ASCC Samoan Studies Launches 2011 Lunar Calendar

ASCC Samoan Studies Launches 2011 Lunar Calendar

By James Kneubuhl, ASCC Press Officer

At the recent Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council conference, some may have found it odd to encounter staff from the Samoan Studies Institute (SSI) of the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) participating. However, in this instance Samoan culture and fisheries management found common ground as the SSI took the opportunity to spread the word at the conference about the 2011 edition of the Lunar Calendar, funded by the Fisheries Council and researched and developed by the SSI. The new edition, which the SSI will provide for free to the public while supplies last, covers a twelve month period from March of this year to March 2012, following the regular 30-day cycles of the moon.

“At the SSI, we count research, publication and outreach projects with our community partners as part of our mission,” said Institute Director Okenaisa Fauolo-Manila. “We view this calendar as an important means of ensuring the continuity of Samoan culture and the preservation of traditional knowledge. Our people traditionally practiced their own form of fishery management based on the lunar cycle, which seems more environmentally conscious versus what we have today. Our ancestors had a different name for every day of the moon’s cycle, so this project also has a strong element of language retention and usage.”

The Lunar Calendar follows a format similar to the typical western calendar, only based on cycles of the moon rather than the sun. Although the calendar emphasizes an alternative means of marking time, the SSI has taken care to maintain a synchronicity between the moon-based and the western dates. Below a graphic of the moon phase of each day, the calendar lists the Samoan name for the particular day of the cycle, and below that the western calendar date and weekday. Each of the twelve cycles included comes with a colorful environmentally themed illustration courtesy of students in Tutuila’s elementary and high schools. As with the previous edition of the Lunar Calendar, for the 2011 version SSI researchers Fauolo-Manila, Teleai Ausage and Apisaloma Toleafoa worked with community partners, including the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, to address informational gaps as well as variations in the lunar month and phase names found throughout the Samoa archipelago.

“After our experience doing the previous calendar, we had an easier time with this one,” said Fauolo-Manila. “Many who received the previous edition expressed an interest in the Samoan cultural aspects, such as the proverbial expressions associated with fishing and the stories behind Samoan names for various things like fishing practices and phases of the moon. This time, we also planned more public workshops to give people the opportunity to learn about the Lunar Calendar and the way of thinking that informs it.” Through funding from the Fisheries Council, the SSI staff conducted research in Upolu and on the island of Manono, and also received feedback from Tutuila pulenuu and the Office of Samoan Affairs.

The SSI gave three presentations on the Lunar Calendar over the course of the Fisheries Council conference, and Fauolo-Manila said that on each occasion they received enthusiastic feedback. She expressed optimism on future collaborations between the SSI and the Fisheries Council. “We help them with their research and they help us with our mission of ensuring the continuity of the faasamoa,” she reflected, “and our institute will consider any projects that combine culture, education, and community service.”

ENDS

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