Samoan Funeral - Blake

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a traditional Samoan funeral. Due to the large population of Veterans in the territory, the Army receives numerous taskings for color guard details to serve at funerals. My Company has the duty next month so I tagged along as an observer so I would know what to do next month as the OIC (officer in charge).

The day started at 0615 at the LBJ Medical Center. All deceased personnel on the island must be processed through the LBJ Medical Center morgue. There are no traditional funeral homes here like you have in the States so the Medical Center performs the duty of a traditional funeral home in the States. A ceremony was held at the LBJ Chapel for the deceased’s family which included our Soldiers laying the flag on the casket. Once our guys moved the casket into the hearse it was transferred a catholic church for the “church” part of the funeral like we have in the States. Our Soldiers had to remove the flag from the casket and refold it because the church had a special draping for the casket. I assume it had something to do with keeping the sacrament of the church; not really sure. The ceremony at the church lasted about 1 ½ hours. From what I have been told, this would be considered a short service. Once the official ceremony was over, the family provided breakfast for everyone who attended the service. To-go containers were set-up outside the church from a catering company and everyone grabbed one on their way out.

The deceased was from the small island of Aunu’u. That is the small island about ½ mile off the eastern coast of the island. There is a small village there with about 100 or so Samoans living there. The island has one church, one school, and two vehicles on it. There are small ferry boats that go back and forth all day long between Aunu’u and Tutuila (the main island of American Samoa). We left the church in Pago for the 30 minute or so drive along the coast to the ferry site. We transported the casket from the hearse to one of the ferries for transport to Aunu’u. Once we arrived in Aunu’u we off-loaded the casket into the only private vehicle on the island: a Toyota Tacoma truck (the other vehicle is a van that belongs to the school). The new “hearse” transported the casket to the deceased’s home (about 500 yards) where another service was held. We were directed to the house of a cousin of the deceased to hand out in while the family held their service.
After about 30 minutes of hanging out around the house, we were directed to the main room and directed to our seats along the wall around the room. Each person has a designated spot on a mat around the room based on their position within the Samoan culture. We all had to sit along the wall Indian-style like grade school. The OIC and I were placed along a wall by ourselves since we were officers and the Soldiers were on the opposite wall. The NCOIC was in the middle of the room across from the cousin and his wife. The cousin started talking in Samoan for about 5 minutes and of course I am completely lost. Once he gets done some younger Samoans start coming in with gifts (called “sua” in Samoan; pronounced “soo-a”) for the color guard. The OIC is presented with a hand woven rug, a case of corned beef, sodas, a bolt of fabric and other small gifts. The NCOIC is presented with an envelope of money. All of these gifts are traditional Samoan “sua” and are very important. They are provided by the deceased’s family for services rendered during the funeral. Of course, we cannot accept any of these gifts. We provide the color guard detail for the Veteran and the 20+ years of service he provided for his country. However, it would be disrespectful to the family if we protested during the presentation. So, after the service we have to speak with the deceased’s widow and return the “sua”. She seemed upset that we didn’t keep the gifts but stated that she understood.

After the “sua” presentation we were given our meals. The meal consisted of a huge piece of beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, pork and taro. Taro is a root and is like a potato. It has the same consistency and skin like a potato but a little different taste. Since the OIC and I are officers, we were provided with the large portions. The large portion was a round plastic catering platter that would be used on a buffet-style event to serve those little triangle sandwiches in the States. I did my best but I didn’t even put a noticeable dent in the food. It was all excellent food but way to much food for a “palongi” (white person/non-Samoan) to finish.

With their bellies full, most of the color guard (all Samoans) proceeded to take a nap on the mats in the house. During this time the family is still having the service for the deceased in the house (which included some beautiful Samoan music) and we are waiting for the service to conclude so we can move the casket from the house to the gravesite. In the States, this would involve a vehicle. However, gravesites are different in American Samoa. The deceased are normally buried in the front yard of the family home. So, movement from the home to the gravesite involved moving the casket about 10 feet. Once we got the cue that the service inside the home was complete, the color guard moved the casket to the gravesite. The color guard then performed the traditional 21-gun salute, taps (by far the saddest song ever) and folding of the flag. The flag was passed to the OIC who then presented it to the deceased’s widow. Once that was complete our duty was done. The ceremony continued with the family and we moved back to Tutuila. Time from official start of the funeral (0600) to our departure (1500) was 9 hours. And everyone keeps telling me this was a short funeral…

Overall, it was an awesome experience. Anytime I can pay tribute to a Veteran is great but to also experience the Samoan traditions was great. I can’t really say I am looking forward to another but if my Company has to perform one next month we will happily do so.