Gender dance: patriarchal society-American Samoa

Today’s lecture concentrated on American Samoa, its beliefs and customs. It was all about men-led culture and how the Samoans, despite both of us being Americans, are different from us. The lecture considered how our dance is defined by our society and how the dance represents us.
The object of the dance in the lecture is how we describe the dance and how it defines us in return. The quote under research was to figure out culture and make sure you understand the dance as the speech started. You had to see the person first in order to get to know the dance. You cannot fully understand one’s culture if you cannot understand their dance and the meaning it has to them. The dance indicates many people’s insights and how they live. So it was clear to everyone that to understand other people’s culture you had to follow the people.

We learned more about the Samoans in the lecture. One lesson was that the Samoan men were responsible for cooking and preparing dinner, this was their tradition. We also learned that they used to have two meals in a day, at midmorning and early evening. They ate while seated on the mats on the floor. The elders and visitors or guests were served first while the women and children ate later.

I was impacted by various things regarding today’s lecture; first, the lack of consideration on disease prevention in the Samoans, their way of life, can lead to low cancer screening rates. Also, their respect for chiefs called matai and pastors could be used into cancer prevention agenda which is aimed at improving cancer control for the Samoan people.

I made connections and reflections regarding a Samoan kid who lives his or her people to study in America. For such a student family support was essential in his or her life. Growing in your community helps one to find support and role medals for mentoring purposes. According to the Samoans, if a kid rebels against the family they are not allowed to continue in their rebellion. The migrating kid chooses to live respecting their norms and culture, despite being in a new environment, the school in the United States. Such kids struggle to live in both communities, finding comfort in the culture and customs of both Americans and Samoan people. The lecturer taught us in details about the culture and traditions of the Samoan people.

Today’s lecture was vital as we learned that Samoans believe that faith, music, and family are essential components of life. It is shown in their dancing, which aims to sustain and protect traditions despite the evolution of time trying to change things.