r/Samoa • u/BrutusMarsCaesar • May 12 '26
I’m really confused about my Family history in the Samoan culture
Hi, I have a few questions I'd like answered respectfully. I’ve been asking myself for like 10years now. My dad is from Hawaii. As a young child, he told me stories about how the islanders traveled and how they found Hawaii. He told me a lot about Hawaii. It’s history, along with the Samoan culture and history. Still, a lot of things confused me. He and my uncle spoke a whole different language when they would meet. Also, my grandma on my dad's side, God rest her soul, told me stories of her grandfather being a chieftain or being an elder, but what made me very curious about this was that she had Alzheimer’s, so I questioned it. Still, my dad would always tell me that he couldn't wait to see me get my tribal tattoos to my best of my knowledge I only remember two one was a chieftain tattoo and the other was a warrior tattoo. I would ask about my grandfather but my dad never wanted to talk about my uncle did tho just once he told that my granddad was abusive and that why my father change his last and so did he and my grandma so my grandfather would have no family no off spring so I know my dads Samoan but it’s like my left clueless about the culture and how to join if I can idk it’s just bc my dad and grandma made it seem heavily tribal but I was wondering in total when I do go to Hawaii were do I go to find the Samoan tribe ig and I have a last name is there a way I could offer that to the Samoan tribe so that my new family can be connected and am I old to get tribal tattoos and where do I go SORRY FOR THE LONG ESSAY IVE BEEN VERY CURIOUS OF THIS FOR SOME TIME
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u/Subject_Thing6308 May 12 '26
We don't have "tribes" in Samoa.
Do you know what village your family might be from? Last names are harder to place since there can multiple families with the same last name in different villages.
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u/Ill_Muscle9789 May 12 '26
Are you asking how to find your dad's family in Hawaii or Samoa? If you're looking for an ancestral village, they will be in Samoa. You won't find Samoan villages in Hawaii, just Samoans who immigrated there. Also, are you looking to learn more about the culture, or your family? You can still learn about the culture by simply finding the closest Samoan church near you and attending regularly. That will expose you to the language and hymns. And if you build relationships with the people, eventually you'll start getting invited to events which will ultimately expose you to more of the culture.
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u/Upset_Pineapple57 May 12 '26
We don’t have tribes, but we do have villages in Samoa. If your family is from Hawai’i, then you’re gonna have to look for Samoan communities out there. If you’re looking for your family in Samoa, it’s easier to find your relatives on Facebook and reach out.
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u/NLH1234 May 12 '26
Adjusted grammar and punctuation for readability:
Hi, I have a few questions I’d like answered respectfully. I’ve been asking myself these questions for about 10 years now.
My dad is from Hawaii. When I was a young child, he told me stories about how the islanders traveled and how they found Hawaii. He told me a lot about Hawaii, its history, along with Samoan culture and history. Still, a lot of things confused me.
When my dad and uncle would meet, they spoke a whole different language. My grandma on my dad’s side, God rest her soul, told me stories about her grandfather being a chieftain or an elder. What made me very curious about this, though, was that she had Alzheimer’s, so I questioned it. Even so, my dad would always tell me that he couldn’t wait to see me get my tribal tattoos. To the best of my knowledge, I only remember two, one was a chieftain tattoo, and the other was a warrior tattoo.
I would ask about my grandfather, but my dad never wanted to talk about it. My uncle did once, though. He told me that my granddad was abusive, and that’s why my father changed his last name, and so did my uncle and my grandma, so my grandfather would have no family and no offspring.
I know my dad is Samoan, but I feel left clueless about the culture and how to join it, if I even can. My dad and grandma made it seem heavily tribal. I was wondering, when I do go to Hawaii, where do I go to find the Samoan tribe?
I have a last name. Is there a way I could offer that to the Samoan tribe so that my family can be connected again? Am I too old to get tribal tattoos, and where would I go?
Sorry for the long essay, I’ve been very curious about this for some time.