By young readers House in Samoa

Press, 19 June 1979, Page 16

By young readers House in Samoa

People in the Pacific Islands build their houses depending on the climate. In Samoa they build their houses by posts from trees, sugar-cane leaves, stones and ropes made from the coconut skin. In the .old days they used those things and some people are still using them now. They went to the forest and looked for strong tall trees. They cut them down, cut away the small branches and dried them.

In the old days they had sixteen posts for a house. The men’s job was to cut down the trees, while the women went and collected the dried leaves from the sugar-canes. Special men weave the ropes from the hard skin of the dry coconut, to tie the house with. The sugar-cane leaves are for the roof. The women collect them and start to weave them even if the men aren’t finish cutting the trees, and dry them. The children get some thin strong sticks to weave the sugar-cane leaves on for the roof, —.

When the posts are dried the men dig sixteen holes in a circle, ready to put them in. When they finish digging the holes they build the roof to tie the thatch on.

They put the posts in the holes and cover them. Then they tie the roof on, using the coconut ropes. When it is strongly tied they tie the sugar-cane leaves on. Some men climb up and tied them. The women give them the sugar-cane leaves by hooking them on a long stick.

When the house is finished they collect small stones and put them in for the floor. After that they collect small round pebbles and put them on the stones. They weave mats from flax and put them on the pebbles.

Then the women weave flaps from the coconut leaves. They use the green ones, and after they have woven the flaps they dry them in the sun. When they’re dry they tie them between the posts.

When it’s raining they

put them down. And at night time they put them down but not all of them. When it’s hot they pull them up. We only have two seasons — rainy season and sunny season.

It costs them nothing because almost all the the people helping to build the house are relations. And most of the things they build the house with grow on their own lands. But nowadays most people live in European houses. If they want to have a modern house they don’t use sugar-cane leaves, they use tiles. And instead of stones and pebbles they use cement.

After the house is finished they have a feast to celebrate the new house. They have dancing and they cook pigs and taro and many other foods in an earth oven.

If they have a big family they build another house, but if it’s only a small family it’s all right. We call a house in our own language “fale.” By April Brunt, aged 13.