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.....  :)