Teine Sāmoa

Teine Sāmoa means Sāmoan girl. It’s a label that carries with it an unspoken duty to obey, serve and respect your family and Sāmoan culture. But who can be teine Sāmoa? When should you be teine Sāmoa? And how can you be teine Sāmoa outside of Sāmoa?

Lani is an afakasi, and is unsure of her Sāmoan heritage and what being Sāmoan even means. But one thing she knows for sure is that she’s afraid of Vai and the ‘Real Sāmoans’. Masina, the free-spirited daughter of a Church Minister, is bound by parental expectations and struggling to fulfill the destiny set by her parents. Teuila is the good Islander girl and proud teine Sāmoa who realises she doesn’t want to be a ‘switcher’ anymore.

How will these junior high school students learn to be, understand and fulfill their obligations as Teine Sāmoa, living in New Zealand?

Teine Sāmoa is a journey of cultural identity and discovery for four junior high school students, their families, their teachers and, most importantly, anyone who has ever faced the challenges of being a teine Sāmoa.

Now includes study questions for students and The Teine Sāmoa Project - A space created for teine Sāmoa to share their real life stories. Stories that reflect us and help others understand us, so that together, we can better support our tamaiti to succeed as proud teine and tama Sāmoa.

Dahlia Malaeulu is a New Zealand-born Sāmoan who is a passionate educator at heart. She is the author of the ‘Mila’s My Gagana’ series, and wants to enable tamaiti to confidently and proudly succeed as Pasifika. Dahlia is working towards creating accessible quality Pasifika stories and resources that reflect Pasifika values, languages, cultures and – most importantly – our tamaiti.