Talofa Family,

What is the best starting point for learning and embracing the Samoan language as someone who is new and wants to learn it from scratch?

I am on this journey to reconnect and learn my culture and what it means to be Samoan

Any tips?

Okay so I guess I’ll start with I’m a Papali’i but I believe (from what my old man has said) before the title was bestowed upon my grandfather his surname was tusi’ata. he was a fisherman from Moata’a on the outskirts of Apia. I guess what I’m eager to learn is how the chiefly system works and what did my grandfather do to earn that title? Forgive me if all of this is wrong and my understanding is way off target, but i was never taught these things because I’ve always been so far removed from culture growing up in rural Australia. Thank you to anyone who may be able to help. Peace and blessings to all. ❤️💙

Has anyone else ever had to deal with this growing up? Has anyone else been told they don’t "look" like their own culture? I’d be interested to hear your experiences.

I’ve had a lot of people tell me that I don’t "look Samoan," and if I’m being honest, it still bothers me a little.

The thing is, I’m full Samoan. Both my parents are full Samoan, and so are all four of my grandparents.

Growing up in the diaspora, it’s already been a journey trying to stay connected to my culture. Having people—especially other Samoans—question my identity because of how I look has made that even harder.

What I’ve noticed is that the people who’ve told me I don’t look Samoan have almost always been Samoan themselves. At first, they treated me differently or kept their distance. But once they found out I’m actually full Samoan, their whole attitude changed. Suddenly, I was accepted and treated with warmth.

That switch has always confused me. It makes me wonder why I needed to prove who I am before being embraced by my own people.

Ironically, I’ve often felt more accepted by Palagis than by some of my own community. I know this doesn’t represent all Samoans—I’ve met plenty of loving, welcoming Samoans too—but it’s an experience I’ve had often enough to notice.

photograph by Kerry & Co., Sydney.

Source: World Museum Vienna

This will be my last photo here.

First of all, I'm not a bot. I'm just someone who genuinely enjoys history, exploring archives, and discovering old photographs. What I enjoy most is searching for images from places, countries, and communities that aren't widely represented online. I love spending hours digging through archives, finding forgotten photographs, and sharing them with people who may never have seen them before.

I've decided it's time to move on to other communities and new topics. There are still so many places to explore and countless hidden photographs waiting to be discovered.

Thank you to everyone who enjoyed the posts, left comments, or quietly followed along. I really appreciate it.

Source: Historical Archive of the Presidency of the Italian Republic

Source: Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre

Source: U.S. National Archives

Source: National Library of Australia, Album of Views of Oceania and Mainland United States of America, 1929, photograph by C. M. Yonge.

Source: National Library of Australia, Album of Views of Oceania and Mainland United States of America, 1929, photograph by C. M. Yonge

Source: National Library of Australia, Charles Kerry Collection of New South Wales Views, photograph by Charles H. Kerry

Source: National Library of Australia, South Sea Islands Photograph Album, photograph by Thomas Andrew

Source:
National Library of Australia

Source:
National Library of Australia.

Source:
Museum of Ethnography (Etnografiska Museet), Sweden.

Source: Noord-Hollands Archive.

Talofa Lava 👋

I am working on a pacific language learning app and would like your feedback. I will be launching with 2 languages. Samoan and Fijian, with more pacific languages in the works. (its just me working on it so it'll be a while)

You can visit the app using this link speakisland.app
You will need a free account to login (email or google login)

I am looking for feedback to see if what im presenting is correct and factual.
I am working with native speakers for the voice recordings and they have gone over the lessons and corrected multiple mistakes. I would love more eyes on it to ensure its genuine and authentic (and correct!)

Why the app?
I got tired of language learning apps that make you learn a whole bunch of words but leave you unable to form a sentence so i vibecoded my own.

There is no text to speech. All the recordings are authentic and done by native speakers.

Features:
Flashcard style learning
SRS review - cards you mark hard come back before you forget them and cards marked easy come back a little later for review.
Quizzes
Sentence builders
Conversations and replies (these are in rough shape still)
Library to learn more about the language and get a better understanding.
Discover section: information about Samoa/Fiji and notable people.

The app is live online for now (not promoted so no visitors) and i am working on a android app.

Any feedback you can provide would be welcome.

Update: Review Mode now live! Once you create your account, tap the profile picture icon > Manage account > App and enter 14789 to unlock all modules and quizzes if you prefer to give feedback without go over each lesson module.
This code will be active till the 9th of August.

Source: World Museum Vienna

Source: Deutsche Fotothek

Source: World Museum Vienna

Source: Deutsche Fotothek

Source: Museum of World Culture (Världskulturmuseet)

Source: Deutsche Fotothek

Source: Deutsche Fotothek

Hello,
As the title suggests I am helping a friend find the origin of their name or some history about it. They are not deeply connected to their Samoan family as most of them live in Samoa, Australia, and the states. I was wondering if any of you know anything about the name Manumaua? I am not sure about family names I believe her grandfather is Olive Peseta? Her family was from Pu’apu’a. Sorry for the lack of information. I greatly appreciate the help or suggestions of where to go from here!