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Social Profile
Food & Drink: Restaurants offer a variety of cuisines, including American, Chinese, Japanese, Italian and Polynesian. There are also various drive-in restaurants. The Samoan feast, fia fia, consists of suckling pig, chicken, fish, palusami (coconut cream wrapped in taro leaves and cooked in the umu, or pit oven), breadfruit, coconut, bananas, lime and mango.
The national drink is kava, which is drunk in sacred ceremonies. If you become intimate with Samoans, you may be invited to a genuine kava ceremony. If you attend a genuine kava ceremony, do not sip until you tip a little kava from its coconut shell cup onto the ground immediately in front of you while saying manuia (mah-noo-ee-ah), meaning good luck. Do not drain your cup. Leave a little and tip it out before handing the cup back to the server. Remember that drinking kava is a solemn, sacred ceremony and should never be confused with a casual round of drinks in Western society. The taste may take a while to acquire. Most places have a ‘happy hour’ serving cheaper drinks (1630-1830).
Nightlife: There are many nightspots with music and dancing. Samoan fia fias – feasting and traditional dancing – are organised regularly by several establishments. Samoan village fia fias can be arranged through local tour operators. Visitors are usually welcome at any event in the villages and churches.
Shopping: Special purchases include handmade tapa cloth, the puletasi (women’s dress) or lavalava (men’s costume) made by local dressmakers, shell beads and purses, woodcarvings, woven laufala table and floor mats, carved kava bowls, Samoan records and duty-free goods. Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1700 and Sat 0800-1300.
Special Events: During the celebrations around Flag Day, April 17, there are many sporting and singing competitions with events taking place for up to a week. The Inter-Island Tennis Championship takes place around Good Friday. Tourism Week is at the beginning of May and hosts tourism awareness programmes and related activities. Palolo Day, in October/November, marks the annual emergence of the reefworm for mating. The reefworm is a local delicacy and Samoans celebrate this day with parties and music. Mothers Day (Aso o Tina) takes place on the Monday after Mothering Sunday, when the women of the islands parade and congregate in Apia to hear an address by the Prime Minister. Manu’a Cession Day includes many singing and dancing festivities.
Social Conventions: Traditional Samoan society is still bound by very strict customs and, despite the younger generation’s dissatisfaction with the old values, they are very much adhered to. The Government issues an official list of behaviour codes for both Samoas. Skimpy shorts or other revealing clothes should be avoided except when swimming or climbing coconut palms, although disapproval of shorts, if they are not too short, is on the wane. Samoan social behaviour conforms to strict and rather complicated rituals, to which the visitor will probably be introduced on arrival, and which should be respected. In the early evening hours, even if swimming offshore, be sure to avoid making any noise that could interrupt the Samoans’ prayer period. Usually three gongs are sounded. The first is the signal to return to the house, the second is for prayer and the third sounds the all-clear. In some villages, swimming and fishing are forbidden on Sunday. A visitor who happens to be invited to stay in a Samoan household should be mindful of these customs. On leaving, making a gift, a mea alofa (literally a ‘thing of love’) of shirts, belts or dress-length fabrics is most appreciated. Samoans are extremely hospitable and visitors may receive more than one invitation to stay with neighbours. However, it is inappropriate to leave your first hosts before a pre-arranged date. Tipping: Not customary.
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