Overview
Total land area: 2934 square kilometres
Highest point: About 1850 metres above sea level
Annual rainfall: 2540–7620 millimetres
Population in the year 2000: 173,000
Many Samoans also live in New Zealand and elsewhere.
Environmental threats to Samoa include cyclones and volcanic eruptions. In the future, any rise in sea level will encroach on coastal areas.
What is a high volcanic island?
A high volcanic island is rugged and mountainous – formed by volcanic activity. Samoa is made up of volcanic islands that have formed over the last two million years. Some of its volcanoes are still active. The last eruption was on Savai‘i in 1911.
Food and water on Samoa
Samoa has fertile soils, plenty of fresh water, and good marine resources. Earlier inhabitants depended on food crops that their ancestors had introduced. These included taro, breadfruit, bananas, and yams. All grew well in the Samoan soil.
Toolmaking in Samoa
Samoa is rich in high-quality basalt, a volcanic rock excellent for making tools. Samoan tools were prized in many parts of the Pacific, and have been found as far away as the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Caroline Islands.
The right adze for the job
Samoans developed a range of different types of stone adze blade, each for a specific task. These examples was probably for planing large pieces of timber.
How the Samoan world was created
The god Tagaloa lived in the Expanse. Nothing else existed. Then a rock grew, on which Tagaloa stood.
From this rock, he made Papa-ta‘oto (lying rock), Papa-sosolo (creeping rock), Papa-lau-a‘au (reef rock), Papa-‘ano-‘ano (thick rock), Papa-‘ele (clay rock), Papa-tu (standing rock), as well as Papa-‘amu-‘amu (coral rock) and its children. Tagaloa also created the Earth, the Sea, and the Sky from the rock he stood on; then Immensity, Space, and Clouds.
Tagaloa spoke and created the first man. Then he created spirit, heart, will and thought, which joined together inside the man.
E faapefea ona maua le Atunuu o Samoa
O le atua tagata e igoa ia Tagaloa sa soifua ma ola mai i se lalolagi gaogao ma le nunumi. Sa vaaia se papa maa ua tupu a‘e i luga, ma sa tu ai Tagaloa i luga o lenei papa.
I lenei la papa, na faia ai e Tagaloa i se ituaiga papa, e pei o le Papa-ta‘oto, Papa-sosolo, Papa-lau-a‘au, Papa-‘ano-‘ano, Papa-‘ele, Papa-tu, faapea fo‘i ma le Papa-‘amu-‘amu faatasi ai fo‘i ma lana fanau. Na faia fo‘i e Tagaloa le Lalolagi, le Sami ma le Vanimonimo mai i lenei papa: o le galuega mulimuli na faia o le ‘Ilu, le Mamao ma le Niuao.
Sa faapea mai Tagaloa o le a faia le tagata, ona ia faia lea o le ulua‘i tagata. Sa faapena fo‘i ona ia faia le agaga, o le loto, o le manatu ma le mafaufau ma ua tuufaatasi ia mea uma, ma ua ola manuia ai tagata.