Samaon FlagHello my name is Zoe and I am here to tell you about Samoan Culture. Samoa is a place where people go for holidays, not only can you relax and unwind but you can get involved with the Festivals and Markets.
Samoan festivals are of many types. There are festivals in Samoa that are traditional and cultural and again, Samoan people celebrate many of the Christian festivals as well being a Christian country. In Samoa there are holidays on several Christian religious days for religious observation. Many festivals are related to these religious observations. But perhaps the most popular one among a number of Samoa festivals is the fire knife festival. This is a traditional festival that is becoming popular worldwide. A number of fire knife competitions are held through out the year. The main festival in Samoa is the Tuila Festival in early September. The highlights of the Tuila Festival includes: Canoe races, Tattoo demonstrations, Traditional dances, food and singing.
Food is a very important part of Samoan life. Wherever and whenever Samoans travel they take food with them. If you spend any time traveling in and around the Pacific you will undoubtedly come across the sight of Samoans at airports carrying special boxes with the words 'Umu' printed on the side. They are the equivalent of a take-away, but more of these later. If they are traveling farther afield to visit friends and relations in America or Europe then you can be pretty certain that somewhere in their luggage is a tin or two of Hellaby's corned beef.
Samoan Clothing, is a part of the whole cultural pattern of Samoa, distinctive dressing patterns can be noticed. Traditionally, Samoa clothing for the women are a kind of wrapping up dress and men also can use them. Like clothing, tattooing is also another part of Samoa ornamentation. This tattooing can be done by both men and women. Samoan clothing for men and women are known by several names. Some of the popular Samoan clothing is Puletasi, lava lava and some others. While Puletasi is exclusively a female dress in Samoa, lava lava can be worn by both men and women. Lava lava is a kind of sarong that the Samoan people wore by wrapping up the body. Puletasi is also a wrap up type of clothing in Samoa. This dress covers the full body and usually wore by the Samoan young girls. Puletasi is also a very traditional dress that is worn generally in the traditional Samoa occasions. Moreover, for going to church also, Samoan girls wear this special dress. Lava lava is another traditional Samoan dress. This dress is worn by both the Samoan men and women. Usually this is used in the lower body part and is accompanied by jacket in the upper body part. Lava lava can be used in both school and business purposes. There are several names of this dress. In Malay this types of dress is known as Sarong while in Tahiti it is known as Pareu. Tourist should not use short styles of dresses in Samoa because it is not part of the culture of their country.
Markets: Samoan handy-crafts offer an excellent variety of contemporary crafts such as: Jewelry and ladies hand bags as well as the traditional crafts including: Fans, Mats and wooden bowls. The main material used is the leaf of the Pandanus plant. This is prepared by bleaching in the sea and by the sun to make it soft and workable, then woven using fine patterns into all sorts of wonderful items.
So that was the Samoan Culture information that I found out so thank you for listening I hope you enjoyed it. By Zoe
