Fa’a can be translated as “the way of” – which means that fa’a Samoa is the “Samoan way of living”. It is based on two pillars: matai and aiga. Samoans live in a  communally owned land together with aiga (family, kin) in a village (nu’u) where they  practice Samoan traditions.

 “The fa’amatai ̄ is the Samoan chiefly system and is fundamental to the sociopolitical organization of the Samoan society” (Memea Kruse, 2), which means it is the patriarchal system of governance. The system is based on aiga clanship. It consists of immediate aiga (i.e. father, brother) and a nexus of aiga potopoto  (extended family) (Memea Kruse 8/9). Multiple aiga groups form a village, which is known as nu’u.

Usually sons live with their fathers, whereas daughters move to the village of their husband. The aiga is overseen by a matai (chief and title holder) who is responsible for the aiga’s communal lands and natural resources. As the family leader and trustee, he supervises that the aiga sticks to its tradition, cultural obligation, and duty (Memea Kruse, 2). Additionally he distributes food and labor among the aiga.

Therefore fa’a Samoa , the “Samoan way of living”, is regulated bylaws which are based on village traditions under the authority of a matai. Their lifestyle has been able to adapt to the changes of the last centuries and only changed minimally under the 20^th century western influence of the United States (Memea Kruse, 10).

Still, a conversion from the communal lifestyle to individually owned property and Americanized way of living is visible.

Sources:

Blackford, Mansel G.. „CHAPTER 6. Guam, the Philippines, and American Samoa„. Pathways to the Present: U.S. Development and Its Consequences in the Pacific, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2007, pp. 166-202. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824863906-008

Mannion, Benjamin E. „A People Distinct from Others: Service Sacrifice, and Extending Naturalized Citizenship to American Samoans.“ Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems, vol. 27, no. 2, Winter 2018, p. 477-[vi]. HeinOnline.

Memea Kruse, Line-Noue. The Pacific Insular Case of American Sāmoa : Land Rights and Law in Unincorporated US Territories / by Line-Noue Memea Kruse. Palgrave Macmillan, 2018. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat07899a&AN=ulb.1653929340&lang=de&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Yeung, Ivy. “The Price of Citizenship: Would Citizenship Cost American Samoa Its National Identity.” Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal, vol. 17, no. 2, Jan. 2016, pp. 1–34. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edshol&AN=edshol.hein.journals.aplpj17.12&lang=de&site=eds-live&scope=site.