The Evolution of Orality in Samoa

Orality and literacy are two very different yet permanently related aspects of human language. All languages have their origins in primary orality, and only a fraction of all existing languages have actually ever been written down. This research focuses on the adoption of literacy by the Pacific island nation of Samoa and the active response taken by Samoan citizens in the face of this tremendous cultural shift. Samoa was colonized by British missionaries in the 1830s, and within decades they had established literacy in the local language. It was not until after the turn of the twentieth century that the English language gained priority in Samoa, and this fact has allowed for a strong sense of ‘Samoan-ness’ to persist beneath an evolving Samoan society. Though many Samoan oral traditions have undergone transformations at the hands of literacy and westernization, these changes have not necessarily entailed a loss of the Samoan culture. On the contrary, Samoans have used the tools of the colonizers to ensure a proliferation of Samoan identity and a redistribution of orality, finely exemplified through the literary works of Albert Wendt and Sia Figiel. These Samoan writers have indigenized the arena of creative literature, through an innovative use of the English language and unique styles of writing that serve to emphasize native orality and secure an enduring sense of Samoan self. Through resilience and creativity, Samoans have refused to simply let literacy transform their traditions, but rather they have actively perpetuated Samoan culture through adapted outlets of expression, and an adopted world language.