Samoan Fale

The fale is the traditional building of Samoa and, more broadly, of western Polynesia. A classic fale is round or oval in plan, has no walls, and is covered by a high domed roof supported on a ring of timber posts. The design suits a hot, humid island climate: the roof sheds tropical rain and gives shade, while the open sides let breezes pass through.

Roof construction

The roof frame is built from timber members lashed together with ʻafa, a plaited cord (sennit) made from dried coconut husk fibre. Before contact with Europeans, Samoan building used no metal fasteners at all, so the whole structure depended on lashing. An ordinary fale can use 30,000-50,000 ft (roughly 9-15 km) of sennit, which was traditionally prepared by older men or chiefs (matai).

Once the frame is finished it is covered with thatch made by women. The usual material is dried sugarcane leaves, or coconut palm fronds where sugarcane is not available. Thatch panels overlap from the eaves upward to form a double layer, and a well-laid roof lasts about seven years before it needs replacing.

Builders

Construction was overseen by tufuga fau fale, master builders who acted as both architects and craftsmen. They belonged to an old guild, and hiring them involved negotiation and customary exchange. Assistants and members of the commissioning family cut timber and did the heavy work.

Types

The fale tele ("big house") is the main meeting house of a family complex. It is usually round and placed at the front of the compound, and it is used for council meetings, ceremonies, funerals and the bestowal of chiefly titles. Smaller fale serve as sleeping and living houses.

Screens and weather

Instead of walls, woven coconut-frond blinds (pola) hang from the roof framework. They can be lowered section by section to block sun, wind, rain or view.

Modern changes

Many fale today are rectangular rather than round, and many smaller fale and village cookhouses (umukuka) use corrugated iron instead of thatch. The basic form, an open plan under a dominant roof, remains common across Samoa.