Faʻa Sāmoa includes the way one stands, walks and speaks, for example by saying "tulou" when one walks in front of someone who is seated.

Facebook page for S.F.A. So it’s no surprise that qualities such as hospitality, cooperation, respect, and consensus are highly valued in Samoan culture.

“Fa’alavelave(s)” is the vehicle that drives and keeps the Fa’a Samoa/ Samoan Way alive, perpetuating and maintaining its nobleness. Faʻa Sāmoa, the 'Samoan Way', is the traditional/customary way of life in Samoan culture.

Today Samoan’s are regarded as the largest full blooded Polynesian race left in the world. They are complex and pageantry in performance and nature. One is called your Samoan (ness) and the other is the Samoan Culture. Samoa not just one piece of land, but nine tiny islands that is located North of New Zealand. Fa’a Samoa “Fa’a Samoa” sometimes can be confusing because it is made up of two distinct and vital elements that are tightly intertwined, where you can easily go back and forth, between these two elements, without realizing it. Fa`a-Samoa is often heard in American Samoa, and refers to the traditional Samoan lifestyle, or way of life. In Samoa, the tatau has a deeper, historical significance.

1966.

The process of getting a tatau is long and painful, making the act of getting one a deeper reflection of an individual’s devotion to the community. The ocean and the forest are the biggest setting for their analogies, as they relate different aspects and experiences of fishing and hunting to strongly make and emphasize their point. Samoan tattoos are unique symbols representing an individual’s faith and family ties. Fa`a-Samoa is often heard in American Samoa, and refers to the traditional Samoan lifestyle, or way of life.

[9] Beginning in the 1980s, through the Samoan diaspora, faʻafafine began having a presence in contemporary global cultures.

For example any crime, including major ones like rape, murder, etc.

Samoa's deeply traditional way of life, known as 'Fa'a Samoa', dates back more than 3,000 years.

The sanctuary also makes a special effort to work with the American Samoan community with outreach programs for all ages.

Aiga or extended family is the core of the Fa’a Samoa, where at the head of the family are matai or chiefs and each family member has their role to play in their tautua, or service to the extended family.

Siva Afi refers to fire knife dancing, a traditional dance that includes the twirling of a flaming knife while performing impressive acrobatic stunts.

In addition to the set familial relationships, which extend to one's entire extended family (the ‘aiga) with its familial chief (the matai), Samoans show respect to persons in positions of authority, and reverently observe customs of long standing which have rather more force than mere etiquette. There has been legislative activity initiated in Samoa by the Samoa Faafafine Association, with faafafine lawyers Alex Suʻa and Phineas Hartson Matautia, on issues of LGBT rights in Samoa. Traditionally, faʻafafine follow the training of the women's daily work in an Aiga (Samoan family group). Fa'a Samoa. Faʻafafine are people who identify themselves as having a third-gender or non-binary role in Samoa, American Samoa and the Samoan diaspora. When missionaries arrived from Europe in 1830, they found ways to associate Samoan cultural beliefs with Christianity,[citation needed] which contributed to the spread of Christianity in 19th-century Samoa.

can be forgiven by a ceremony call ‘ifoga’. Like Christ’s baptism, one is by Water (Fa’a Samoa) or its physical aspect and the other is by Fire (Christ’s Gospel) or its spiritual aspect, where one cannot exist without the other. Fa’a Samoa customs and culture are over 3000 years old and have changed very little over this period.

At the heart of fa’a Samoa is ‘aiga, the Samoan word for family. These are few of the many protocols of the culture. There are so many different physical protocols for Service /Serving during various ‘Fa’alavelave(s)’ from vying for the honor of giving a welcome or thank you speech (fa’atau) for the honored guests, to the sua(s)’ presentation, to the ‘ava ceremonies’, to dividing resources (sila toga) after a fa’alavelave, (to dividing a pig), as it is the most important animal for sua(s). The three main pillars of Fa’a Samoa are the matai (chiefs), aiga (extended family), and the Christian church. The Society of Faʻafafine in American Samoa or "Le Sosaiete o Faʻafafine i Amerika Samoa" (S.O.F.I.A.S) is an organization designed to foster collaboration between the faʻafafine and the LGBTQI+ communities in both American Samoa, the Asia Pacific region, and the world.

Our Samoan(ness) comes from THREE CORE VALUES.

In this tradition, Samoans break open coconuts with large stick—they may even use their teeth for husking.