Paniani 1

Anastasia Paniani

Prof. Dawn Miller

American History

July 19, 2010

Samoan and United States Differences and Similarities

Welcome to the beautiful island of Samoa. In this essay I’ll describe the differences of

dance, tattoos, and ceremonies of the Island of Samoa as compared to the United States. Even

though these two places have their differences and similarities, they are both beautiful places.

Specifically, Samoa and the U.S. have differences and similarities in dances. In Samoa,

dance has a deep rooted tradition that survived the arrival of the whites, but in the U.S., dance

moves change constantly and evolve-most people don’t know how their ancestors danced. There

are traditional dances in Samoa, but on the other hand, the U.S. doesn’t have traditional dances

because there are so many different races and cultures. In Samoa, one of the traditional dances is

the Taualuga which is the finale dance at ceremonies, weddings, birthdays, and done by the

Taupou (daughter of the chief) or Mania (son of the chief). However, in the United States, they

don’t have certain finale dances for special occasions. The Samoan dancers wear traditional

clothing, which is called puletasi or lavalava. Sometimes women wear matting from the

Pandunas and turned into an ie toga which is decorated with feathers or freshly cut flowers and

leis, but in the U.S. there’s not a particular type of clothing for a dance. Samoan dances are

sometimes performed in a group or by an individual, either sitting or standing. Similarly, the

United States do have performances that are in a group or individual. Samoans also have fire
 Paniani 2

dancing and stories of ancestors, but the U.S. has hip-hop, different cultural dances, sometimes

dances can be sexual and some are historical.

Another differences in these two cultures are tattoos. Tattoos have been in Samoa since

2,000 years ago. The tattoos have historical and societal meaning. One of the traditional tattoos

that have historical meaning is the pe’a (male chief tattoo) and malu (female chief tattoo) that

signifies Samoans as chiefs of the village or family. There are eight tattoo implements to make a

tattoo design. One of the eight is the autapulu which is the wide tattooing comb used to fill in the

large dark areas of the tattoo. The ausogi’aso tele is to mark thick lines and the ausogi’aso laititi

is marking thin lines. The aumogo is a small comb for making small marks. The sausau is the

mallet used for striking the combs; its two feet in from the central rib of a coconut palm leaf. The

tuluma pot is used to hold combs and the impulu is a cup for holding the dye. The dye is made

from the soot collected from burnt lama nuts. The last one is the tu’i which is the pestle use to

grind up dye. Conversely, the United States doesn’t have historical or societal meaning, but

sometimes with gang tattoos meaning is involved. Usually, tattoos are just for personal reasons.

United States have different tattooing implements. A tattoo machine is a gun-shaped and hand-

held device which helps to create or design a tattoo that permanently marks skin. Another

implement is the stencil-pen and it’s a battery powered device invented by Edison in 1876. The

ink chamber and a needle is to insert ink into the skin with an on and off switch and stroke

adjustment. There are two types of needles; one is for shading and another for lining. The

number and types of needles are based on the tattoo artist according to the preference of the

customer.

Last, but not least, Samoa and the United States have differences and similarities in

beaches. In Samoa, the beaches are warm and clear and it’s not dirty, but it’s salty water. Samoa
 Paniani 3

is surrounded by water because it’s an island so transportation to the beach is not a problem. It’s

down the street from you house. On the other hand, in the United States, the beaches are nice and

breezy, but they are sometimes are dirty with trash in the water. Also, sometimes you have to

drive to the beach, but some stay near the beach so they can just walk. Similarly, the beaches in

both places are a cool place to hang out and to cool down on a hot sunny day.

Even though, Samoa and the United States have their differences and similarities, but

they are very great places to stay and to visit. Being Samoan, I learned several of new things that

I haven’t learned before.