Samoa Marriage Rituals
Wedding in any culture in the world is a big deal. In every country in the globe, weddings are celebrated differently since it is a unique part of life that is why many people decide to add some bit of traditions in it. Every part of the wedding contains its uniqueness from when both the groom and the bride enters the alter, to the white dress, which is customary up to the point of bouquet tossing. In Samoa, the wedding is significant, which turns to have many people, friends, family, neighbours and workmates. Religion is still an aspect which is essential for upbringing and family culture, wedding rituals and traditions are of vast significance in Samoa.
What are the marriage rituals in American Samoa?
- The traditional wedding dress of Samoan
The first traditional wedding dress of Samoan is that the dress of the wedding comes from the family of the groom. In traditions of Samoa, the wearing of the dress that comes from the sides of the groom is an indicator of respect to her husband family, which is to be immolated from the in-law’s parties for example sister or mother depending on sizing. After the ceremony, the bride may change her dress and put the dress of her choice when going to the ceremony. The dress that she wears is usually a Samoan gown which is traditional (Schmidt, 275). The gown contains some floral aspect that recognizes her culture and ancestry. For the groom, tradition and culture and climate, usually directs attire away from suit but into traditional lavalava. A white dress is always worn if the ceremony is conducted indoors, and if outside, the groom may decide to be shirtless. The culture does not leave the guest to wear anything they want, but they put on a traditional dress. For females, a muumuu which is a typical floral dress, on the other hand, males will put on a lavalava. The traditional wedding dress in Samoa relates to cultural anthropology by proving the boldness that makes both the groom and the bride look different from the rest of the people in the ceremony and enjoy their day and view as valuable. The lavalava for the groom and floral dress for the bride is a symbol of respect to the Samoan culture.
- Cakes in plenty
Wedding ceremonies in Samoa is always huge, which makes the ceremony to acquire many cakes. Families in Samoan are always large, and when a wedding ceremony is held, many people attend from neighbours, members of the church. The culture views cakes as a focal point and centrepiece of wedding receptions in Samoa, at a huge expense. Tiers are vertically stacked up and also across the table. The reason for this is that not all cakes are meant to be shared during the reception only. The cakes which are left are given to people who are of close to both the groom and the bride who may include parents and siblings to the Weds. The ceremony officiant will have to get a whole tier. Before the couples cut the cake, they first have to recognize those who have helped their day to be a success, for instance, family, priest and cultural dancers. Cake being plenty in a wedding relates to the cultural anthropology to show how generous Samoan is to the people.
- Traditional seating arrangement and feast
Food is crucial in traditional weddings in Samoa; the guest is served with Samoan feast. The food for the ceremony is prepared in an oven which is underground, which is referred to as umu, which usually comprises of pork, chop suey, corned beef, chicken, taro and salads. The way the arrangement of seating is is that they seat according to the social status and those who arrange are the close family members of the Weds. Before the feast begins, the bride has typically to do a Samoan dance, Taualuga. The objective of the dance is to symbolize the bride beauty and how she will be an awesome mother. The seating and feasting during traditional weddings relate to cultural anthropology with the traditional food that they cook and how the food is being cooked and place it is cooked.
- RSVP
Unlike the New Zealand wedding ceremony which has a strict deadline and guest list for RSVP, in Samoan that is not important. Which can have up to 100 guests who are not invited, they believe the more the guest, the more the joy (Lavatai, 301). Generosity is a value which is strongly practised in this wedding ceremony in Samoan. Guest can come with their children along, and if you are a visitor in that area, you will be invited to. The children are not given food to eat but will be advised to come with baskets to carry the food later and take it home. Please RSVP is related to the cultural anthropology to show how they are not mean and are welcoming to all people.
- Dancing at night
Entertainment comprising of dancing is crucial in Samoan tradition. After feasting, the bride dances in her floral gown with a rose in her hair. While she continues to dance, money is attached to her by the guest. Since the bride is covered with oil of coconut, the notes stick to her. This is an indicator of respect from the guest. The dances are people who are either hired or from the family sides. The dances that they perform include Siva and taualuga, which is performed while the guest enjoys their feast. Hulu is a dance which is danced by the wife particularly to impress the husband which act as a symbol of respect and love to their marriage. There is also a cultural dance which is performed for the bride by the women of both families, which may include mothers and sisters. The dance symbolizes the bride now ready to be a great mother. The dances that are performed by the bride to her husband and women of both families to the bride is related to cultural anthropology to symbolize the transition of the bride to be a woman and a wife.
Conclusion
The rituals of Samoa culture are fantastic from the way they dance, the feasting, everyone is invited, and the traditional wedding dress and lavalava for the groom. Most Samoan has turned to the westernized wedding, but they still borrow a lot during the marriage from the culture for guidance. How cultural anthropology works in our cultures through generations is it teaches us about another culture by gathering data and showing us how the culture is being practised and how people still go back and borrow some culture after practising the westernized culture. Through learning the rituals in Samoa culture, my attitude has changed and want to know more about other cultures thanks to cultural anthropology. I will make cultural anthropology a discovery in the future with the help of technology and my discovery I will pass it to generations to come.
Work cited
Lavatai, S. F. (2018). The Ifoga ritual in Samoa in anthropological and in biblical perspectives. Missionshilfe Verlag.
Schmidt, Johanna. Migrating genders: Westernization, migration, and Samoan fa’afafine. Routledge, 2016.