Museum of Samoa...

In the last couple of days, I took my mum and youngest to view the Museum of Samoa or Falemata'aga. It's a place that I'd been wanting to visit for so long but just never had the time nor understanding of what would be involved in visiting it.

I now know that the protocol is to visit the museum office, then sign the visitors book and await a tour by one of the tour guides who are well equipped to answer questions and provide commentary on the various exhibitions.

Of the 6 exhibition spaces we were able to view 4 of them and they are similar to what you might see at other museums having visited the Auckland War Memorial museum and also at Te Papa in Wellington.

It was very interesting to listen to the tour guide and view the history of Samoa on the walls, with the various resources that had been  provided for audiences to read and consider. 

I must say that I had been very fortunate to have studied and read a lot of Samoan history out of my own interest and fascination in not having had much of it taught to me in my own early education and it was good to swap notes with what I was already aware of.

What interested me the most was the focus on the preservation or retaining of important cultural information, artefacts, rituals and knowledge that is slowly being eroded away because of the many changes that are taking place in Samoa.

I was so glad that I was able to take the time to see what was available and I would encourage any diaspora Samoans to take the time to visit the Museum which is close to Apia and the location of the hospital.

It's also entry by donation so that you can make it suit your budget. I was able to leave 3 of my books to support the work of the Museum and hope to partner with them, in the future, to share some of my own learnings along the way in my journey of learning about the Samoa of my ancestors and parents, now mine and those of my children's and hopefully grandchildren's etc. in time to come...