American Samoa

American Samoa is a small group of islands in the South Pacific, in Polynesia: the eastern part of the Samoan archipelago, whose western part is the independent state of Samoa. An unincorporated territory of the United States, it is the only inhabited US territory in the southern hemisphere. Its people are US "nationals" rather than citizens. About 45,000 people live there, around the capital, Pago Pago, at the head of a large bay. They are Samoan Polynesians, still strongly attached to their traditional culture, the fa'a Samoa, "the Samoan way", which governs social life.

American Samoa is made up of steep volcanic islands covered in dense rainforest that runs almost down to the sea. The main island, Tutuila, is mountainous and cut by Pago Pago Bay, a flooded crater and one of the finest natural harbours in the Pacific. All around, reefs, beaches and rich fishing waters are partly protected by a national park. The small Manu'a Islands, further east, keep very old traditions. The climate is tropical, hot and very humid, and cyclones strike regularly.

The Samoan archipelago was settled about three thousand years ago by Polynesian navigators; it is counted among the cradles of Polynesia, from which settlers later spread across the whole eastern Pacific. After European contact, Samoa became the object of a rivalry between powers in the 19th century, which ended in 1899 with the partition of the archipelago: the west to Germany (the future independent state), the east to the United States. The Samoan chiefs of the east formally ceded their islands to the US Navy, which made Pago Pago Bay a naval base. Since then American Samoa has been under US administration while keeping the authority of its customary chiefs and its traditional way of life.

People speak Samoan, a thriving Polynesian language used by everyone, as well as English, which is also official. Samoans have been devout Christians since the missionaries of the 19th century: Protestant (Congregationalist, Methodist) or Catholic, they put religion at the centre of social life. Every village has its church, often an imposing one, and Sunday, a day of rest and worship, is strictly observed. Christianity has merged into the fa'a Samoa: religion, chiefs and the extended family form a single foundation.

The culture of American Samoa is Polynesian and follows the fa'a Samoa, "the Samoan way": respect for the chiefs (the matai), the extended family (the aiga) and the village community, a customary system still widely followed. There is traditional Samoan tattooing (the pe'a, which covers the body), dance (the siva and the fa'ataupati, a slap dance), choral singing, fine mats and tapa cloth. The kava ceremony and large community festivals mark the rhythm of life. Food is cooked in an earth oven (the umu): taro, pork, raw fish in coconut milk (oka) and breadfruit.