Reconstruction of a Samoan Village: Poutasi after the tsunami of 2009 - still a spatial symbol of local social identity?

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Werner Hennings
• Subject Area: Human Geography
• Term: from 2015 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 277067584

At the end of September, 2009, a tsunami destroyed almost all villages of the south-coast of the island Upolu (Samoa). A study which I conducted in 2006 and which has been supported by the German Research Community (Localising Globalisation: Socio-spatial changes in Samoa) among other things showed that the spatial-architectural structure of the village of Poutasi, situated in a central position of the south-coast of Upolu, can be seen as a narrative space providing a central message for the local population and the Samoan society and culture as a whole: The spatial narration of Poutasi can be read as a mirror of the Samoan mythology and the Samoan social structure. The spatial text tells of the myth and the social hierarchy of the families of the village (faalupega) and of the socio-spatial turn of the village towards modernity: the village structure as a spatial symbol of a local identity. The study aims at the spatial pattern followed up in the course of reconstruction and the central themes and ideas which have served as orientation for the process of reconstruction. In order to achieve its aims the study intends to follow up three methodical steps of research: (a) the procurement and comparison of aerial pictures showing the spatial structure of the village before and after the tsunami, (b) a detailed mapping of the actual village structure and its comparison with previous mappings and (c) interviews with a selected number of heads of families (matai) concerning their aims and central ideas for the reconstruction of their homes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants