Today finds us in the tropical (82 degrees, 82% humidity) port of Pago Pago, pronounced 'pahngo pahngo'. The island itself has been inhabited by Polynesians since about 1800 BC, but the first Europeans didn't find it until 1722. The US Navy first anchored here in 1839, and it became a US Territory in 1900. There are four islands that make up American Samoa, with this one, Tutuila, the largest.
Traditions are strong here. Women do not wear shorts. Samoan men wear a cloth wrap skirt, called a lava lava. The traditional Samoan tattoos are a sort of personal history of accomplishments. The bigger your story, the older you are, the more tattoo you are allowed. Tom was thinking of one, but when he found out only Samoans can have the traditional designs, he bought a tee shirt instead.
Each family unit has a leader called a Matai, who can be either male or female. The Matai makes all the decisions for the family members; who you can marry, when you should marry, when to have children, what to name your children, what job you should do, whether you can attend the university. And for Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fans, nope, there is no University of American Samoa, LOL.
The town of Pago Pago has about 11,000 residents and since the ship is about 3,000 passengers, we sort of inundate this village when we arrive. But the people are very friendly and welcoming. The big sport here is not wrestling, it is something called pigeon catching. We're not exactly sure how this works, but it sounds unusual.
Across from the ship...that's the tee shirt shop under the white tent.
And this is 'downtown' Pago Pago.
Amazing! Nice to know that their leaders can be male or female but after that...whoa~
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