With the missionary heritage still strong, Samoans dress modestly. While young women may opt for western clothing, most women will have their shoulders covered and wear long loose dresses or knee-length pieces of material worn as wraparound skirts known as lavalava. Men are usually more comfortable in lavalava at home, though trousers are common for work in town. Church clothes are very formal. The special matai language, spoken only by selected people, is kept for oratory and ceremonial occasions and is considered an art.
Samoan music tells the stories of Samoan history, of events past and present, real and legend.
While traditional songs are accompanied with the beating of sticks on wood or bamboo or the beating of mats, modern songs are accompanied by the guitar. Samoa is perhaps best known for its dancing. Dressed in fine mats decorated with flowers and dyed feathers, women weave stories with their bodies, each leg, arm and hand movement having significance. Elegant, vibrant and sometimes erotic, the dances can be sad or joyous, and men will often leap onto the dance floor to accompany the dancer with evocative movements of their own. Samoan men are famous for their fire dancing and knife dancing, where great acrobatic skill is required and the tension mounts as the feats, accompanied by a compelling drum beat, become more daring.