Guide to Samoan beliefs, culture

By NAOMI LARKIN

The perception that violence is an accepted part of Samoan culture is one of the myths a book launched today set out to debunk.

Auckland-based Samoan university lecturer Pa'u Tafaogalupe Mao'o Tilive'a Mulitalo-Lauta wrote Fa'asamoa and Social Work Within the New Zealand Context with the aim of explaining why Samoans behave the way they do.

A former probation officer and now lecturer in social policy and social work at Massey University's Albany campus, Mr Mulitalo-Lauta said the book was a manual for social workers, Government agencies, non-Samoans and churches.

To understand Samoans, people needed to know about fa'asamoa which formed the values and beliefs that influenced and controlled the behaviour and attitude of the people, he said.

Fa'asamoa has five key components: the Samoan heart; the Samoan way; protocol and values; social structures and institutions; and ceremonies and rituals.

"They form the basis of all Samoans' behaviour and distinguish that behaviour from that of non-Samoans."

The importance of the aiga (extended family) and the church were integral to fa'asamoa.

Therefore the notion that violence, particularly within the extended family, was an acceptable part of Samoan life ran contrary to the cultural principle that obligated a man to respect, care for, and protect women and their children, he said.

Samoans had to own up to the fact that they - like many other cultures - abused their children physically and sexually, and address these problems through the church, family, schools and the community.

The book focuses on case studies such as a Samoan woman social worker in a male prison. By combining her Western training with aspects of fa'asamoa she was able to make better progress with the men, Mr Mulitalo-Lauta said.

In another instance, a Samoan male social worker dealing successfully with young offenders appealed to the Samoan heart.

"When I talk to them, I don't use intellectual and academic approaches as they don't get through to these young people. I talk to their hearts and they hear me from their hearts."

The book is dedicated to the late Laurie O'Reilly, Commissioner for Children, who was a strong advocate for the welfare of children and youth in New Zealand.