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Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ; two smaller, inhabited islands ; and several smaller, uninhabited islands, including the Aleipata Islands. Samoa is located 64 km (40 mi) west of American Samoa, 889 km (552 mi) northeast of Tonga, 1,152 km (716 mi) northeast of Fiji, 483 km (300 mi) east of Wallis and Futuna, 1,151 km (715 mi) southeast of Tuvalu, 519 km (322 mi) south of Tokelau, 4,190 km (2,600 mi) southwest of Hawaii, and 610 km (380 mi) northwest of Niue. The capital and largest city is Apia. The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a Samoan language and Samoan cultural identity.
A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards.
Latin dance is a general label, and a term in partner dance competition jargon. It refers to types of ballroom dance and folk dance that mainly originated in Latin America, though a few styles originated elsewhere.
Hula is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (oli) or song (mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form.
The Music of Samoa is a complex mix of cultures and traditions, with pre- and post-European contact histories. Since American colonization, popular traditions such as rap and hip hop have been integrated into Samoan music.
The traditional music of Tuvalu consists of dances, including fatele, fakanau and fakaseasea. The influence of the Samoan missionaries sent to Tuvalu by the London Missionary Society from the 1860s resulted in the suppression of songs about the traditional religions or magic and many songs were lost. As the influence of the missionaries diminished in the 20th century the traditional dances were revived and the siva dance tradition from Samoa also became popular.
The traditional culture of Samoa is a communal way of life based on Fa'a Samoa, the unique socio-political culture. In Samoan culture, most activities are done together. The traditional living quarters, or fale (houses), contain no walls and up to 20 people may sleep on the ground in the same fale. During the day, the fale is used for chatting and relaxing. One's family is viewed as an integral part of a person's life. The aiga or extended family lives and works together. Elders in the family are greatly respected and hold the highest status, and this may be seen at a traditional Sunday umu.
Samoans or Samoan people are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between the Independent State of Samoa and American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States of America. Though divided by national border, the culture and language are the same.
Polynesian culture is the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. The development of Polynesian culture is typically divided into four different historical eras:
Sousta is a Greek folk dance, performed at weddings as an activity of courtship between husband and wife. It originates from Ancient Greece, and holds prominence in Dodecanese Islands, and broader Aegean region. It is the second most common Greek dance, after the Syrtos, with many Greek islands and villages adopting their own version. The performance of the dance reflects various gender roles, inter-played with values of romance and marriage. The Sousta acted as a socialisation process between the youth of a village, evolving into a dance central to these youth as they grew up and formed relationships with others. Socially, the Sousta also functioned as a visible verification of courtship, namely paying respects to the wife and her family. The Sousta is most commonly performed as a three-step dance, with a 'hopping' motion and crossed-over hands.
Subak (手搏) is an ancient martial art that originated in Korea and uses bare-hand techniques. The term was also used in Korea to refer to any fighting style that used bare hands. It is a different fighting style from Soo Bahk Do, which is a modern martial art with the same pronunciation.
The tautoga is considered the most formal and restrained style of Rotuman dance, usually seen performed in large festivities or ceremonies, or in public opportunities to showcase Rotuman culture. The tautoga style can be seen as comparable to the Tuvaluan fatele or Tongan lakalaka, and the "toga" sound to the word alludes to such an origin.
Georgian dance is the traditional dance of Georgia. It stems from military moves, sports games, and dances celebrated during holidays in the Middle Ages. The dance was popularized by the founders of the Georgian National Ballet, Iliko Sukhishvili, and his wife, Nino Ramishvili,
Outside Western cultures, men's clothing commonly includes skirts and skirt-like garments; however, in the Americas and much of Europe, skirts are usually seen as feminine clothing and socially stigmatized for men and boys to wear, despite having done so for centuries. While there are exceptions, most notably the cassock and the kilt, these are not really considered 'skirts' in the typical sense of fashion wear; rather they are worn as cultural and vocational garments. People have variously attempted to promote the fashionable wearing of skirts by men in Western culture and to do away with this gender distinction.
Sasa is a Samoan word for a particular group dance. The sasa can be performed by both males and females in a seated position or standing. Hand movements are used to depict activities taken from everyday life.
Body percussion may be performed on its own or as an accompaniment to music and/or dance. Examples of countries' folk traditions that incorporate body percussion include Indonesian saman, Ethiopian armpit music, palmas in flamenco, and the hambone from the United States. Body percussion is a subset of "body music".
Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair and living in hospitable climates. As humans became behaviorally modern, body adornments such as jewelry, tattoos, body paint and scarification became part of non-verbal communications, indicating a person's social and individual characteristics. Indigenous peoples in warm climates used clothing for decorative, symbolic or ceremonial purposes but were often nude, having neither the need to protect the body from the elements nor any conception of nakedness being shameful. In many societies, both ancient and contemporary, children might be naked until the beginning of puberty. Women may not cover their breasts, being associated with nursing babies more than with sexuality.
In Uvea (Wallis) and Futuna, dances play a major cultural role. One sees dance in fakahaha'aga (festivals), to'oto'oga, or just for pure pleasure. In Uvea, the term faiva is used for dance, whereas the term mako is used. In Uvea and Futuna there is a katoaga which is only celebrated with the visit of chiefs and if lucky, with the Lavelua (King). As the years go by, dance and culture is still alive and well in Uvea and Futuna. The normal fakapale is given to the dancers for their magnificent dance. The following dances of Uvea and Futuna below are just some of the dances, or are the main dances seen in Wallisian and Futunan culture.
Belly dance is a Middle Eastern dance that originated in Egypt, which features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different forms depending on the country and region, both in costume and dance style; with the Egyptian styles and costumes being the most recognized worldwide due to Egyptian cinema. Belly dancing in its various styles and forms is popular worldwide with many schools around the globe practicing it.
The 20th century saw multiple trends and changes in women's fitness culture.
References
- ↑ "Pacific Islands: Sizzling in Samoa". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ↑ Kit Sketch Coloma (1984). "Samoan Dance Genres and Other Related Subjects". University of Hawaii. pp. 36–37. Retrieved 20 October 2022.