Samoan Family Life, Culture and Homes

From the www.VideoSource.com Global Village Travel Guide and DVD, "Islands of the South Pacific". Stock footage available from videosource.com/search.html
Transcript:
In other areas of the jungle, the giant Aua tree
raises its head above the neighboring growth.
It grows and extends its territory by dropping
aerial roots from above.
The Aua might well be a metaphor for the Samoan family
which is usually a large extended family with many roots.
Most villages are home to 2 or 3 hundred people who may
actually belong to no more than a few families.
In such a small community there is little room for disharmony.
Individuality and private ownership are scorned.
Sharing is the principal here -- work, duties, possessions --
even children are shared.
The Samoan system, with its Matai's, or chiefs handling
the distribution of goods, has served the people well
and continues to do so even in the modern world.
This lack of the notion of private ownership leads to a community
with little personal privacy.

These open-walled, oblong structures are
typical of Samoan homes and community buildings,
and are perfectly suited to the climate of the tropics.
Houses or "fales" are often built on the stone bases
of ancestors' homes.
Shades, made of plaited palm frond,
are let down only when the wind or rain blow too hard.
Larger and more open,
the community fale is the center of every village.

Both men and women have their own fales.
Here decisions about the community are made
and social activities find a place as well.