Prepare to be fascinated by the early observations of europeans, and the struggle of the. Weve lost a lot of oral histories due to our conversion to the christian influence. It is appropriate to address the topic of the oceania empire of the prehistoric tui manua and the extent to which this influence permeated the socialpolitical sphere of samoa and tonga at that time. Youll hear the western polynesian language while in tonga, but english is also widely used and is often what is used in schools. At the zoo in samoan and english ships within 2 business days. Samoa western and american genealogy familysearch wiki. Was so surprised with all the samoan and pacific books she has. Samoan literature can be divided into oral precolonial and postcolonial and written literatures, in the samoan language and in english or english translation, and is from the samoa islands of independent samoa and american samoa, and samoan writers in diaspora. We only did a short stopover in samoa as the weather did not allow to go straight to tonga, but were positively surprised by the beauty of the island upolu, the rich cultural heritage and the kindness of the people. The highest point in tonga, 3,389 feet 1,033 metres, is on kao island in the ha. There were two types of deities, atua, who had nonhuman origins, and aitu, who were of human origin.
Such a beautiful and gripping account of the history of samoa, it eloquently captures the essence of tradition and change in our rich culture from varying and seemingly conflicting points of perspective. Samoa had been known simply as samoa in the united nations since joining the organization in 1976. Viti levu, the largest, constitutes half the land area and is the seat of suva. Several of the fagogo are already available online at an interactive language teaching platform. The waters of the islands are known for their clarity, it being said that you can see. The capital is neiafu, situated at the port of refuge. This enabled the preservation of rare books in the collection as well as scans of more than 800,000 donated photos dating from 19752011. External links modified february 2018 hello fellow wikipedians, i have just modified one external link on neiafu, samoa. Eric schultz is governor of samoa and the malietoa and tupua families are given titles as counselors to the governor. Information in italics below is guidance for you and should be deleted as you fill out the page. Adrift on these daydreamy south pacific islands deliciously remote and unhurried its easy to get back to the simple pleasures of eating, sleeping and succumbing to holiday whims.
American samoas strong faamatai chief system is said to originate from two early female chiefs, nafanua and salamasina. Samoa, country in the central south pacific ocean, among the westernmost of the island countries of polynesia. All samoan language texts have been retained in this edition. Neiafu destination guide samoa general, samoa tripsuggest. List additional collections you have such as the types of books and microfilm you have on indefinite loan. People of samoa, life and custom, language, discovering samoa and settlement, american samoa and culture paperback june 8, 2016 by leo abbott author 3. Neiafu is a village on the island of savaii in samoa. The village the person is from is important because you may find more information about your ancestor by looking at genealogies of other people from the same village.
The idea of sleeping in someones office was the best idea i had had all year. The dutch were the first to explore the islands, landing on tafahi in 1616. American samoa, unincorporated territory of the united states consisting of the eastern part of the samoan archipelago, located in the southcentral pacific ocean. Its oral history for us tongan but written in samoas history books. Samoan mythology tells stories of many different deities. The myths, legends and customs of old samoa pasefika press, 1976. Day trips around the islands are a great way to see more of vavau, with some taking you to underwater tunnels and shallow caves. Fifty samoan oral histories were recorded on openreel tapes during the 1970s. Augustin kramers account of his sojourn in the samoa islands from 1897 to 1899.
This is an epic book which covers history from 0 b. Neiafu samoa neiafu is a village on the island of savaii in samoa. British explorer james cook landed on islands in 1773 and 1777 and dubbed them the friendly islands. They could be telling stories for the education of their aiga children. Samoa books, samaon language books, fale faatautusi. Located on the far side of savaii, at itu asau district. Vavau is a group of more than 50 islands in tonga, about 250 km 150 miles north of tongatapu.
The population of neiafu uta is 598 and neiafu tai is 3 2006 census. Savaii samoa west neiafu family history center genealogy. They are either raised coral limestone or coral atolls. The village has close kinship ties to satupaitea village. There is an abundance of marine life to look out for. The capital, pago pago, was a strategic naval base for the u. Tagaloa was a supreme god who made the islands and the people. It is in the alataua sisifo electoral district and located at the south west corner of the island. American samoa institute of museum and library services.
