Graves, superstition, and ghost ....OH MY!

I've been writing a lot about religion here in American Samoa and one of the things I find so interesting is the unique mix of mainstream religion and old-world (pre-missionary) Samoan superstition and beliefs.  It seems, at least on the surface, that they have found a way to seamlessly blend these two seemingly opposing lifestyles.  On one hand, they are VERY religious and sing many of the same songs I grew up singing in church, and then on the other hand, many Samoans are superstitious and have extremely strong beliefs in ghosts, spirits, curses and so on.  I grew up in a strict Christian household and ghost talk and superstition were things that were never allowed.  So to me it's so interesting to see an effortless melding of these two belief systems.  People go to church, but they also pay attention to the superstitions and traditions that were passed on through the generations of Samoans before them.  Since we are approaching Halloween, I thought this would be a good time to take a look at some of these fascinating beliefs. 

During our second month here on the island we ran into a couple of health problems with Levi.  Poor kid had a string of high fevers and various illnesses.  One night was so bad that we had to rush him to the ER in the middle of the night.  I think a month later, he was diagnosed with pneumonia.  Very scary.  Grant was telling some of the people at work about Levi's sickness and one of them very seriously said, "Well, it's probably a good idea to keep him in after dusk and out of the water too..."  OK, sounds reasonable enough.  Grant pushed a little more and the gal smiled and sort of shyly said, "Well he's a beautiful boy and you don't know what kind of spirits might be after him."  Interesting.  I researched this idea a little online and found this quote:

"While Christianity and churches dominate life on the islands, many Samoans still believe in spirits or ghosts who come out at night, and can jump inside a person, and make him or her sick."

So it looks like Levi had a little ghost for awhile, but i think we shook it. :)  

Another interesting aspect of life here in Samoa is graves.  They are everywhere.  More often than not, a person will have at least one grave in front of their home.  Samoans don't use cemeteries like we do in the U.S.  I should mention there are actually a couple of small cemeteries around the island for pelagis (non-natives) and I think there's a military one too.  But the majority of burials occur right in the front yard of the deceased ones family. Our Samoan friends have explained it simply to us saying, "wouldn't you want your loved ones as close as possible?" Um, no, not really........I, along with most in the U.S., like a healthy dose of denial with my experiences with death.  I like a little distance.  I'm not meaning to sound flippant, but it's the truth.  But I do understand that point of view, and it's probably a healthier way to view death. I think in the U.S. we are so uncomfortable with death that we prefer to have loved ones buried away from everyday view.

At first I was a little freaked out seeing and walking by so many graves, but then, like so many things here, I just got used to it.  Often you'll see kids sitting on the graves playing cards or other games or dogs taking naps.  I also sometimes see people stretching out for a nice afternoon siesta on these graves. I guess it makes sense; it's a nice cool spot, elevated from the dirt and fairly clean.  

I did some searching online to find some more common Samoan superstitions.  Here are a couple of them.  If I get a chance, I want to ask my Samoan neighbors for more info about these.......

Cover your mirrors at night because it is an opening for a ghost or spirit to enter your home

Don't comb your hair at night because it will make an aiku fafine (female spirit) jealous.

If pregnant:

Don't go out after dusk.  

Don't walk too close to graves because the spirits may affect the baby.   

Don't have a necklace or lava lava tied around the neck because it may cause the baby's umbilical cord to wrap around its neck.

These are just a couple of beliefs I found online.   Probably to the dismay of the early missionaries, many of these superstitions have been passed down verbally from generation to generation and have a strong hold on the Samoan people.  And I think it adds to the richness and mystery of the culture.  While I don't personally believe in ghosts, I may start covering our mirrors at night just in case.  You just never know....

BOO!!!!  :-)  Have a safe and fun Halloween!!!!

For Whom the Sa Bell Tolls....

