Whispers and Vanities in Samoan Indigenous Religious Culture

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This story is one of our stories of creation. In this story the Sun sees a beautiful human woman and desires her. He then chases her, trying to win her favour. The woman is however coy and avoids his advances. Samoans use the word aloalo to mean “resisting overtures”; in this case the overtures of the sun. A number of Samoan girls today have as their first or birth name Aloalolela, in remembrance of this story. The story continues that after some time the woman is then attracted to the Sun and decides to have him. She sets out to the horizon to try to catch him. As the Sun is setting for the day the woman catches his attention and manages to successfully net him. The action of netting something is expressed by the Samoan term seu, which is used by Samoans to describe how the woman captured the sun, i.e. seula (seu meaning to net; la referring to the Sun). The image of netting the sun is premised on the image of attempting to catch or net seabirds or gogo. Here people would go out to certain points where there were rock extensions in the sea and where small fish tended to congregate in large numbers. These places were generally well known as the favourite fishing ground for gogo. The gogo were sought after because their feathers were considered the best fishing lure. The terms seula and seugogo make useful metaphors for orators wishing to convey the image of capturing something difficult to catch. To net the Sun the woman had to wait until the Sun got to a certain point in the horizon. After successfully netting him the woman then gives herself to him. As they mate the setting of the sun is delayed. This delay is commemorated in the term Tolola, literally meaning to delay the setting of the sun (i.e. tolo meaning delay, la meaning sun), which is today still the name of a chiefly title in the village of Safune. A child was born to the woman from her union with the Sun. He was called Tagaloaui. According to the fagogo of the custodian this child became one of the original forefathers of Samoa. In telling this story the custodian imparts two key things: first, narrative affirmation and respect for the familial relationship between humans and the cosmos, and second, a moral narrative about male and female relations and the rituals of courting. 14 After this fagogo the conversation moves to a discussion on the sacred relationship between man and animals. Welcoming the naiufi Pupu Luki, a head fisherman in Fagafau, is remembered in this tala tuumumusu. One of the custodian’s whispers that when Pupu went fishing for naiufi or shark 15 the village would get excited at the prospect of a good catch. Prayer vigils by his family would be held during the night to ask the gods for protection over Pupu and his companion. Fishing was not perceived an exercise of luring, trapping and killing mercilessly, but of inviting the fish to give honour to the village chief’s mana by being an equal adversary and then ultimately by gifting himself to the chief to help 14 Joan Metge (1998) and Karen Lupe (2007) in their respective works on Maori storytelling and Samoan indigenous consciousness talk of the importance of stories such as this fagogo to the identity formation of children and to an understanding of the social psychology – the social heart – of a people. 15 According to Rev George Pratt the naiufi was a shark that was ‘rarely taken’ (1893, p.228). 6
olster or sustain the chief’s status in the village. For the naiufi it is believed that they are a special gift, a direct endowment from Tagaloa. This is evidenced in the honorific term for sacred fish, which is tamasoaalii (tama soa meaning “aide to”; alii meaning “chief”): God Tagaloa’s gift was for these sacred fish to become aide to the chief. This affords these sacred fish special status and entitles them to the rituals of respect befitting a person of paramount importance. In this sense, when fishermen speak to the naiufi in chiefly language, his special status as tamasoaalii is acknowledged. The naiufi are thus considered more than just food. The custodian explains that when Pupu Luki and his companion went out to fish for naiufi they would leave late at night, about 11pm, and proceed to the reef, then out to the deep ocean. They would use a shark rattle (an ensemble of coconut shells tied to an orange tree stick) to let the shark know where they were. After rowing for about an hour in deep ocean waters Pupu Luki would put the rattle into the water and twist it around to make a sound similar to that of a moving bonito. And while rattling he would chant: Afio maia oe le manaia Welcome to you the manaia – the head of the untitled men’s guild Afio maia oe le tausala Welcome to you the tausala – the belle of the ladies’ guild Afio maia oe le tamasoaalii Welcome to you the tamasoaalii O loo ou faatali atu I await your coming Pupu Luki believed that the shark was his equal. He believed that they shared a common descent and destiny and that the shark understood this. This belief is captured in the way that he spoke and acted towards the fish. The fish was welcomed as a manaia or tausala, who as the head and usually finest of the aumaga (untitled men’s guild) or aualuma (ladies’ guild) is afforded high respect. As the shark approaches Pupu Luki addresses him in chiefly language, saying soothingly: Afio maia ua manaia le ele o le savili i lou seesee mai Welcome! The blowing of the wind improves by your coming But the shark circles the canoe and leaves. Pupu Luki turns to his companion to make sure that he is not afraid. His companion, on seeing how big the shark is and how small their boat seems cannot help but be afraid. Pupu knows that the shark can sense this and so is not surprised that the shark turned away. He tells his companion to be brave as the fish can sense fear. Pupu then addresses the shark again: Ua mae’a ona laolao le va o a’u ma le soa Afio maia oe le manaia Afio maia oe le tausala E le vale sou tali O le a ou faatali atu! 7
Page 1 and 2: Whispers and Vanities in Samoan Ind
Page 3 and 4: origins of his residences or for th
Page 5: on Tagaloa’s instructions, then d
Page 9 and 10: The shark is welcomed into the vill
Page 11 and 12: The god of this Tagaloa government
Page 13 and 14: eflected manhood or womanhood more
Page 15 and 16: Palapu - our god of love - has been
Page 17 and 18: The moving boat is meant to represe
Page 19 and 20: decision. In my moe manatunatu 39 I
Page 21 and 22: of Peace and Good Governance 46 voi
Page 23: References James, C. (2007). Cultur

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