The Study Of The Samoan Culture: Changes On Family And Marriage

Samoa, just like all the other countries in the world has discovered so many changes in all areas of its culture, needless to state that even its language has had so many changes due to the influence of so many factors. It is arguable to state that the changes started right from the period of Colonialism by Germany and New Zealand that although the island nation gained its independence or self governance in 1962, close to forty (40) years of colonialism was long enough to form a steady base of changes to start pouring in. On top of that, Samoa was already in touch with the outside world since 1830 when the first group of missionaries from London arrived to bring and introduce Christianity.Around the late 21st century, it was no longer strange to see so many white people, Asian-looking people on the island, not to mention the flood of mixed blooded Samoans or half casts as they are known in the island.Samoa was obviously changing little by little since then right up to the very moment, simply in all areas which of course includes the Family, the core institution of Socialization.The main factors behind changes in Samoan family are Religion, Inter-racial marriages and Globalization via Migration.The paper looks specifically at the Samoan culture and the changes it has discovered so far, focusing mainly on Family and Marriage, from the past to the presentIt simply reveals what these changes are, where they came from, why and how they came about. In light of that, the paper goes on to explain how Samoan families used to live in the past and how they do at present, how they treated marriages in the past and how they do at present.Believing that the family is the main institution of Socialization and any process to occur, it is necessary to examine the changes it has been experiencing, because once we understand what's happening in it, there is also great possibility we can be able to understand what is happening and changing around and outside this circle.This thesis contains five (5) chapters including the Introduction. The first chapter is mainly about some background information about this country called Samoa. Thus it introduces a brief history and geography, its culture and some common features that every other country has such as Religion and its economy.The second and third chapters focus on the changes alone. Thus it covers how a typical traditional Samoan family lives, how that family used to live in the past and how it does nowadays. Not only that but also there is an explanation of how traditional marriages were done in the past and the huge changes nowadays.The fourth chapter is an analysis of the impact of the changes mentioned in the second and third chapters; on the five (5) main functions of the family, (1) economic production, (2) socialization of the children, (3) care for the aged and sick, (4) sexual control, and (5) reproduction.Chapter five or the last chapter summarizes the four chapters, shows the writer's views and expounds the role of this paper to the world especially China...