Titular disputes and national leadership in Samoa
Abstract The political history of Samoa is principally a contest about matai (titled family head) titles. The significance of matai titles lies in the appurtenant land to which is tied the welfare of most Samoans. The contest for titles translates into the struggle for security of rights and access to land and resources. Four ancient and sacred titles called pāapā stood at the apex of Samoan society and an elite group of orators called tumua ma pule managed the complex political contest. Successful accession to all four titles was rare and contending parties usually spent a good deal of their lifetime in the struggle maintaining this largely ceremonial status. The most eligible contenders came from the Sā Tupuā family and were joined in the early 19th century by the Sā Malietoā family. The title disputes caused endless disruptions and the colonial administrations eventually abolished the titles. But they could not be swept away because the titles provided an ideological superstructure which glued the majo...
Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth
In 1928 Margaret Mead announced her stunning discovery of a culture in which the storm and stress of adolescence didn't exist. The resulting book, "Coming of Age in Samoa" has since become a classic - and the best-selling anthropology book of all time. Within the nature-nurture controversy that still divides scientists, Mead's evidence has long been a crucial "negative instance", an apparent proof of the sovereignty of culture over biology. In this book, the author presents startling but wholly convincing evidence that Mead's proof is false. On the basis of years of patient fieldwork and historical research, Freeman refutes Mead's characterization of Samoan society and adolescence point for point. Far from the relaxed transition to adulthood that Mead ascribed to permissive child-bearing and restrictive regulations against premarital sex.
The administration of the courts
Section 28 of Article VI of the State Constitution provides that the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals is the Chief Judge of the State and its chief judicial officer. The Chief Judge appoints a Chief Administrator of the Courts (or Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts if the appointee is a judge) with the advice and consent of the Administrative Board of the Courts. The Administrative Board consists of the Chief Judge as chair and the Presiding Justices of the four Appellate Divisions of the Supreme Court. The Chief Judge establishes statewide administrative standards and policies after consultation with the Administrative Board and approval by the Court of Appeals.