What are the gender roles in Samoa?
What are the gender roles in Samoa?
On the island of Samoa, there are four recognized cultural genders: female, male, fa’afafine, and fa’afatama. Fa’afafine and fa’afatama are fluid gender roles that move between male and female worlds.
Who are matai in Samoa?
The word matai means chief, and is an honour that is bestowed upon someone. The role of the matais is very complex and interwoven deep into the fabric of Samoan culture and history. Matais have family, civic, political and prior to the arrival of the European, religious duties to perform.
What was the Mau movement in Samoa?
The Mau was a non-violent movement for Samoan independence from colonial rule during the first half of the 20th century. Mau means ‘resolute’ or ‘resolved’ in the sense of ‘opinion’, ‘unwavering’, ‘to be decided’, or ‘testimony’; also denoting ‘firm strength’ in Samoan.
Is there gender equality in Samoa?
Women and the Law The Samoan constitution makes reference to equality before the law for women but does not prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or HIV and AIDS. Samoa has limited scope for anti-discrimination coverage beyond public institutions.
What is the relationship between male and female branches of a Samoan Aiga?
What is the relationship between “male” and “female” branches of an aiga? Members of male branches must respect and defer to members of the female branches.
What does seiuli mean?
SEIULI is my Samoan High Chief’s name. The title was bestowed upon me by his Highness The King of Samoa.
Why was the Mau a Pule formed?
Samoan independence …began in 1908 with the Mau a Pule, a movement led by the orator chief Lauaki Namulau’ulu. The matai were dissatisfied with the German governor’s attempts to change the fa’a Samoa and centralize all authority in his hands.
Was the Mau a Pule successful?
The aim of the Mau of Pule was to challenge German rule and try to secure for Samoans more involvement in their own affairs of government. Under Lauaki’s leadership the movement was initially successful, but struggled due to factionalism.
What are the 3 types of gender?
Gender is a concept that can be broken down into three categories: gender identity, gender expression and physical sex.
What are the three genders?
In Plato’s Symposium, written around the 4th century BC, Aristophanes relates a creation myth involving three original sexes: female, male and androgynous.
What is Tamaitai?
You are a tamaitai Samoa – one who is strong and whose legacy is that of total achievement.
How many genders are there in American Samoa?
There are three genders in American Samoa. You can probably come up with the first two: male and female. And you can probably color in the roles of each in the household if you think about what a conservative culture.
What are fa’afafines and fa’afatamas in Samoa?
On the Polynesian island of Samoa, near Fiji, fa’afafines and fa’afatamas are widely regarded as third and fourth genders, alongside male and female. Read on to discover more. What are fa’afafines and fa’afatamas?
Why do Samoans identify as faʻafafine?
The correlation of fa’afafine with the younger sons of many older brothers is a cultural incorporation of the scientifically accepted Fraternal Birth Order effect on male gender expression and sexuality. It has been estimated that 1–5% of Samoans identify as faʻafafine.
Are fa’afafines considered third and fourth gender?
The binary gender system in Western society is far from universally accepted. On the Polynesian island of Samoa, near Fiji, fa’afafines and fa’afatamas are widely regarded as third and fourth genders, alongside male and female. Read on to discover more.
