Fa Afailele In The Indigenous Samoan Culture

The term fa’afailele can parsed in three words in order to grasp the meaning of the word, fa’a indicates in the manner of, fai means to do, make or to mend and lastly lele means to fly. Thus fa’afailele can be defined as, to nurture so one grows and blossoms or to make one able to soar through life. Fa’afailele is one of the most important processes of a child’s life. In the indigenous Samoan culture, raising a child involves not only the parents or the extended family but also the village and church. Respect for elders was strongly enforced. I remember growing up, if the faifeau scolds or spanks us because we did misbehaved or skipped choir practice or what not, it would be another whooping if my parents find out. Likewise it was the same at school if we did not do our homework or show any disrespectful behavior. It may seem like a tough life, a sign of oppression or child abuse however it does not seem

Parent-Child Relationship

Relationship between parent and child begins in the womb of the mother for it is where fa’afailele begins. The mother nurtures the child when it is inside her womb. The father on the other hand assists the mother once the child is born. This relationship between parent and child is crucial to the upbringing of the child for this is where the child learns obedient, respect and other habits by mimicking their parent. The child is the mirror image of his/her parent, it reflects on Samoan terms used; son is called atali’i and daughter is afafine. According to Nove Vailaau, a theologian and a minister of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa in Porirua in A Theology of Children;

The Samoan word atalii (son) is a combination of two words – ata, meaning picture, reflection, likeness, image, and the word alii, meaning man, father, male, chief, lord. The word for daughter is afafine. This also combines two words – a meaning of the, and fafine meaning woman. So afafine defines a daughter as the reflection and likeness of her