Saying that American Samoa is a religious place is like saying Elton John likes sunglasses and tight clothes.....no kidding!?  I would say Samoa is far more enthusiastic about religion than any other place I've been in the US.  It easily beats the bible belt. Everything, except a couple of stores, close on Sunday and everyone puts on their finest dress/lavalava and marches to church.  I've had a couple of Samoan friends ask me very matter-of-factly which church I attend here on island.  I usually kind of stumble around a lame answer about only being here for a short time and not knowing which one to choose, etc.  (I really need to work on a better answer, damn it).  This is usually greeted with a look that makes me feel like I just stripped off my clothes and called the devil my lover.  But then, they usually recover and just chuckle amusingly as if saying, "ah, you are a crazy palagi".  But as you know from my previous post, we did attend a White Sunday service and it was fantastic.  I actually want to go to another service and get a feel for another church.  I don't think you should come to Samoa without going to church because it's such a part of the culture.

Quite often, when my window is open at night, morning, you name it, I can hear the sound of church music and prayers.  It's actually very soothing and I really enjoy it.  Sometimes I can even recognize the hymn being sung and it reminds me of my childhood church days.  Another thing I hear a lot is the sound of bells being rung at different times of the day.  Bells are everywhere and they indicate when it's time for prayer, church, bedtime, tsunami warning, etc.  Well, bell is a relative term I suppose.  They are really just empty oxygen tanks hanging from a tree.  Sa is special time of day in the evening where a bell is rung indicating it is time for family prayer and reflection.  They usually ring the Sa bell around 5:45pm and it last about 7 minutes.  Then it is rung again to indicate that Sa is now finished and everyone can go about their business.  People are very serious about Sa; kids stop playing and run in their homes, cars pull over on the side of the road, and stores stop transactions.  Everything is supposed to come to a halt for a few minutes. 

The breaking of Sa is not taken too kindly.  I remember one evening (when we were new to the island) we were passing through a village on our way to Tisa's Barefoot Bar for an umu and all of sudden we noticed that there were people standing about 30 or 40 feet apart on each side of the road with arms folded.  It was strange.  They were just staring.  We kept driving slowly (speed limit is only 25mph) and I was about to roll down the window to ask them what they were doing.  I made eye contact with a very hostile looking, older samoan lady and changed my mind about asking.  I later learned that we were breaking Sa by driving through their village.  I feel bad, I always want to respect and honor every culture and religion, but how were we supposed to know?  A posted sign would've been helpful.....  :) 

White Sunday

Wow.  I've been a bad blogger.  We've been pretty busy here (as busy as you can be in Samoa) and I've just keep putting this blog on the back burner.  Well, today I decided it was time for an update.  I'm hoping to write at least a couple more entries before we leave because this, along with pictures and facebook, will be my way of remembering this last 6 months.  So far, it has been such an extraordinary experience on so many levels.  And so many things have happened over the last month: Levi started school, we visited Western Samoa, we've made many friends and have been able to participate in so many interesting Samoan events and cultural experiences....... I don't even know where to start.

Last sunday we had the fun of experiencing one of the bigger holidays here called "White Sunday".  It's a celebration honoring the children of Samoa.  One of Grant's co-workers said it was almost as big as Christmas.  And sure enough leading up to Sunday, people were out in force at shops, and traffic was slow around the island.  Everyone was buying food for their big Sunday meal, shopping for toys and treats for the kids and finding that perfect "White Sunday" outfit.  I could just feel the excitement oozing from the kids too.

We were invited to visit a church for the "White Sunday" service and I wasn't sure what to expect.  Were Grant and I supposed to wear all white too? How formal is it?  etc.  I couldn't find an all white outfit for Levi that fit properly, so we just went with a white, button-up shirt and khakis.  But I wanted to make sure that we fit in OK and was hoping we weren't going to stick out more than normal.  So as we drove up to the church we all felt a little trepidation.....  It was in a village we hadn't visited before and we just weren't sure what to expect.

Right as we got out of the car Grant's co-worker warmly greeted us as she was beginning to lead the children into the church for the opening song.  She assured us that we were welcome and we could sit anywhere we wanted and to just enjoy!  And enjoy we did!  The kids marched in wearing their best whites, singing and clapping.  For two hours we were entertained with gospel songs, pop songs, scriptures and dances.  The kids were very talented.  A little boy, probably around five years old, started things off with an acapella version of the gospel song "Majesty" and it was so sweet and heartfelt.  It was such a great experience and I'm really glad we stepped out of our comfort zone a bit and did it.