Samoa

Samoa Map


Samoa facts and history in brief

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List of photo pages in my Samoa 2005 series.

Samoa (aka Western Samoa)

Apia          Samoa          Samoa buses          Savaii

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American Samoa (aka Pago Pago)

American Samoa          American Samoa buses          Fagatogo          Pago Pago

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The Independent State of Samoa (conventional long form) or Samoa (conventional short form) is a country comprising a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
Previous names are German Samoa from 1900 to 1914 and Western Samoa from 1914 to 1997.

Facts at a glance
Official title: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa, (In Samoan), Independent State of Samoa (In English).
National motto: Faavae i le Atua Samoa (Samoa is founded on God)
Official languages: Samoan, English
Capital: Apia, (13°35' S 172°20' W)
Area: 2944 km² 0.3% water; Ranked 165th
Population: 177,714, (Jul 2004 Est.); Density 60/km² Ranked 174th
Independence: January 1, 1962; (From New Zealand)
Currency: Tala (WST)
Time zone: UTC -11
National anthem: The Banner of Freedom
Internet TLD: .ws
Calling Code: 685

History
Migrants from Southeast Asia arrived in the Samoan islands more than 2000 years ago and from there settled the rest of Polynesia further to the east.
Contact with Europeans began in the early 1700s but did not intensify until the arrival of English missionaries and traders in the 1830s.
At the turn of the 20th century, the Samoan islands were split into two sections.
The eastern islands became territories of the United States in 1904 and today are known as American Samoa.
The western islands became known as German Samoa, then Western Samoa after passing from German control to New Zealand in 1914.
In 1962 Western Samoa became the first Pacific Island country to regain its independence.

In July 1997, the Constitution was amended to change the country's name from Western Samoa to Samoa.
Samoa had been known simply as Samoa in the United Nations since joining the organization in 1976.

Geography
Samoa is located east of the international dateline and south of the equator, about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand in the Polynesian region of the South Pacific.
The Samoas are of volcanic origin and the total land area is 2934 sq km, consisting of the two large islands of Upolu and Savai'i which account for 96% of the total land area, and seven small islets: Manono, Apolima, Nuutele, Nuulua, Namua, Fanuatapu, Nuusafee and Nuulopa.
The main island of Upolu is home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa's population and its capital city is Apia.
The climate is tropical with the average annual temperature of 26.5°C, and a rainy season from November to April.

Tourism is an expanding sector; more than 70,000 tourists visited the islands in 1996.

Demographics
The Fa'a Samoa, or traditional Samoan way, remains a strong force in Samoan life and politics.
Despite centuries of European influence, Samoa maintains its historical customs, social systems, and language, which is believed to be the oldest form of Polynesian speech still in existence.
Only the Maori of New Zealand outnumber the Samoans among Polynesian groups (though virtually no full-blooded Maori still exist).

98% of Samoans are Christians, divided among many different churches, among them Methodist, Latter Day Saints, Roman Catholic, and Seventh Day Adventists.
Hardly any other religious group exists in Samoa, except for the Baha'is, which make up 2% of the population.
The King of Samoa, King Malietoa Tanumafili, is a Baha'i.

Culture of Samoa
Samoans are typically friendly and welcoming people.
They have a distinct culture in which they have great pride.

Family is viewed as an integral part of life.
The aiga or extended family lives and works together.
Elders in the family are greatly respected and hold the highest status, and this may be seen at a traditional Sunday umu (rock oven).

Sundays are traditionally a day of rest, and many families congregate to share an umu together for a Sunday afternoon meal.
Coconut appears in many Samoan dishes, for example palusami, a parcel of corned beef, breadfruit, onions, taro leaves wrapped in breadfruit leaves and coconut cream and baked in the umu.
This is eaten in its entirety including the leaves, and is rich in taste due to its coconut content.

Samoa is a deeply religious country despite ancient Samoan culture being contrary to the Church's beliefs, for example, belief in aitu (spirits).
Christianity is the main religion and there are many churches to be found around the islands, and are often full on Sundays.

Samoan handicrafts can be found at the craft market and some shops.
These include the siapo (equivalent to the Fijian tapa) which is made from beaten mulberry bark, and then patterns or pictures are painted on with a natural brown dye.
Examples of pictures depicted are: fish, turtles, hibiscus flowers.
The siapo may be used for clothing, for wrapping objects and even simply for decorative reasons. Kava bowls are sturdy, round wooden bowls made of varying sizes, and have many short legs around it.
Kava is made up with water in the bowl and drunk socially using coconut shells to scoop up the drink.
It is a ground natural extract from the pepper plant root and is used for medicinal and slightly anaesthetic properties.
Other handicrafts are fine mats, ornaments or jewellery and hair accessories using naturally occurring materials such as sea shells, coconut and coir.

The traditional Samoan dance is the Siva.
This is similar to the Hawaiian dance, with gentle movements of the hands and feet in time to music and which tells a story.
Other types of dance are modern dance by the younger generations, at bars or nightclubs.

Traditional Samoan medicine is often practised as a first-line before hospital medicine.
This is a type of alternative medicine using plant leaves to massage the affected area.

The traditional ladies clothing is the puletasi which is a matching skirt and tunic with Samoan designs.
The lava lava is a sarong which may be worn by men or women.
They are of different patterns and colours, but tend to be plain for men who may wear it as part of an official uniform.
Some men have intricate and geometrical patterns tattooed onto their lower body and upper legs.
The tattooing process is performed without any anaesthesia and is said to be painful.

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This page was retrieved and condensed from (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoa) October 2005.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights for details).
About Wikipedia Disclaimers

This information was correct in October 2005. E. & O.E.

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List of photo pages in my Samoa 2005 series.

Samoa (aka Western Samoa)

Apia          Samoa          Samoa buses          Savaii

v

American Samoa (aka Pago Pago)

American Samoa          American Samoa buses          Fagatogo          Pago Pago

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