Happy Halloween
31October to 2 November 2007
American Samoans enjoyed Halloween in the traditional fashion of the mainland. The streets of town were decorated with orange and black garbage bags replicating pumpkins. Shop windows were decorated with canned spider webs and plastic bats. Many children celebrated the event at school-spirit week events and parties in private homes. Shops were full of bowls of candies, treats to the customers. And princesses, cartoon characters, witches and super heroes strolled around Pago Pago’s central area. It brings a smile to my face to watch the children skip down the walkways of the mall. I never realized how much I missed this sort of cultural celebration that is such a pagan American tradition.
With only four liveaboards in the harbor, we kept our celebrations private. Sami was given a school assignment to “Eat Candy”. And both girls received treats, as we had no desire for any mutinous tricks. We watched an old movie and ate caramel popcorn. Spooky as we get, we watched, The Stepford Wives with Nichole Kidman and Mathew Broderick. The concept was spooky, what if the world were perfect and happy 24/7? Stepford is a gated community of all Barbie doll like wives submissive to the male alpha’s need for sex on command, clean homes and robotic attention to every male alpha desire. As Glen Close says, “Wouldn’t we all want a society of chiffon and tuxedos.” Can you imagine such a society?
Being Halloween, the girls did have a writing assignment to answer this question: What most scares you?
The next day, John felt the early signs of a cold virus. Our friends warned us that his cold could easily be the Samoan flu, which starts like an ordinary cold virus, but can linger for fourteen days, and worsens if you ignore the lethargy. So, John took two days off to rest and recuperate with the likes of Travis McGee.
It feels like it rains here every day, we have just begun what is called the hot and wet summer (October through May). The weatherman’s reports detect rain about 300 days of the year. And the newspapers report the daily pollution condition of the air and waters. In the harbor, the average rainfall is about 200” per year, the rainiest spot on the island. The Tafuna plains are much drier and receive a mere 125” per year. Air temperatures in recent years typically fluctuate from nighttime lows around 77˚ F to afternoon highs in the upper 80˚F. I read that the record highs and lows were 96˚ and 62˚ F. What we are finding is that we are adapting comfortably to these conditions. Getting our muscles to respond quickly to the need to close up the boat on short order, then reopening the hatches and port lights as the humidity and heat starts to warm us is a several times a day occurrence.
We continue to be pleased by the friendliness of the islanders. After three weeks of living here, people are recognizing us, waving to stop and converse. It is not uncommon to say hello to a stranger as you stroll pass. This is the aspect of island life that John especially appreciates. Today, he remarked how he wished we could stay longer so we could embrace the culture with more depth. Getting away from Pago Pago Harbor helps to shape a positive opinion of the island and islanders. Others who live on Apia or the Western Samoan islands find American Samoa repulsive-overpopulated and overbuilt, but we aren’t of that opinion. Of course they encourage us to visit Apia.
Tutuila Island is urban by nature of the number of people, litter, traffic jams and lack of architectural harmony that prevails. It appears that sprawling, haphazard development preceded planning and structures to address an ever-growing population. The society could benefit from more City planning and zoning guidelines as well as changing some cultural habits, like littering. The hospital here is named LBJ, after USA past President Lyndon Baines Johnson and as I recall, it was (First) Lady Bird Johnson whose campaign to Beautify America changed the American habit of littering the roadsides. I’m sure when she was here thirty years ago for the hospital’s dedication, the island may have had a different complexion and the abundance of diapers, plastic bottles and chip wrappers was less an apparent eyesore.
Even with a population of over 62,000, there remains a small island feel to this place. Samoan culture infiltrates the place in the prominent use of the language, the traditional dress and fabrics worn on the adults and the students-men and women alike, the Polynesian music blasting on the buses, the tattoos on nearly every one (young and old), the several warrior canoes being built, tapa cloth making, and possibly, the most important aspect is our daily understanding of the fa’a Samoa, or the Samoan way. The cultural nuances are apparent to us. For example, no one ever says, “no” or “I don’t know.” More often statements of affirmation are given to a request, as it would be rude to do otherwise. Even though, the person may have no intention or worst yet understanding of following through with the request. It is far more likely that one needs to ask again or ask in a different way for what is needed. In Chinese culture, one might recognize this as “double speak or covert humility”. In the Japanese culture, one might recognize such behavior as “saving face”. And in the American culture, one might confuse this behavior as dishonest and jump to a rash conclusion of the people as deceptive. We aren’t sure it is any of these responses, but something more classically rooted in the Samoan matai or social structure of chiefs, village mayors, and the people’s deep seeded roots as proud warriors.
The Polynesians emerged in Samoa over 3,000 years ago. According to the Moon handbook, by 600 B.C. the Samoan’s had settled on Tutuila (the island now known as American Samoa). We could not have told you ten years ago or even five years ago that we would be living in the footsteps of one of the oldest cultures of all time; before Jesus Christ and the Roman Empire. Several years ago we were encouraged to go to Latin America to discover the ancient people of the Aztecs, Mayans, Olmec, Incas and all the Indian tribes pre-Inca, this same cruiser discouraged us from coming to the Polynesian islands, assuring us with claims that the Polynesian cultures had succumbed to western influences and were all but gone, like the Dodo bird or the Saber tooth tiger. It is not true of the Samoan culture. Subtle as the culture might be under the frontal western ways, the fa’a Samoa is alive and prevails, and is called upon, as needed.
Three thousand years ago, I had to wonder, what else was going on around the world at this same time. Luckily, I had a reference book that shared a multitude of events all happening around 1,000 B.C. The pyramids at Teotihuacan were recently built in Mexico. The Olmec culture was erecting the grand stone heads of gods. Cuneiform writing was being used in Babylonia. Brush and ink lacquer painting practices were commonplace in China. And half way around the world, King David united the kingdom of Judah and Israel with Jerusalem as its capital.
There is richness, a secret, in Samoa that lies deeply kept, hidden behind the American and European presence of recent history and influence. Something peeks our curiosity and makes us wonder what we are missing in our rush to get to safe harbors. Is this really an unsafe place to be for the cyclone season?