Samoan culture is undoubtedly central to Polynesian life, and its styles of music, dance, and visual art have gained renown throughout the Pacific islands and the world. The country's international image is that of a tropical paradise inhabited by tourist-friendly flower-wreathed peoples.
A unique identity to the Samoan culture and traditions, is that everything is thought about in terms of the families rather than individuality, whether it's earning money, sharing food or even houses. Samoan people are very traditional and respect elders in the family. They have an ancient social structure.
The central element in Samoan culture is the aiga (family). Within the family, giving and receiving tautua (service), fa'aaloalo (respect) and alofa (love) are crucial in social relations.
Samoa's social acceptance of fa'afafine has evolved from the tradition of raising some boys as girls. These boys, were not necessarily homosexual, or noticeably effeminate, and they may never have felt like dressing as women.
Samoan people are known for their warm smiles and friendly personalities. They have a gift for welcoming and accepting just about anyone they meet. So it's no surprise that qualities such as hospitality, cooperation, respect, and consensus are highly valued in Samoan culture.
58.4% of adult (aged 18 years and over) women and 43.8% of adult men are living with obesity. Samoa's obesity prevalence is higher than the regional average of 31.7% for women and 30.4% for men and among the highest in the world.
The arrival of fast food restaurants and other contemporary food items on the islands are one of the issues responsible for the obesity in Samoa. The earliest photographs of Samoans provide visual proof of the native population's natural physique before the introduction of processed foods by Western society.
The tattoo and designs of the Samoa islands represents community, power, status, respect, honor, and is a mark of pride that are only to be worn by Samoans.
Men of the lower class of Samoa were required to undo their joga when in the presence of chiefs and during worship, suggesting that hair served as a visual representation of status.
Samoans are mainly of Polynesian heritage, and about nine-tenths of the population are ethnic Samoans. Euronesians (people of mixed European and Polynesian ancestry) account for most of the rest of the population, and a tiny fraction are of wholly European heritage.
There are no real taboos, however it is considered very impolite to walk in front of people you are with (tu lou – bowing in front of a person meaning 'excuse me'). In Samoa, parents, their children and married children all live together in one compound area in separate houses.
Fishing was an essential activity on the Samoan islands. It was common for young people to embark on long fishing expeditions.
Values and Norms
Polynesian society is very family and community oriented. Polynesian parents strive to pass on to their children values such as obedience and respect to parents and elders, conformity to religious and cultural beliefs and the proper behavior that is expected of them(3) [3].
The church is central to the Samoan way of life. Christianity arrived in the islands in 1830 by way of missionaries and the Christian faith integrated with Samoans' beliefs in gods for the sun, earth, heavens, and sea. Today, most Samoans identify as Christian and attend church services at least once a week.
Meals consist of green bananas and taro (boiled or roasted), sapasui (Samoan chop-suey), pisupo (canned corned beef), povi masima (corned beef), mutton flaps, turkey tails, palusami/lu'au (coconut cream and onion cooked in taro leaves), kale (curry), rice, bread, fruit, sandwiches, soups, fish, mamoe (lamb), beef or ...
The quick answer:
No. You don't have to be Samoan to get a Samoan tattoo. It's not difficult to find a tattooist who will take your money for a bit of Samoan looking skin art.
It appears to be “heavily influenced by globalization” and “the shift from subsistence agriculture to excess consumption of high calorie, processed foods and sedentary lifestyles.” “Infants in American Samoa show a remarkably rapid gain in weight but not in length in early infancy compared to U.S. infants,” she says.
Polynesians are also known for their unique combination of physical characteristics: tall stature, a large muscular body, a robust skeleton, and a strong tendency toward obesity (Katayama, 1996). Katayama (1996) proposed that these characteristics were the result of hypermorphosis.
And in recent decades, the Samoans have suffered some of the highest rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease in the world.
In American Samoa and Samoa, the leading causes of mortality and morbidity are heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and stroke [27,28]. In Samoa, the leading cause of death is cardiovascular disease (34%), followed by other NCDs (18%), cancer (15%), and diabetes (9%) [27].
The average height and weight of American Samoan men - 177cm (5′9) and 103.2 kilograms (227 lbs). The average weight and height of American Samoan women - 167cm (5′5) and 98.1 kilograms (215.8 lbs).