Samoa Trip

Satupa’itea

samoatrip1 — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 11:51:27 +0000

Satupa’itea is one of the districts Samoa.Liczba population in 2001 was 5 556 persons. District is divided into two parts. Both are located on the island of Savaii. Between them lies a district Palauli. Gautavai is the administrative center. In the province of growing tea and coffee.

Palauli

samoatrip1 — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:17:36 +0000

Palauli is one of the districts Samoa. It is located in the southern island of Savaii and is divided into two parts. Separates it Satupa’itea district. Population in 2001 was 8 984 people. Administrative centers are Vailoa and Palauli Sa

Culture

samoatrip1 — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:06:31 +0000

The fa’a Samoa, or traditional Samoan way, remains a strong force in Samoan life and politics. Despite centuries of European influence, Samoa maintains its historical customs, social and political systems, and language. Samoans are deeply spiritual and religious people, and have subtly adapted the dominant religion of Christianity to ‘fit in’ with fa’a Samoa and vice versa. As such, ancient beliefs continue to co-exist side-by-side with Christianity, particularly in regard to the traditional customs and rituals of fa’a Samoa.

Samoans had gods of their own, as their mythological story of creation tells. The Samoan culture is centered around the principle of vāfealoa’i, the relationships between people. These relationships are based on respect, or fa’aaloalo. When Christianity was introduced in Samoa, most Samoan people converted. Currently 98% of the population identify themselves as Christian. The other 2 percent either identify themselves as irreligious, or do not belong to any congregation.

The Samoans have a communal way of life with little privacy. They do almost all their activities collectively. An example of this are the traditional Samoan fales (houses) which are open with no walls, using blinds made of coconut palm fronds during the night or bad weather.

Samoans view some Western traditions to be sinful and morally wrong, so be warned when traveling there to obey their culture and customs. walking about in bathers when not at the beach is considered a sin.

Geography

samoatrip1 — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:11:24 +0000

The country is located east of the international date line and south of the equator, about halfway between Hawai‘i and New Zealand in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. The total land area is 2934 km² (slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Rhode Island), consisting of the two large islands of Upolu and Savai’i which account for 99% of the total land area, and eight small islets: the three islets in the Apolima Strait (Manono Island, Apolima and Nu’ulopa), the four Aleipata Islands off the eastern end of Upolu (Nu’utele, Nu’ulua, Namua, and Fanuatapu), and Nu’usafe’e (less than 0.01 km² in area and about 1.4 km off the south coast of Upolu at the village of Vaovai). The main island of Upolu is home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa’s population, and its capital city is Apia. The climate is tropical, with an average annual temperature of 26.5 °C, and a rainy season from November to April.Savai’i is the largest of the Samoan islands and the third largest Polynesian Island after Tahiti and New Zealand. The population of Savali’i is 42,000 people.

Political Districts

samoatrip1 — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 12:55:25 +0000

Samoa is made up of eleven itūmālō (political districts). These are the traditional eleven districts that were established well before European arrival. Each district has its own constitutional foundation (faavae) based on the traditional order of title precedence found in each district’s faalupega (traditional salutations).

The capital village of each district administers and coordinates the affairs of the district and confers each districts’ paramount title, amongst other responsibilities. For example, the District of A’ana has its capital at Leulumoega. The paramount title of A’ana is the TuiA’ana. The orator group which confers this title – the Faleiva (House of Nine) – is based at Leulumoega. This is also the same for the other districts. In the district of Tuamasaga, the paramount title of the district – The Malietoa title – is conferred by the FaleTuamasaga based in Afega.

When to Go

samoatrip1 — Sun, 18 May 2008 11:37:13 +0000

When you’re talking paradise, any time is a good time to go. As a general rule, however, you might find your Polynesian parade being rained on in December and January and your holiday smile melting in the humid months between November and April. The season for tropical storms and cyclones is also between November and March. The most comfortable time to visit the region is during the dry season between May and October. This is basically considered to be the region’s high season, though there isn’t necessarily much difference between prices charged.

Not surprisingly, this is also when most of the major Samoan festivals are held. If you’re into big-game fishing, the Samoa International Game Fishing Tournament take place during the second week of May. The rising of the palolo , one of the most fascinating natural phenomena, takes place on coral reefs around the islands in either October or November and the Samoan cultural event of the year, the Teuila Festival, takes place in September. If you plan to come during the December-January holiday period, when huge numbers of Samoans and Tongans return for the holidays (mostly from New Zealand, Australia and the USA), it’s wise to book flights well in advance.

Samoa

samoatrip1 — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:53:01 +0000

Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa, is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. Previous names were Samoa from 1900 to 1919, and Western Samoa from 1914 to 1997. It was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976 as Samoa.^[2] The entire island group, inclusive of American Samoa, was known as Navigators Islands before the 20th century because of the Samoans’ seafaring skills

Apia

samoatrip1 — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:52:35 +0000

Apia, population 38,800 (2001), is the capital of the Independent State of Samoa. The city is located on the northern coast of Upolu Island. It is the nation’s major port and only city. Fish and copra are the country’s major exports, and cotton goods, motor vehicles, meats, and sugar are the major imports.