Ole Manuõ O Tala Tu’U Ma Fisaga O Tala Ave: “The Heralding of Our Oral History and Relishing of Our Story Narratives.”

By Amerika Samoa Humanities Council

Home is where our stories begin and where our future is shaped. It is a place where family history and identity are nurtured and grown to advance in life. Before European explorers and the missionaries arrived on our shores, our people connected through generations by oral history in the forms of stories and narratives. The human ties to our home, land, and identity were kept strong by tales and songs that were passed on by our forefathers through word of mouth. Wisdom and information were transmitted through living the culture and speaking the language of the land. An astute student of culture and language developed a close-knit fellowship with the elders and village council, and later in life, he became a strong and wise leader in the village. In Samoa, our cultural values influence the pattern of which we relate to people and to our surroundings; thus, the Samoan culture exists today as a living culture. The future of any young Samoan man and woman is cultivated and encouraged from within his or her home.

The title for this project pays tribute to the wisdom and the untiring labor of our forefathers, who have been stewards of an oral tradition since the prehistoric era of the Samoan islands. Echoed in these words: Ole Manu o Tala Tuu Ma Fisaga o Tala Ave, metaphorically transcends our appreciation for the heralding of our oral history and relishing of our story narratives. The stories shared here embraced the significance of knowing who we are and where we came from. This work is the councils way to document the stories of yesterdays and todays generations to encourage success in the lives of tomorrows generation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546229070

Book preview

O le Manuõ

o Tala Tu’u

Ma Fisaga o

Tala Ave

"The Heralding of Our Oral History and

Relishing of Our Story Narratives."

AMERIKA SAMOA HUMANITIES COUNCIL

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2018 Niualama Taifane. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/02/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-2906-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-2907-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018901958

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Contents

Introduction

Preface

Fagatogo

Fagasa

Vatia

Sa’ilele

Aunu’u

Vaitogi

Aoloau

Leone

Poloa

Ta’ū

Ofu

Introduction

Home is where our stories begin, and where our future is shaped. It is a place where family history and identity are nurtured and grown to advance in life. Before European explorers and the missionaries arrived on our shores, our people connected through generations by oral history in the forms of stories and narratives. The human ties to our home, land, and identity were kept strong by tales and songs that were passed on by our forefathers through word of mouth. Wisdom and information were transmitted through living the culture and speaking the language of the land. An astute student of culture and language developed a close-knit fellowship with the elders and village council and later in life became a strong and wise leader in the village. In Samoa, our cultural values influence how we relate to people and to our surroundings; thus, the Samoan culture exists today as a living culture. The future of young Samoan men and women is cultivated and encouraged from within their homes.

The title for this project pays tribute to the wisdom and the untiring labor of our forefathers, who have been stewards of an oral tradition since the prehistoric era of the Samoan Islands. Echoed in these words: "O le Manuō o Talatu’u ma Fisaga o Tala’ave," metaphorically transcends our appreciation for The Heralding of Our Oral History and Relishing of Our Story Narratives. The stories shared here embraced the significance of knowing who we are and where we came from. This work is the council’s way to document the stories of yesterday’s and today’s generations to encourage success in the lives of tomorrow’s generation.

Nowadays, technology has taken the place of the close-knit fellowship, and the demands and obligations of modern life have replaced the daily association with our family elders and village chiefs. Many of our Samoan brothers and sisters have become second- and third-generation immigrants in the United States and other countries of the world. More have relocated outside of the islands for education and for employment purposes. Others have moved on to join the US military to fight for our freedom. Still yet, many of us remain on the islands to inspire and carry forth family heritage and to maintain village traditions and culture. We do hope that this work has recorded a comprehensive account of each village narratives for its rightful descendants and others who will come after them.

The Amerika Samoa Humanities Council compiled this work on eleven villages in American Samoa to record brief historical legends, important characteristics, and unique elements in each village. The villages included in this work were selected to equally and fairly represent the three main districts of the American Samoa Islands. As it has been said many times before, a picture is worth a thousand words. We’ve included a lot of images to assist in telling the stories given by the village elders we interviewed. We’ve tried to capture the stories of the villages through discussion of its physical, cultural, and social spheres. It is our sincere hope that the Samoans of young and old who reside outside of American Samoa and those who may wish to visit our islands in the future, either as a tourist or as a returning Samoan, will utilize this book as a source of information to familiarize yourself with our people and our islands before you arrive.

