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!!!!
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