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Dietary and Social Choices in American Samoa
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11256 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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5 / 1986 |
7,088 Words |
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James R. Bindon
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My first impression of Samoa, in July of 1976, was of being surrounded by green in every direction. This was truly the tropical paradise that I had read about for so long. But this was paradise with a twist--supplied by 150 years of exposure to European and U.S. influence. There were, and still are, many interesting questions awaiting answers. I have spent much of the last decade investigating how recent changes in lifestyle have affected the diet and health of Samoans. The article summarizes the background of my study and some of the findings at which my colleagues and I have arrived.
Polynesians first arrived in the Samoan archipelago about 3,000 years ago, carrying with them everything that they needed to set up a long-term settlement. The group of voyagers that founded the Samoan population had few local foods to rely upon when settling the islands. While ocean and reef resources were no doubt bountiful, plant foods would not be available until their crops began bearing. As in most Polynesian communities, these crops included breadfruit (Artocarpus communis, Samoan: 'ulu), banana (Musa, Section Eumusa, Samoan: fa'I), taro (Colocasia esculenta, Samoan: talo), elephant ear (Alocasia macrorrhiza, Samoan: ta'amu) and coconut (Cocos nucifera, Samoan: niu). Until these crops began producing, the new arrivals were probably dependent on the few stored foods available. These would have included fermented breadfruit and banana.
The early voyagers must have experienced a prolonged period of deprivation. Some have suggested that, as a result, a strong natural selection occurred that genetically shaped the subsequent population of Polynesia. This selection favored individuals who got the most out of their food. In preparation for the period of near-fasting that would come during long voyages and attempted settlements, the Polynesians would feast. Those who were able to turn this food into fat for storage would stand the best chance of survival.
The Polynesian settlers of Samoa originated somewhere to the west and sailed large, double-hulled vessels into the rising sun. It is not possible to give the exact point of origin for the voyagers, but the most likely starting point on mainland Asia would be somewhere along the coast of Southern China. Their first staging area appears to have been the island of Taiwan, from which they moved on to the Philippines and islands of Sotheast Asia.
The earliest recognizable phase in the settlement of Polynesia has come to be named after a pottery style called Lapita. Lapita pottery vessels come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, with a number of different decorative motifs employed. In the opinion of some Polynesian art experts the Lapita design system, as preserved in the ceramic record, probably served as the basis for much contemporary Polynesian art style.
Radiocarbon dating of materials at Lapita sites in Western Samoa range from about 1,000 B.C. to 100 A.D. The Lapita cultural complex runs along a west-east axis from New Britain and New Ireland off the northeast coast of New Guinea to Tonga and Samoa in the Central Pacific.
Lapita settlements, like most Samoan villages today, were self-sufficient villages clustered along the shore. Remains of a wide range of fish and shellfish can be found in many of the Lapita sites, emphasizing the early settlers' reliance on
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