Two practical issues regarding approaching your research site are problems of observation and recording. The researcher must select what is to be observed and why in reference to the research question (Punch, 2009). Gaining access to the setting may require some form of negotiation with the gatekeepers. The President of the Komiti acted as my gatekeeper because she out-ranked all the other female matai. Although I gained her invitation to the meeting quickly, making use of it was not straightforward. It required more in-depth research into the protocol and language used when attending the Komiti’s monthly meeting. Here is where we see how respecting the va that existed between myself and the hierarchy, and making use of the talanoa, worked in practise.
The aualuma are present at these formal meetings, which have been known to take a whole day. The other consistent times the women would meet were for the fale (house) lalaga (plait, weave), in which the weaving of mats is taught and encouraged. This is an informal weekly gathering for women of the village who are not in paid employment to learn about the ancient methods of weaving. This skill is practical, as families can enjoy the newly- made mats that adorn their house and mothers can teach new skills to their daughters, just as was done by previous generations. Each woman arrives at the fale with dried flax that they grow and prepare at home to begin or complete their mat. Attending the monthly meeting would be my first entry into the Komiti, and it was
important for me to attend a less formal meeting to scope my selected setting. The fale lalaga provided a good opportunity for this.
Although this meeting would be less formal than the monthly meeting, there were protocols I needed to follow, especially because it would be my first meeting with the Komiti. I needed to respecting the va in deeds and actions. I had to organise a gift to take with me and I had to learn the protocol and dialogue to address each matai and the unranked women. When greeting a group of matai, one must acknowledge where their titles come from by mentioning the lineage of the village, called fa’alupega.
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I sought the advice of a local volunteer at the Trust, Alofa, who advised me that the meeting was at 9am and suggested I take some food to contribute to the shared brunch. She recommended a breakfast type meal. I bought six loaves of brown bread, a block of butter, and two dozen eggs. Because I did not have any means of transport; Alofa delivered this to the President’s home the evening before the lalaga group was due to meet.Another part of the approach I needed to consider was how I would be dressed. Having a traditional Samoan puletasi was essential. It is a two piece garment and is considered formal wear. The top is usually designed like a blouse or a nice dress top with a matching sarong like skirt for the bottom half. The skirt is not sewn together but is made so it wraps around the waist and is fastened by long strips of material that are tied at the ends. The length and width of the skirt allows room for a woman to sit cross-legged on the floor and have her legs fully covered. Most fale have the normal furniture found in a Western house but they are not used during family time. During these meetings
everyone sits cross-legged on the floor. A person cannot sit with their feet fully extended out towards others; this is a sign of disrespect. It is polite to sit cross-legged or have your legs curled up to the side. I felt that this encounter would be a good way to ‘ease’ into the setting before the main meeting. Although there was still protocol to adhere to, I felt less pressure knowing the fale lalaga was in essence a weaving class.
2.5.1 Gaining Access
On the morning of the fale lalaga, Alofa and I walked to the President’s home. I had toyed with the idea of wearing a sarong and a nice top that did not match but I didn’t because in my subconscious was my mother’s voice scolding me to wear a proper puletasi. The President’s home is a modern fale that is seamlessly attached to a Western-style house. The fale is the first point of entry for the visitors. As we approached, I could see the president and three other women already starting their weaving. The President looked up and beckoned me to come through the front of the house but I knew that I needed to go to through the side entrance because I am not ranked and I although am a guest in the village, my action of entering through the side gate, despite being invited to the front door, is a sign of respect and acknowledgement of her rank and that I understand my place in the village.
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The President and the Vice President smiled at my sign of respect and insisted that I sit in the front of the fale with them. The beams of the fale indicate the rank and speaking rights of each matai, and the only two in the front of the house were the President and the Vice-President. The Vice-President is the wife to the second highest ranking matai in the village and also carries this authority. To refuse the invitation would have been rude and I proceeded to take my place between the two top female chiefs of the village. Alofa had followed me into the fale, but because she is unranked she remained seated in the back of the fale. She thanked the two matai’s for the opportunity to be part of the fale lalaga and was only there to introduce me to the weavers. She apologised that she had not been able to attend any meetings due to her employment with the Trust. Alofa then exited and left me with the matais and two other weavers who were wives of talking chiefs known as Tulafale, which meant they also had speaking rights.
Unstructured observation works hand in hand with talanoa because I could not predict or manipulate how the conversation would flow. Conversation only touched on my research when they asked me why I was living in the volunteer’s house. This question was immediately followed by who my parents are and what village they hail from. The President had already asked me these questions at our initial meeting at church, so she answered for me and explained that my great grandmother is from her childhood village and how she is connected to my family. The women were inquisitive and allowed me dialogue in English when I was not able to find the right Samoan word to explain something. They were clearly not interested in my research at this point, and I had to allow the
conversation to take its own path. I spent three hours with the women answering their questions and talking about my life experiences with travel and church. It was a great time of bonding and breaking the ice. In the last half hour they began to ask about my research and inquired if I would be able to help teach computer use to the Komiti in between my research.
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The President felt it would be a good trade-off for me to teach computer lessons while I worked with the Komiti for my research. I agreed that this exchange would be beneficial as the principle of participatory communication is one that empowers through structural change rather than behavioural change (Dutta, 2011), and it recognises that this is attainable through the active participation of citizens or stakeholders. Through observing the va between myself and the Komiti and applying the techniques of talanoa, I was given permission to interview the women of the village and had an opportunity to undertake participant observation through my computer lessons with the Komiti.