Pacific Studies Journal
Abstract
In precontact Samoa, extended families, āiga, and villages, nu‘u, demonstrated their social and political cohesion in periodic, competitive displays of conspicuous consumption, hospitality, and in warfare. Demonstrations of economic capacity and military superiority increased their sociopolitical capital and established, or maintained, their claims to social and political power. These competitive rituals were central features of precontact social organization: the fa‘asamoa.
Recommended Citation
Macpherson, Cluny and Macpherson, La‘avasa
(2016)
"NEW RITUALS FOR OLD: CHANGE AND COMPETITION IN SAMOA,"
Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 39:
No.
3, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol39/iss3/3
Included in
Anthropology Commons, History Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Pacific Islands Languages and Societies Commons