Book Reading #12: Coming of Age in Samoa

Chapter 4
Summary
This chapter explains the inner workings of the Samoan household and how the household is actually be made up of several households throughout the village. Mead describes the way the different members of the household interact, the role and selection process of the taupo and provides more information on the matai and what they do within the household.

Discussion
One of the more interesting aspects of the household that I read about was how the girls can move from household to household. She can rate the different households open to her and then choose which one she would most like to be a part of. This can be very advantageous to her since some will give her more freedoms or have the best food. I also enjoyed the stories about the selection of the taupo and matai near the end of the chapter. It is one of first looks into the lives of specific Samoans.