Views #442 | Low-Intermediate 4

Samoan Life

Patricia talks about life on Samoa.

Script
Vocab
Quiz


Patricia	Joel

Joel: So, a lot of Americans, we know about Hawaii, and Samoa is fairly close to Hawaii, right? So is the culture similar? Do you know about Hawaii?

Patricia: I have family in Hawaii, actually and from seeing them and hearing about their way of life, I think it's a bit different. Perhaps the traidtional life, way of life in Hawaii, like 50 years ago probably is the same as our life now but I think we're more on a cultural basis as I said earlier.

Joel: OK, and is that because Hawaii has much more tourism, and so they've advanced more?

Patricia: I don't think it's based on the tourism. I think it's based on the multicultural ideal, idea in it, in Hawaii itself, I mean, it consists of so many cultures, so many ethnicities and Hawaii itself, like the original people are not really Hawaiians, I mean, there supposed to be from another area. If you, this has actually, this all goes back to history. It's a historical point that the migration, the original people of Hawaii. They were the last, I think they were perhaps the last settled, after them it was us and then New Zealand, so their people were also mixed so their tradition, there're different cultures that they inherited as they were navigating around the world created a certain culture that is very complex, very mutlicultural I think it's very different in Hawaii and Samoa.

Joel: So what are the popular sports and popular hobbies and pastimes in Samoa?

Patricia: Rugby

Joel: Rugby, really! What, even on the American side?

Patricia: Football

Joel: American football or soccer?

Patricia: Yeah, both.

Joel: yeah, a lot of big people so maybe they are good at American football and rugby. And what about triditional dance? I know Hawaii has like hula dance. Do you guys have something distinct like that?

Patricia: We have the taualunga. It's called taualunga.

Joel: taualunga.

Patricia: Taualunga. Hawaii is a bit different because they have, the hula is done by many people. For us, our traditional dance which is called the taualunga, is usually done by one individual. The girld is supposed to be the daughter of a cheif and she's known as a Taupo.

Joel: Taupo (Taupo) is the daughter of a chief. OK.

Patricia: The daughter of a chief, and she will be the only individual to be dancing and all the other people will be sitting around her cheering and singing songs while she's dancing. This individual the taupo is supposed to be, well you can consider her a princess of the village. She will hold the most highest title. she will also be the person who is most cared about. She will usually be the first person to eat. Her brothers are supposed to take care of her, sort of stuff, like all these sort of everyday life is put into the dance. (Wow) It's like appreciation value and the importance of being a female, and how culture should be respected in this way because this individual is pure, sort of.

Joel: Oh, that sounds really interesting. I'm going to have to go and see that some time. It usually happens like in the evening. I imagine like tiki torches and things like that, but maybe that's a stereotype.

Patricia: Usually it happens in the evening but nowadays with tourism and all we usually have it in the afternoon, morning, it depends on the event. If we have, say a festival or something, and important event, we usually have these taualungas

Joel: All right. Wow, that's fascinating

Learn vocabulary from the lesson!

ethnicities

Hawaii consists of so many ethnicities, like even the original people are not really Hawaiians.

A person's 'ethnicity' is his ethnic traits or identity. Your 'ethnicity' is how you identify yourself in terms of your cultural, religious or racial group. Notice the following:

Her ethnicity has had a huge impact on her life.
People in this area have a strong and uniform ethnicity.

navigating

The different cultures that they inherited as they were navigating around the word made them very multicultural.

When you 'navigate' you move over or through something, like land or sea, with a specific direction. We can also use 'navigating' to talk about using something like a computer where you can move from one program to another inside the computer. Notice the following:

I am having trouble navigating this new program. It's really confusing.
It's easy to navigate the city if you use the mountains to guide you.

pastimes

What are the popular sports and popular hobbies and pastimes in Samoa?

A 'pastime' is like a hobby or something that you do to make the time go more quickly. It is something that amuses or entertains you. Notice the following:

One of my favorite pastimes is to sit in the park and watch the dogs.
I am so busy with work right now that I don't have time for pastimes.

stereotype

I imagine tiki torches and things like that, but maybe that's a stereotype.

A 'stereotype' is an image or an idea that is generally held about a place or a group of people. Many times stereotypes are generalized, incorrect or negative. Notice the following:

It is a stereotype that men are better drivers than women.
The idea that everyone who speaks Spanish eats spicy food is a stereotype.

festival

We have it in the morning, afternoon or evening, depending on the event or festival.

You have a 'festival' to celebrate something. It like a big party for cultural or religious reasons. Festivals usually have food, dance and traditional elements. Notice the following: