The Church in Samoa

The Catholic church in my village.

The church plays a key role in the life of Samoans. While America struggles with “In God We Trust”, Samoa is proud to be a nation based on God. The country is 99% Christian, with a few Jews, Bahais and a small Muslim community. There are Catholics, Mormons, Methodists, FEKS (Congregational), Assembly of God, Seventh Day Adventist, Voice of Christ and more. Most villages, like mine, have a variety of denominations. Some villages have ruled that only one denomination is allowed.

Prior to the arrival of the first missionaries, there were a number of extended families on Samoa. Each had their own high chief and each had their own god. That was problematic, since the god of one family might be the octopus and other families were catching and eating octopus. There was no shared religion or god among all the aiga (families).

There is a very long story about the arrival of the first missionaries and their acceptance here. The Reader’s Digest version is that the most powerful high chief at the time had a vision that a white man would burst from the clouds and bring a new religion for all the families. So, when the first white missionary arrived from England, he was perceived to be the “cloud burster” or palagi.

The chief told everyone that this person was fulfilling his vision and should be treated with the almost the same respect and reverence as the high chief himself. Without his support, Christianity would have had a much more difficult time taking root in Samoa.

Every day in the public schools the day starts with prayer, hymns and bible study for 30-60 minutes. Every meeting I’ve attended, including every Peace Corps training session begins with a prayer. Prayers, by the way, may be spoken or sung. The church here is not just someplace you go on Sundays, but an integral part of village life. The pastor has tremendous influence with the matais (village chiefs) as they set and enforce rules for the village.

The church also seems to be the primary source of activity and entertainment for the community. On New Year’s Eve, I described seeing every church packed for the middle of the night services. The youth groups are very strong and provide a variety of things to keep the young people engaged and out of trouble. They perform choreographed dances and songs at every Sunday night service, as well as other events. That means multiple practices during the week. They also do ad hoc fund raisers, another way to keep the many youth of the village out of trouble and having fun.

The parade last week to raise money was an example. In the training village, the Methodist youth showed up every Saturday morning to raise money. Sometimes they asked for a donation in return for cleaning up the yard. Other times they brought food for sale. That was my personal favorite. If you ever see a gang of Samoan teenagers headed toward you, singing and carrying a huge kettle, get out a few tala and prepare yourself for a taste treat. The Methodists in Sataoa made the best koko alaisa I’ve had yet. That’s a great breakfast treat made of cooked rice, coconut cream, sugar and freshly roasted cocoa paste.

The two families I’ve lived with so far have both attended Assembly of God. That’s just a coincidence, since AOG is not the largest denomination on the island. They both attend church frequently. Sundays in the training village started with a 3 hour morning service followed by a 3-4 hour evening service. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays included a 3 hour evening prayer service. Saturday mornings at 5 a.m. brought another 3 hour prayer service. If you were in the choir or the youth group, that meant several more multi-hour sessions.

The church schedule in my current village isn’t exactly the same, but close. The Sunday morning service is only an hour and a half or so and the prayer nights are a bit different, but the time commitment is essentially the same.

In addition to attending church, there are other obligations for church members. Something that seems to be done at all denominations is that at the beginning of every Sunday morning service, someone announces each family’s financial contribution to the church for the week. From my understanding, that contribution is in addition to the money placed in the collection basket.

Families also seem to take turns preparing food for the faife’au and his family. From what I’ve seen the best and most expensive foods are saved to be giving to the pastor. You can usually tell which house belongs to the pastor in each village. It is usually close to the church and generally one of the nicest houses in the village. It is provided and maintained by members of the church.

We could have a lively debate about what the role of the church should be in any society. We could also discuss the potential for corruption and abuse of power by those in a position of authority, like a pastor in a village.

What’s clear is that the church, along with family, are fundamental in fa’a Samoa, the Samoan way.

This lady is quite a dancer and won the machete at the asiasiga for growing so much taro.