Samoa, a hundred years ago and long before: together with notes on the cults and customs of twenty-three other islands in the Pacific

Turner, George

book chapter

Samoa, a hundred years ago and long before: together with notes on the cults and customs of twenty-three other islands in the Pacific

Macmillan and co. • London • Published In 1884 • Pages:

By: Turner, George.

Abstract
This document is an early description of the culture of Samoa. It was written by a missionary who spent forty years in Oceania, a great part of this time in Samoa. The material here was originally published in an earlier work, Nineteen Years in Polynesia (1861), as part of a personal narrative. It has been separated, revised, and expanded and here takes the form of a book in itself. The author covers the fields of religious beliefs, social organization, and technology. The final chapters of that part of the book which has been processed for the files consist of notes on place names in Samoa.

Mythology

Animism

General character of religion

Spirits and gods

Extended families

Revelation and divination

Avoidance and taboo

Community structure

Community heads

Sacred objects and places

Priesthood

Trial procedure