Whispers and vanities: Samoan indigenous knowledge and religion [Book Review]
2015; Volume: 30; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1173-1036
Autores Tópico(s)Island Studies and Pacific Affairs
ResumoSuaalii-Sauni, M.; M. A. Wendt, V. Mo'a, N. Fuamatu, U. L. Va'ai, R. Whaitiri and S L Filipo (eds.)(2014) Whispers and Vanities: Samoan Indigenous Knowledge and Religion. Wellington: Huia Publishers.Reviewed by Laumua Tunufa'iThis timely volume propounds yet again one more of His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Ta'isi Tupuola Tufuga Efi's (henceforth Tui Atua) daring ventures into Samoa's past and the depth of Samoan sensibilities to address questions and challenges which many contemporary diasporic and homeland Samoans continue to either conveniently (sometimes hypocritically) avoid or secretly attempt to find answers for. Such questions relate to cultural and religious identities in the face of Christianity and other similarly introduced religiosities, validity and place of indigenous epistemologies within contemporary globalised settings, as well as access to the domain of knowledge economy.This book is the end product of a collective decision by participants of a weekend retreat at the official residence of Samoa's Head of State, Tui Atua, at Vailele in January 2010. The retreat was inspired by the Fifth Parliament of the World's Religions which was held in in 2009 in Melbourne, Australia and where Tui Atua presented the paper which is the first chapter and serves as the foundation of this volume. All subsequent chapters provide responses to Tui Atua's conceptualisation of some key elements of Samoa's indigenous religion. The decision to marshal contributors from other islands in Oceania and European countries, in addition to scholars of Samoan descent, should be commended. Similarly, the inclusion of the expertise from a variety of fields and perspectives enhances the disciplinary advance of Tui Atua's arguments. In a sense, however, this book is not necessarily easy to review because all authors, except Tui Atua, are in fact all reviewers of the foundation essay, and so am I. This review therefore focuses on analysing Tui Atua's chapter, while fusing into it relevant points from other authors.Tui Atua begins by attempting to differentiate between tala tu'umumusu - reverent and loving imbuing of 'sacred knowledge', and tala taumusumusu - irreverent and 'disturbing kind of whisper' (p. 12). Tala tu'umumusu engenders as only a select few - nainai - are chosen to receive Samoan special religious and cultural knowledge. This exclusivity in fact gives rise to tala taumusumusu among those who miss out. Moreover, tala tu'umumusu, on one hand, safeguards the sanctity, validity and continuity of Samoa's indigenous religion, which includes a celebration of the human body and sexuality. On the other hand, tala taumusumusu ashamedly and secretly whispers such values in fear of reprimand from the overpowering new religion of Christianity, especially its emphasis on the doctrine of original sin (Augustinian guilt).Tui Atua draws heavily on fagogo (ancient creation stories, songs), tini (marriage), 'auala (funeral) and/or medicinal chants (pp. 16-17) to support three main arguments in his essay. The first argument posits that Christianity, specifically its emphasis on the original sin (Augustinian guilt), is responsible for undermining the beauties of Samoa's indigenous religion, and has therefore resulted in contemporary Samoan people having 'hang-ups about their naked bodies' and sexualities. However, Raymond Pelly points out that Augustine did not think of sex as inherently evil, but his new understanding of God freed Augustine up to love people in a non-sexual way (p.87). At this point, I wish to take advantage of Tui Atua's courteous invitation to share an analysis of His Highness' rendition of Samoan indigenous religion. From within the presented text, I argue that the so-called 'hang-ups about naked bodies' existed within the Samoan culture before the arrival of Christianity. To illustrate this argument, let us consider the following quotations from Tui Atua's essay:The body and its sexual organs, while always tapu, are not above being celebrated (p. …
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