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Matai – How to become a Samoan Chief [Part 2]

Matai – How to become a Samoan Chief [Part 2]

In the first article of this series, we looked at what it means to be a matai and how you could begin the process of becoming a Samoan chief. So now, let’s say your family has finished deliberating and you are the chosen one… then let’s say you did some soul-searching and...

Matai – How to Become a Samoan Chief [Part 1]

Matai – How to Become a Samoan Chief [Part 1]

How does one become a matai, or Samoan chief? The process is a fascinating mix of inheritance and election. You have to be an heir to a title - but all Samoans are heirs to at least one matai title - and then your family has to elect you to the role. That's generally how it...

How to Serve Tea to a Samoan Chief – and Why it Matters

How to Serve Tea to a Samoan Chief – and Why it Matters

You may have noticed. Many Samoan families have a preference for arranging their living rooms in a large, inward-facing oblong or oval formation, with the backs of all the couches and armchairs pushed up against the walls. If you know anything about life in Samoa, you might...

Matai: A Complicated System of Chiefs

Matai: A Complicated System of Chiefs

Matai is the Samoan word for leader, or chief, or even (in the poetic sense) father. Samoan society is organized by family, and each family has its own matai titles, which are connected to certain districts, villages and plots of family land. And that was the short version of...

Aganu’u

Aganu’u > Culture and Traditions. Learn the values, customs and protocols that make up fa’asamoa, the Samoan way of Life.