Family Reunion, December, 29

Patamea, December 30, 2012

Yesterday, my host family had a reunion. My extended host family live in the fales around my host family and there were people in town from American Samoa, New Zealand, and Australia, as well as the family from Apia who were staying with us. They day started with some chatting in one of the fales. I was allowed/invited to sit in on the conversation with the elders of the family. Someone my age in Samoa wouldn't be so freely allowed to do so as it's quite an honor.

Following the tafao (hanging out), we had a small prayer service with the pastor around the graves behind the fale. There was a new headstone for one of the graves which was also unveiled during the service. They said a lengthy prayer (as is the custom in Samoa with some prayers lasting 15-20 minutes. I've even heard of a single prayer that lasted upwards of 45 minutes) and sand a beautiful hymn in four-part harmony (another part of Samoan culture--everyone has a part of the harmony depending on gender and age).

They prayer service was interesting to me because, while the adults were all standing in reverence, the children, teenagers, and young adults were all sitting on or even lounging on the graves next to the one that had been unveiled. Some were taking videos or pictures. Though I had my camera, I felt it would be rude to use it. Cultural differences, I guess.

The service ended and we all made our way slowly to the front of the house. Along the way I started a conversation with a young man visiting from Australia. He was in his early twenties and was ethnically Samoan but this was his first time visiting Samoa. He was planning to be around until February. I continued to chat with him and two other young visitors from Australia. We sat in the kitchen and drank water from the refrigerator since it was quite hot out. We ended up chatting a bit too long and almost missed the beginning of the next part of the reunion.

The entire family crossed the road to another aunt and uncle's house for an ava ceremony and lunch. The ava ceremony was a part of the reunion I could only watch from a distance. It is a traditional and formal ceremony to welcome traveling parties. The matai (titled men and women) go through a somewhat standard or ritual conversation and then, one by one, they drink a cup of ava. Before drinking they pour a bit on the ground as an offering to god. The ceremony varies in length depending on what exactly they say and how long they take to say it but it is normally (in my experience) no less than 30 minutes and often substantially longer. Once theirs was over it was time for lunch.

While the ava ceremony was happening the untitled men and women (mostly the women) prepared the food. Actually, all of the food had been prepared that morning or the night before. During the ava ceremony, the used a work-line to put the food into enough Styrofoam to-go containers for everyone to have their own. The amount of food was shocking. Well, it would have been shocking if I hadn't been in the country for nearly three months at that point and already witnessed the amount of food that Samoans typically present at special occasions. There was chicken, pork, sausage, curry, taro, rice, and plenty more. I wasn't able to finish mine which meant more food for others.

Once the lunch was over the time for dancing began. In Samoa, this normally means a small group of people getting up in front of everyone else to dance (read: make a fool of themselves). This is also normally associated with giving money as that small group dances. This money was used to buy treats for late on in the evening. I was invited to dance with the first group (as well as nearly every other group). After a while, I began to have trouble remembering that it was for fun and to include me as well as give me a chance to integrate a bit with the family. Instead, I was getting frustrated by being asked to dance so much. I felt like they were trying to put me on show. But, again, this was my own interpretation which actually prevented me from getting closer with my family.

After the dance, the adults had a long (three hours) meeting to discuss the time for the next reunion. Unfortunately, it's going to take place just days or weeks after my Peace Corps service is over in December of 2014.

Then it was time for a little malolo (rest). I went back to my fale and read and slept. After a couple of hours I went back to my host family's house where they informed me there would be another siva (dance) that night. The second siva started at 10:00pm and lasted about two hours. There was plenty of music and dancing, however, my forming insecurities and frustrations again got the better of me. I think it was just part of the emotional roller coaster that is culture shock. The dance ended with the entire family holding hands in a giant circle and singing--a truly beautiful and powerful experience. When it was over, I went to my fale for a long, strong rest.