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Samoan Fire Dancers PCC media release
Music and Dance of the Samoa
The Isles of Samoa lies in the Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii. According to Thomas Bargatzky, an anthropologist, “the name of Samoa is compounded of Sā , meaning "tribe, people of," and Moa, which means "chicken," referring to the "family" of the Tui Manu'a, the highest-ranking titleholder of eastern (American) Samo,” These people are horticulturalists, eating things such as tropical fruits and vegetables, and lots of seafood. Before Christian ministries came, the Samoans believed in ancestor spirits, and worshiped gods from Tongan mythology, common within other Polynesian islands.
The Samoans use music and dance for many things, such as entertainment and religion. They have traditional celebrations such as the Fiafia, a social get together where people eat food, give gifts, and perform music and dance. At these events, the Samoans will perform such dances as dances such as the Sasa, the Siva, and the Taualuga. These Fiafia performances would even sometimes use fire in the dances. These songs and dances give an aesthetic and artistic meaning behind them. Although these dances have huge religious meanings behind it, Christian ministries came and censored all religious meaning from the dances and made it become all about tradition.
Bibliography:
Bargatzky, Thomas. 2009. “Culture Summary: Samoans.” New Haven, Conn.: Human Relations Area Files. https://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ou08-000.
Means, Richard. “Samoa.” Our World: Samoa. Great Neck Publishing, August 31, 2020. doi:10.3331/our_world_481_250409.
This is an awesome topic. I enjoyed watching the video. I remember growing up and watching all my Samoan family members practicing songs for funerals and weddings and special events. In the culture music brings everyone together. There was no need for instruments just our voice. Again, awesome topic.
ReplyDeleteHey Ben!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such interesting details of the Samoan lifestyle. I like that you added a quote from an actual anthropologist because it not only gave your post credibility but was clear and on point with the summary of their culture. The quote allows us to peak back into the history of their name. My project is over food and diet of different cultures so it was interesting to compare the Samoan horticulturalist culture to some of the ones I have researched. I am curious what all of the differences are when it comes to song and dance in celebrations compared to the religious ones?
I love watching these type of videos and love learning about the culture that evolved around it.This is a nice videos.
ReplyDeleteHi Ben, I really enjoyed reading your post and reading about something that I've only seen in movies and tv. The fire dances seem, based on the video, to be an incredible thing to see in person. Im curious if other Polynesian cultures that practice fire dancing have different meanings or movements.
ReplyDeleteHey Ben, I enjoyed reading about how music and dance are hugely apart of the samoan culture.
ReplyDeleteI am also doing art for my project, and I actually saw fire dancing when I went to Jamaica! Always gorgeous to see. While not the same culture, I find it interesting how multiple island culture have fire dancing.
ReplyDeleteReally cool topic and presentation. It's interesting that their dancing has so many uses, that it's versatile. It would be nice to include what different dances or moves are used for or represent. Seeing a culture like this now vs. as a kid, I can appreciate more knowing there's more to it than being entertaining though it is also that.
ReplyDeleteHey Ben I really enjoy in your post how you included a video and the amount of information about dance, it is a very informative post. This post tells a lot about the history of the Samoa and how they live as well like being horticulturists. It is very interesting how each set of cultures have their own way of entertainment or dance like multiple island cultures having fire dances.
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