| Show SAMOAN CUSTOMS v communication from the journal correspondent EDITOR JOURNAL it was sunday evening all was quiet arid and still the day hail had been well spent in givich an and d receiving that spi spiritual food which inspires the very soul goul and gives birth to other features that develop the more noble qualities which belong to mankind our little worn out bamboo meetinghouse glouse house stands back a fe few rods rod a f from rom tile the a 8 a presenting a sad aspect for the want of repairing its occupants had just ste stepped out to a admire d e the beauties of nature and an it was as now left destitute as far as life was concerned a few book of mormon charts adorn the walls and a map half torn hangs bangs yon yonder der in the corner which makes it appear ear somewhat nhat homelike the in map z p iome is well known to the school teacher A A few native children gather occasionally to by be instructed just ills b behind the partition in the center of the room stands the old tat takle le with its legs leas buried a few inches in the be loose stone floor its use a is IS well known to the moron mormon mor on missionary be spends the long hours of the day seated upon a small ke keg trying to become familiar with a few words and sentences of the language langu IaD guare ace that he be must in time feeal and by the way the writer is no now w spending his time in that manner it az was now evening and biall of god s creatures were preparing I 1 to bid another sabbath adieu I 1 the sun was sinking fast beneath the th horizon spreading its last rays upon the tea ea the moon yonder was anxiously waiting for twilight I 1 to disappear in order that she night put forth her proud form upon the many waters A few clouds cloud here and there ther e were floating about which made the scene more beautiful the grand old cocoanut coco anut palms with their gigantic forms form a towering heavenward partook of the silence too a cricket could be heard singing his song aud and a bird was whistling the old day out to bring the new dew one in even the broad expansive ocean proclaimed peace at this moment in fact all nature was aglow and exercising all the laws that G god od I 1 I 1 has given her viewing our situa situation tion and admiring ni rina all that surrounded us my mind was carried across the grand old pacific to a L pot in utah the valley valey of cache and while it would be je a difficult task to compare this evening on samoa to a beautiful may morning at home hoine faill there was something about it that made it appear homelike at least the sabbath was passed now accord according I 1 ng to the custom of the native people this in connection with more ye yes s a great many mady more of their customs are strange and an elder is i 8 at a loss logs at times to know his place the custom here on the sabbath day is as fax fair as meetings ae arc concerned to hold one com at 7 a m and add the other commencing tit at 3 p m the hours between meetings are spent in sleeping perhaps sow some reading is done and perhaps n not ot I 1 will here mention a few of the characteristics which are prominent among this people first when ion onajo a journey urney and you pass through a village there will be as ft ru rule le some one call and make you acquainted quain ted with the fact that they have or have not something to eat thi seems seema to be a first consideration with them and more particularly with a foreigner when one enters their house bouse he is made to feel quite at home and if perchance pem hance he wishes to remain over night highl the very best mats they have are laid out on the loose stone floor and a bed is prepared and with a net stretched 0 over v er him he sinks into slumber and all is forgotten lie ile dreams that his weary frame is resting on a set of the finest tpring pr ings 6 he awakes only to find himself still on a native bed and he be then remembers the fact that he has duft arrived on oil samoa and is ie becoming e more or less familiar alvith ith the customs of the native people transportation is done by means or of boats mostly almost exclusive ly y it was vaa my ray pleasure upon one occasion to win be in company aith a crew of natives and as aa we moved on in the sm small all row boat the natives tives sang their old familiar ho boat at songs which broke the tha monotony of the long tedious ride all their songs are led by one individual the others sing nn an accorn parliament pani ament I 1 do not know whether professor alexander le lewis would class them as baritones but I 1 should certainly say eay they belonged to the brunty tones at the 0 end of each sentence in the song bong they stop suddenly and make w what hat would be termed a grunt and then pick up the next line without any difficulty y whatever splendid tit time n e is kept considering the method of their singing one of the main features with the n native people is to indulge in in what hat is termed a faafia or a feast this is carried on to an excess when a marriage is performed a great feast is prepared in which the entire village participates another great eve event n t in the history of the young couples lives trap transpires spies when the woman shows s signs of in maternity following this they look forward with great anticipation to the moment u ihben ben the child will be born in order that another feast can be prepared and if perchance the child dies it is then customary to make matters more complete hence another feast is a e expected and providing upon this last occasion a feast is not furnished by the bereaved family the deceased is looked upon and classed with the beaste baarts of the forest the samoan people are governed more or less by tradition and in speaking epe aking to them upon some of these points the reply will be it is the custom one of the most remarkable features of theSa moans is is nearly all the male sex that are matured are from the wa waist down to the knee they are full cheated ch ested broad shouldered and well proportioned and present a perfect picture of a physical being I 1 am yours truly JAI ku JAR JAB laps lapa upolu samoa dec 11 1895 aa f |
