Samoan Culture

The primary author of this profile was Chara Scroope (2017), with the ‘Naming’ section updated by Nina Evason (2022) and the ‘Samoans in Australia’ section updated by Chara Scroope (2025).

• Aalto, D. (2015, December 23). Names Under the Dome: A Peek into Samoan Culture. Namepedia - The Name Database Blog. https://blog-en.namepedia.org/2015/12/names-under-the-dome-a-peek-into-samoan-culture/
• Aganu’u. (2010). Matai: A Complicated System of Chiefs. Anavatua. https://anavatau.com/matai-a-complicated-system-of-chiefs/
• Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021a). 4-digit level ANCP Ancestry Multi Response by Australia (UR) (2021 Census of Population and Housing) [Data set]. ABS Census TableBuilder.
• Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021b). People in Australia who were born in Samoa [Data set]. 2021 Census Country of Birth QuickStats. https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/1505_AUS
• Australian Trade and Investment Commission. (2024). Doing business in The Pacific. Market Explorer Tool. https://export.business.gov.au/find-export-markets/market-explorer-tool/market-explorer-results/all/all/pac
• Bennett, S. N., Dearing, C. M., & Lesa, S. L. S. (2017). Western Samoan Culture [Online Textbook]. Polynesian Culture. https://freebooks.uvu.edu/polynesian_culture/02_Samoan_Culture.php
• Central Intelligence Agency. (2024, October 28). Samoa. The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/samoa/
• Cultural Advisory Unit. (2010). Samoa—Quick Reference Guide [Information sheet]. Queensland Police Service.
• Culture Crossing Guide. (2017). Samoa. Culture Crossing Guide. https://guide.culturecrossing.net/basics_business_student.php?id=234
• Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. (2024). Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme Data (Data Summary September quarter 2024). Australian Government.
• Department of Home Affairs. (2018). Samoa-born Community Information Summary (Census of Population and Housing 2016, Country Data Summary). Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/mca/files/2016-cis-samoa.PDF
• Dromard, S., & Faagutu, N. (Mele). (2006). Samoan Culture Profile (Community Partners Program) [Information sheet]. Diversicare. https://www.diversicare.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Samoan.pdf
• FamilySearch. (2020, May 6). Learn the History and Customs of Your Culture. FamilySearch Wiki. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Learn_the_History_and_Customs_of_Your_Culture
• Foster, S. (2024). Samoa. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Samoa-island-nation-Pacific-Ocean
• Galliot, S. (2015). Ritual efficacy in the making. Journal of Material Culture, 20(2), 101–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359183515578248
• Gibbons, G. (2010, December 1). What Is Samoa? Fa’a Samoa -The Samoan Way. https://samoanculture.wordpress.com/
• Huffer, E., & So’o, A. (2005). Beyond Governance in Samoa: Understanding Samoan Political Thought. The Contemporary Pacific, 17(2), 311–333. https://doi.org/10.1353/cp.2005.0054
• Khalidi, S. (with ACT Office of Multicultural, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs). (2012). The Cultural Dictionary and Directory of People from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds (F. McIlroy & H. Neumayer, Eds.; 3rd ed.). Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services of the ACT Inc. https://marss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/The_Cultural_Dictionary.pdf
• Lee, H., & Francis, S. T. (Eds.). (2009). Migration and Transnationalism: Pacific Perspectives. ANU Press. https://doi.org/10.22459/MT.08.2009
• Macpherson, C. (2001). Samoa. In M. Ember & C. R. Ember (Eds.), Countries and Their Cultures: Saint Kitts and Nevis to Zimbabwe (Vol. 4, pp. 1907–1912). Macmillan Reference USA; Advameg. https://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Samoa.html
• Mayer, D., Dromard, S., & Faagutu, N. M. (2006). Samoan Cultural Profile (Community Partners Program) [Information Booklet]. Diversicare. https://www.diversicare.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Samoan.pdf
• Metro South Health. (2015, March). Food and Cultural Practices of the Samoan Community in Australia—A Community Resource. Queensland Government. https://www.metrosouth.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/242257/heau-cultural-profile-samoan.pdf
• Museums Victoria. (2017). Immigration History from Samoa to Victoria. Origins. https://origins.museumsvictoria.com.au/countries/samoa/
• Ofahengaue Vakalahi, H. F., & Godinet, M. T. (2008). Family and Culture, and the Samoan Youth. Journal of Family Social Work, 11(3), 229–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/10522150802292319
• Pasefika. (2024). Sāmoan Matai. Pasefika. https://pasefika.com/Culture/Article/13/sa/samoan-matai
• ProQuest. (2017). Independent State of Samoa. ProQuest & Brigham Young University. https://proquest.libguides.com/culturegrams
• Reeson, M. (2013). Pacific Missionary George Brown 1835–1917. ANU Press. https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/pacific-missionary-george-brown-1835–1917
• Robbins, J. (2006). Pacific Islands Religious Communities. In M. Juergensmeyer (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions (pp. 587–594). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195137989.003.0057
• Safari the Globe. (2014, March). Sāmoa. Safari the Globe - Cultural Information. https://safaritheglobe.com/samoa/
• Shankman, P. (2018). Samoan journeys: Migration, remittances, and traditional gift exchange. In J. Connell & H. Lee (Eds.), Change and Continuity in the Pacific: Revisiting the Region (pp. 88–101). Routledge.
• Siikala, J. (Ed.). (2021). Culture and History in the Pacific (2nd ed.). Helsinki University Press. https://doi.org/10.33134/HUP-12
• Steven. (2015, March 12). 30 Pictures of Samoan Tattoos. Cuded: Design and Inspiration. https://www.cuded.com/30-pictures-of-samoan-tattoos/
• Thornton, A., Kerslake, M. T., & Binns, T. (2010). Alienation and obligation: Religion and social change in Samoa. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 51(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8373.2010.01410.x
• Transparency International. (2024). Corruption Perceptions Index 2023 (Annual CPI Report). https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2023