According to legend, Samoa is known as the “Cradle of Polynesia” because Savai'i island is said to be Hawaiki, the Polynesian homeland. Samoan culture is undoubtedly central to Polynesian life, and its styles of music, dance, and visual art have gained renown throughout the Pacific islands and the world.
Samoa has a long and fascinating history spanning more than 3,000 years.
Samoan traditions hold the view that Tagaloa-alagi created the world and the Samoan people out of the earth, hence their name Samoa. One traditional view states that anything born out of the 'moa' or centre of the earth was 'sacred' to 'moa' (Samoa).
He is of mixed Pacific Islander descent: half-Samoan and half-Cook Islander. The "685" in his stage name refers to the calling code for Samoa.
Early history
Samoa was discovered and settled by the Lapita people (Austronesian people who spoke Oceanic languages), who travelled from Island Melanesia. The earliest human remains found in Samoa are dated to between roughly 2,900 and 3,500 years ago.
Samoa's first people were seafarers who, guided by the stars, arrived on outrigger canoes around 1,000BC. Ancient myths and legends say the first people descended from the heavens and gods to inhabit these islands, however, It is believed they came from Tonga.
In July 2021, the World Bank downgraded Samoa's classification to “lower-middle income” from its previous status as an “upper-middle income” country.
Early history
The oldest archaeological evidence found on the islands of Polynesia, Samoa and Tonga all date from around that same period, suggesting that the first settlement occurred around the same time in the region as a whole.
Moana's very name means “ocean” in many Polynesian languages, and the name Tala, the name of Moana's grandmother, means “story” in Samoan.
The arrival of fast food restaurants and other contemporary food items on the islands are one of the issues responsible for the obesity in Samoa. The earliest photographs of Samoans provide visual proof of the native population's natural physique before the introduction of processed foods by Western society.
Samoa's population in 2023
Samoa's total population was 224.0 thousand in January 2023. Data shows that Samoa's population increased by 3,308 (+1.5 percent) between 2022 and 2023. 49.0 percent of Samoa's population is female, while 51.0 percent of the population is male.
Samoan tattoos, or tatau (pronounced tah-TAH-oo) is a tradition that goes back for centuries. I always thought that meant that the symbols used would be the same over the years, but further study has shown me that tatau can evolve just as much as clothes do over time.
Meals consist of green bananas and taro (boiled or roasted), sapasui (Samoan chop-suey), pisupo (canned corned beef), povi masima (corned beef), mutton flaps, turkey tails, palusami/lu'au (coconut cream and onion cooked in taro leaves), kale (curry), rice, bread, fruit, sandwiches, soups, fish, mamoe (lamb), beef or ...
Perhaps the most famous of birds found on this island nation is the Tooth-billed Pigeon. This bird is the national bird of Samoa and has no close living relatives, but it is genetically similar to the extinct Dodo. Due to habitat loss, the Tooth-billed Pigeon is now listed as endangered.
Political Status
American Samoa became a U.S. territory by deed of cession, starting in 1900. The matai (local chiefs) of Tutuila, the largest island in American Samoa, ceded the island to the United States in 1900.
Samoa is an island state in the pacific ocean. The land has a total area of 2,840 km² (1,097 mi²) and a total coastline of 403 km (250.4 mi). This land area is about 2.2 times the size of Los Angeles. Samoa is thus the seventh biggest country in Oceania and in terms of area ranked 178th worldwide.
On January 20, 1942, the Marine Brigade arrived with 5,600 officers and enlisted men with their heavy artillery to defend the island. Natives were also recruited to form a Samoan Marine Brigade known as (Maligi Samoa) that consisted of 350 men.
In July 1997 the Constitution was amended to change the country's name from Western Samoa to Samoa.
Today In History: 11 February 1977 – Queen Elizabeth II Begins Silver Jubilee Pacific Tour with a One Day Visit to Samoa. The Silver Jubilee Pacific tour of Queen Elizabeth II began with a one-day visit to then Western Samoa on 11 February 1977.
An 1899 agreement between colonial powers divided Samoa into spheres of influence: Germany gained control of the western islands, and the United States took the eastern islands. Formal cession by the local chiefs came later.
Mitavale Levaopolo Sione, born 18 April 1907, celebrated her 109th birthday yesterday, making her possibly the oldest person in Samoa.
Queen Salamasina (floruit in the 1500s) was a powerful and high-ranking woman in Samoan social history. She held the four papā (district) titles which gave her the paramount status of Tafa'ifā ('one supported by four') on the western islands of Samoa.