Religion is not something that was a large part of my life
as a child. My family and I did not go to church. We did not typically discuss
it on a normal day in my house. I had friends who were and are religious. I
even went to church with some of them when I was younger, but it has never been
a large part of my life. I do respect people’s religious views however and
believe it to be a part of a person’s culture.
Knowing this about myself has helped me in Samoa where
religion permeates through everyday life. Samoa is a primarily Christian nation
where there is no separation of church and state. This is reflected in everyday
life here.
First of all, there are churches everywhere in Samoa. It is
hard to go even a mile without seeing one. The primary churches that you will
find in nearly every village are EFKS (pronounced eh-fa-ka-sa), Methodist,
Mormon, and Catholic. That does not mean there are not other churches, but
these are the main ones that nearly every volunteer attends in his/her own
village. During training, I attended an EFKS church and in my current village I
attend a Methodist church.
Church services are held often and regularly. My church in
my village has morning and afternoon services on Sundays as well as evening
service on Mondays and Wednesdays after the children’s Sunday school at the
church hall and an early morning service on Fridays. Not everyone goes to every
service. The main service that most community members will attend is the
morning service on Sundays. After this service, Samoan families have to’ona’i,
which is just a special meal on Sundays after church that consists of
traditional Samoan food cooked on the umu (Please refer to my post about food
for further explanation on this).
Part of going to church is also looking the part. Sundays
are the days that you will find Samoans looking their best. Some churches have
their parishioners wearing white every Sunday. This includes the Methodist
church. In an EFKS church, many parishioners typically wear white, but it is
not necessarily a requirement. The women often wear their nicest hats and their
dresses or puletasis adorned with sequins.
Part of church services in Samoa is reading the offerings
that each family has given to the church/pastor. Pastors (faifeau) are held in
very high esteem in Samoa. They are considered the closest to God and the one
who speaks to him directly. Therefore, Samoans believe the pastor should be
given much for this great service. Much of a Samoan family’s money will go to
the church, which pays for the pastor’s living expenses. On Sundays, and
sometimes other days, Samoan family’s will also take over food for the pastor
and his family as part of their offering to him.
While there are a lot of church services, Sunday school
sessions, and church choir practices, that is not the only way in which
religion is a part of the Samoan culture. Every evening, at sundown, a bell or
horn will go off in nearly every village throughout Samoa. This is the signal
for evening lotu or Sa. This is the evening prayer time in which all families
go inside their homes, typically sing a hymn, and do a prayer. While this does
not necessarily happen in every village or every home, it is very common
throughout the country. Depending on the village, you may even get fined for
being out on the street during this time. In my village, we have one bell to
tell people to go inside (ulufale), then one bell to begin Sa. After Sa has
begun, a horn will blow and the matais (chiefs) of the village who stand on the
street to make sure people have gone inside will go to our community faletele
to have their Sa.
Prayer is also part of every mealtime. There is a prayer
before eating each meal. In my house, I am usually the one who says the prayer
before eating. I stick with the one the children say at school since it is
simple. It goes: Fa’afetai Iesu foa’i mai mea’ai tausi ai le matou le fa’anau.
Amene. Translation: Thank you Lord for the food we eat. Amen. Even though I am
not religious, this has become second nature to me since living here.
Prayers and religion also make their way into schools on a
daily basis. In America, I would never dream of even bringing up religion in
school, except when discussing history of cultures. In Samoa, religion is an
essential part of the school day. Every day, either the whole school or
individual classes will sing a hymn and/or give a prayer to start the day. At
lunchtime, classes will pray prior to going to eat.
There is no way to separate Samoan culture from religion. It
really is an integral part of their culture. A common question they will pose
to an outsider is what church you go to. This was something I got regularly at
the beginning and I had to be careful about how I answered since religion is so
important to them. I merely answered with, “I didn’t grow up going to church.”
I have come to appreciate some of the ways in which church affects life here
and continue to learn about its significance for the Samoan people.
