O le Soga'imiti: An embodiment of God in the Samoan male body

Abstract

Much of the discourse especially the church sermons in my church denomination or at least the ones that I have attended, constructs the body as only a material thing, sinful, bad and evil as opposed to the divinity and purity of the spirit. On the other hand, the body is valued and greatly celebrated in the Samoan culture; this is a vitally important dilemma because while inside Church the body is evil and is to be wrapped and covered, outside it the body is more meaningful when visible and exposed. This thesis was borne out of the need to explore that struggle—one between the sinfulness of bodily and material life, as opposed to the godliness/holiness of spiritual life as reflected in church theological messages on one hand, against a culture that celebrate the body and everything material about it as good and divine, on the other. If, according to Christian theology, humans are created in the image of God, how is it that the body is often ridiculed in Christian theology as sinful and evil? This study examines the pre-Christian concept Atua (God) and the current Christian concept God and how the two are socially constructed, merged or differentiated and embodied through a Samoan male body. The thesis draws upon a number of different sources of "text" including over 600 written works, two short documentary films, and interview with fifteen Samoan men and women that includes two fa‘afafine. Drawing primarily upon the interview data a number of themes were identified for closer analysis. These themes include the construction of the Samoan male, the construction of the male role of tautua (one who serve) and his relation to the family and community, the construction of God as creator and as a Samoan matai (chief), and how these socio-theological values and meanings are embodied and help shape the life of the Samoan male. The findings of this work reveal the social construction of a particular version of God, his message, his work, and his will, and a particular version of the Samoan Christian believer through theological discourse. The social construction and embodiment of the Christian God in theology and practices, is markedly different from those of the pre-Christian Atua(s) and belief in deity and spirits which to some degree, many Samoans still hold onto in their embodiment of God. A soga‘imiti is symbolic of the ultimate Samoan male: he is brave, fearless, has wisdom and knowledge, the provider and protector of his family, church, village and country. His tatau (tattoo) is a literal inscription of his socio-religious identity, beliefs and duties; the motifs of which are visual depiction of his embodied life; this constitute the embodiment of his environment, family and God. Soga‘imiti is synonymous with embodied cultural pride, beauty, bravery, ability and potentiality. In contemporary Samoa, not all males have a tatau, but all males are expected to live the same embodied life and have the same embodied qualities as those of soga‘imiti described above, to enable them to serve their families and communities. A man without a tatau is not a lesser man relative to a soga‘imiti but the term soga‘imiti is nevertheless used in this thesis as representative of Samoan male with or without the tatau. This thesis is a deconstruction of the embodied life of the Samoan male as seen through the lens of the social construction of cultural and theological discourses.