Appreciating Samoan culture

By Angelica S. Eke, California  

There is a realization today that many of our Samoan people scattered across the globe are not fully aware of the ins and outs of Samoan culture. We can blame it on miseducation or even the lack of information; however, one thing holds true and that is that we come from a very rich cultural background.

Many of us do not come to appreciate our culture until we are adults, and this is even more true when one is raised away from our beautiful home, Samoa. This is the story of many who live in other parts of the world and as they reach adulthood, find the missing piece of themselves within our culture; a culture that unites the past, present, and future.

I never appreciated my culture until I became an adult. I remember feeling that being Samoan was a headache because of the many traditions and expectations that we were held accountable for seemed to be more than I could handle. There were times that as an adolescent, I would become embarrassed with wearing cultural wear out in public and even a time that I remember snatching my se’i from my ear because a non-Samoan boy told me that I looked like I was trying to imitate a flower bush.

Now as an adult, I realize how silly it was of me to take a comment like that from someone who wasn’t Samoan and I also realized that the embarrassment of my culture stemmed from the lack of knowledge of it. When we don’t know how something works, we feel as if that something is not FOR us and for a long time, I believed that I just wasn’t Samoan enough because I didn’t understand my culture. I am thankful that as I got older and started to really understand who we are as a people that there has always been so much more to us than meets the eye. There is this subtle beauty in each part of our culture that you start to see and just like a rose, that beauty, once noticed, cannot be denied.

So, if you are Samoan and you struggle with understanding the customs, language, dance, or even how to do the feau’s just remember that this does not make you any less Samoan. If you have Samoan blood running through your veins, you ARE Samoan. HOWEVER, if you are Samoan and you want to learn more about who you are, where you come from, how the culture works, etc., I encourage you to do the work. Go to family events and help with the sua. Help cook, serve, and immerse yourself into all of the fa’alavelave’s because it is there that you will find the beauty in all of it.

Yes, the dancing is beautiful and wonderful to know how to do it. Yes, dressing up is a very beautiful part of that too and yes, the many leis given at graduation time is also wonderful, BUT! The TRUE beauty of our culture lies in one thing: respect. When learning our culture, one has to be aware that the foundation to our culture lies in our fa’aaloalo. So when you are doing the chores and serving the people, the things that feel unnecessary are only done because we want to show the deepest and utmost respect as well as appreciation and it can definitely be felt once it is understood that respect is the foundation of our culture. We are an extension of our ancestors, our culture, and our way of life. If we don’t strive to carry our culture, we lose who we are.

May we continue to educate the generations presently and those who come after us. May we be teachers of love, prosperity, and unity so that our culture can continue to thrive through the decades. And may we ALWAYS hold tight to our fa’aaloalo for our beautiful culture that is Samoa.