A common saying – "E tala lasi Samoa (There is more than one version in a Samoan story") is deeply acknowledged as to the genesis of families and villages. Therefore, it is not our intention to promote or encourage a specific view, but rather, we looked for the common grounds in these stories and presented them in this writing. This fact alone makes our oral traditions and story narratives more fascinating to learn and worthy to be passed on to future generations. We sincerely apologize if we have offended anyone through this work.

The Amerika Samoa Humanities Council would like to acknowledge the contributions of time and wisdom from many of our own local historians in the villages and families that we were able to converse with. It took about four years to gather the data and information on the villages. Locating authorities and principals of Samoan family history and cultures was a difficult task but was made possible by the unsolicited cooperation from village and family leaders and from the people of American Samoa, whom we might have simply asked for information.

We also acknowledged the wealth of information we obtained from the famous Dr. Augustine Kramer, who authored a series of two volumes entitled The Samoa Islands that were first published in 1994 by the Pasefika Press in Auckland, New Zealand. We also acknowledge the work of the Amerika Samoa Humanities Council entitled A History of American Samoa, published in 2009 by Bess Press in Honolulu, Hawaii, authored by HTC Fofo I.F. Sunia, a legendary scholar and authority of the Samoan Language and culture. Fofo has published numerous books on the language and culture of the Samoan people. His work and that of Dr. Kramer have been used and referenced throughout this project. We would also like to acknowledge the time and dedication of Dr. Uiagalelei Lealofi and High Chief Pulefaasisina P. Tuiasosopo that went into the outset of this project.

And last but not the least, is my most humble appreciation to the members of the Amerika Samoa Humanities Council and staff for their commitment and dedication; their time and wisdom have made this project a reality. Board members are Fanuatele, Dr. Vaiaga’e Toafa, Dr. Oreta M. Crichton, Dr. Seui Faauma, HTC Faaua’a K. Elisara, Rev. Elder Dr. Siulagi Solomon Jr., Vaasa Simanu, Leoo V. Mao, and Christine Grohse, and the staff are Niualama E Taifane, Ekitoa M. Sopoaga, Leutuva Fata Tolai, and Alfred Tinitali.

This project was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Special Initiative, We the People, and the Office of the Governor, government of American Samoa.

Please enjoy the book and give us your comments via our website, www.ashcouncil.org. We would like to hear from you on your experience with this book.

Soifua,

Fai’ivae, Alex Godinet

President

Amerika Samoa Humanities Council

Preface

American Samoa’s history as a U.S. Territory is 114 years old. However, prehistory recorded that the Samoa Islands were settled by the early Polynesian people nearly 3500 years ago. In 1722 a Dutch admiral Jacob Roggeveen rediscovered Samoa and was followed by European explorers who were looking for new land and treasures.

American Samoa is an unorganized, unincorporated Territory of the United States found in the southern hemisphere. Its people are U.S. Nationals who are entitled to an American passport and are eligible to join the U.S. Military. English is the official language of classroom instructions and government affairs, however, the Samoan language is widely spoken in workplaces, home, and social gatherings.

It consists of 5 volcanic islands (Tutuila, Ta’ū, Olosega, Ofu, Aunu’u) and 2 coral atolls (Swains Island and Rose Atoll). It’s total land area is 76.2 square miles. Tutuila is the largest with a total land mass of 56 square miles. The Manu’a Island group is part of American Samoa an it consist of Ta’ū, Ofu, and Olosega. Aunu’u island is considered part of the Tutuila in the eastern district. American Samoa is about 2300 miles southwest of Hawaii, and approximately 1600 miles northeast of New Zealand.

The islands are traditionally divided into three main Districts (Falelima) with 17 political counties. The Eastern and Western Districts are on the island of Tutuila with both Districts consisting of six counties each. The Manu’a Island Group makes up the