Fa'asamoa literally means the ways of Samoa. Fa'a is a Samoan prefix that can be translated to English as 'the ways of'. Fa'a could also mean 'to do' or 'to implement' as in the word Fa'atonu (which means 'to implement a solution' or 'to instruct').
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The fa'asamoa consists of the Samoan language, and customs of relationships and culture, that is a traditional and continuing Polynesian lifestyle of the Pacific Islands and diaspora. This is completely understood by all Samoans, and provides support and direction.
The fa'asamoa is practiced in all nine islands of Samoa, including American Samoa and Western Samoa, and other Samoan islands (such as Manua and Aunuu in American Samoa).
When missionaries arrived from Europe in 1830, they found that many Samoan cultural beliefs were similar to Christianity , which contributed to the spread of Christianity in 19th centurySamoa. An example of these shared beliefs is the concept of respecting and honoring elders -- even powerless elders. In the fa'asamoa, the young respect anyone that is older than them, especially their parents.
Tauanu'u, an old chief, gives his account of Samoan life before the Europeans. He was one of the witnesses of the arrival of the "palagis" or Caucasian:
"I remember when I was a little boy." said Tauanu'u. "I heard everyone talking about it: "E! O mai e va'ai tagata ese ia o mai! E papa'e ia o lakou kigo!", which translated to "Hey! Come look at these strange people approaching! Look at them! They are so white!".
Tauanu'u Leotasili continued by saying, "I saw my aunt trying to figure out what to do. By then, everyone in the village was awake at about 5 o'clock in the morning to come and see the white folks. I was one of them. All of a sudden, my cousin Giu told everyone that there are going to create an siva samoa (the samoan Dance). Lue mai!, the dance started and every Samoan village member of what is now called leone. So they danced and that's all I remembered".