoa is a Christian nation founded on God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Pacific Islanders refer to those whose origins are the original peoples of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Polynesia includes Hawaii (Native Hawaiian), Samoa (Samoan), American Samoa (Samoan), Tokelau (Tokelauan), Tahiti (Tahitian), and Tonga (Tongan).
Over 98% of Samoans identify as Christian according to the 2021 statistics. Due to Samoa's chiefly system, the reverence and practice of Christian rituals is likely to be maintained as long as fa'a-Samoa is intact (Samoa Bureau of Statistics, 2021).
In families of all male children (or where the only daughter was too young to assist with the 'women's' work), parents would often choose one or more of their sons to help the mother. Because these boys would perform tasks that were strictly the work of women they were raised as if they were female.
Samoa has 4 cultural genders – female, male, fa'afafine, fa'afatama, however only two, female and male are promoted and included in all legislation. Fa'afafine and Fa'afatama are indigenous LGBTI citizens of Samoa. Fa'afafine are male at birth and explicitly embody feminine gender traits.
Samoa criminalises same-sex sexual activity between men. Sentences include a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment. There is no evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, however LGBT people are subjected to discrimination and violence.
The islands are dominated by the Christian faith, with 98.3% of the population being Christian adherents. However, it is estimated that 0.03% of the American Samoan population are Muslim adherents, the population almost doubling between the years 1990 to 2020 from 12 to 23 adherents.
It's a Polynesian belief it supposed to call the evil spirits. Some old timers still follow that belief but mostly forgotten. I dormed with a girl who one night decides to walk up & down the hallway whistling. After awhile of getting irritated, I got up to tell her stop.
Local flights are available within airports. Credit Cards: Major credit cards are widely used in American Samoa especially in major hotels, restaurants and stores. Drinking: The legal drinking age is 21. Local brew can be found almost everywhere with two major breweries in the country.
Samoans or Samoan people (Samoan: tagata Sāmoa) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language.
Samoa life expectancy for 2022 was 71.55, a 0.64% increase from 2021.
The shared heritage is Austronesian. Thousands of years ago, migrations from what is now Taiwan spread across the Pacific, connecting the indigenous peoples of the Philippines with communities in Guam, Samoa, and Hawaii. This is evident today in shared genetics, linguistic roots, and cultural practices.
The country is in the lower-middle-income category and has made impressive progress in social development. Although extreme poverty does not exist in Samoa, many rural communities suffer from poverty of opportunity and unequal distribution of benefits as compared to urban areas.
#WATCH | In Samoa, mirrors are covered at night. Some say it is to avoid locking eyes with Telesā, a spirit goddess who peers into your soul. When a driven young artist disrespects a sacred heirloom for her big break, the ancient goddess has lessons to teach about protecting the Va.. 🇼🇸
Christian missionaries arrived from the 1790s; they persuaded King George Tupou I to convert (1831) to Christianity. He ordered and strictly enforced that all Tongans become Christian and no longer practise the ancient polytheistic religion with its supreme god Tangaloa.
On the island of Samoa, there are four recognized cultural genders: female, male, fa'afafine, and fa'afatama. Fa'afafine and fa'afatama are fluid gender roles that move between male and female worlds.
Samoans are Polynesian and there are few other distinct ethnic groups comprising the country's population. Some Samoans have part Chinese or European (especially German) ancestry, which tend to correlate with higher socio-economic stature.
Composite necklace: seed cases painted red and threaded on length of plastic. This appears to be a Samoan necklace known as an 'ula fala. They are usually worn by tulafale (orators) at important events, and are made of sections of the pandanus fruit, which have been painted red. They indicate the status of the wearer.
While their skin tone is often a rich, beautiful brown, Samoan people are not ethnically “Black.” They are a distinct and proud Polynesian people whose heritage traces back to the ancient navigators and settlers of the Pacific.
Sexual contact between men is illegal, punishable by up to seven years' imprisonment, but the law is not enforced. Samoan society tends to be very tolerant of being transgender, but not of homosexuality. It has a large transgender or "third gender" community called fa'afafine.
Islam is minority religion in Hawaii, according to official censes 0.5% muslims are living in the Island.
Abortion is criminalised in Samoa with a penalty of seven years imprisonment. Fault-based divorce is practised in Samoa, and division of matrimonial property in cases of divorce does not take non-financial contribution into consideration.
Fijian laws prohibit the discrimination or harassment of gay, lesbian, bisexual or queer visitors, however, gay marriage is not legal, and community support is not universal – particularly in rural areas. Traditional Fijian culture has a third gender known as the vaka sa lewa lewa.
Avoid going out alone at night, especially in downtown Apia and harbour-front areas. Earthquakes and aftershocks happen often. Ask your host or hotel about what to do if there's an earthquake. Samoa can experience tsunamis.