Polynesians have lived on tonga for at least 3,000 years. There were deities of the forest, the seas, rain, harvest, villages, and war. In july 1997 the constitution was amended to change the countrys name from western samoa to samoa. See all 3 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. According to tradition the maui god fished up both tongatapu and vava. The other important islands are vanua levu the second largest, taveuni, kadavu. Society islands since 1801, author of a history of the tahitian mission newbury 1961. Where we once belonged by sia figiel, coming of age in samoa. The current royal dynasty of tonga was founded in 1831 by taufaahau tupou, who took the name george i.
Your story modern family history ideas at teach me genealogy. Texts printed in tongan at neiafu 1851 national library, canberra. Tomasi bourke father picture 4 tomasi was born in neiafu, vavau tonga. Neiafu is a beautiful village that you dont want to skip if you ever be on the. The capital is neiafu, which is the second largest city in tonga, situated at one of the best harbours of the world, the port of refuge. The samoan translation of the book of mormon becomes available.
Samoa is the story of the islands and their people of ratu the ancient mariner, leading his people on a voyage of discovery. According to tradition the maui god finished up both tongatapu and vava. The inland settlement, neiafu uta, is relatively recent. It is believed american samoas first residents migrated to the islands from fiji, tonga, vanuatu, and indonesia some time around 600 bc. Samoan islands history, polynesia history, books barnes. Last summer, i had the opportunity to return to the village in samoa where i served as a peace corps volunteer and reunite with my host family for the first time since i had left more than 30 years ago. Recent additions to worldcat savaii samoa west neiafu family history center there are no worldcat item holdings set for this library. An outline of a monograph with particular consideration of german samoa. A psychological study of primitive youth for western civilisatio. With less than 15 baptisms in six years, the mission in tonga was closed and the missionaries reassigned to samoa. According to frances isabella frueanmoores family history book, charles arrived in samoa before 1840 and made his home in faleula, where he married meleane pouoomasiu lealiitasi sua, with whom he had seven children. Uses a fairly small vocabulary, so good for learning sentence structure without getting too overwhelmed. From a cruising perspective, western samoa is often the first practical landfall when heading west from french polynesia. Samoan as a written language emerged after 1830 when tahitian and english missionaries from the london missionary society, working.
Nov, 2015 in addition to traditional songs, moyle recorded oral tradition lauga, fagogo and tala some of which formed the material for his books samoan traditional music 1988 and fagogo. Samoan history conference in wellington, new zealand, in january 1990. Before you begin the story, a summary of each chapter is given to reveal which characters. Thomas court, president of the samoan mission, traveled to tonga to explore the possibility of reopening the mission there. These histories were recorded in the native language and were later transcribed onto paper. History polynesians presumably arrived in the islands more than 3,000 years ago. Profile of savaii samoa west neiafu family history. Samoa oral history in the family history library genealogy.
Eua island tongatapu group has an old volcanic ridge rising to 1,078 feet 329 metres above sea level. A detailed book with terms for construction and parts of traditional houses. Western samoa was the first pacific island country to gain its independence. King of manua and all of samoa tui manua empire of samoa. Contains legends in samoan in one half, with english translations in the other. Where we once belonged by sia figiel, sons for the return home by albert wendt, freelove by sia figiel, telesa. Their progenitor in samoa was charles fruean zimmerman, the son of a german jewish immigrant to boston and an american national. This short history is written for the general reader and for senior high school and university students seeking an overview of samoan history. There was a cocoanut tree near this spot, and it was supposed that if the spirit happened to come in contact with the tree it returned, and the person who seemed to be dead revived and recovered. Here women are weaving baskets and telling stories. Samoan mythology and legends say they descended from the gods and heavens to inhabit these islands. The first settlement was the eastern tutuila village of tula. A short history of western samoa by malama meleisea et al. Constitution, pedigrees and traditions with 3 plates, 4 maps and 44 illustra augustin kramer university of hawaii press, 2000 history 728 pages.
Samoa is one of the most majestic journeys you will ever embark on. One of my next book projects is a history of samoa but in a way that is. The largest of these waterways, the fjordlike ava pulepulekai channel extends 11 kilometres 6. Cutting across disciplinary boundaries, the book integrates photographs with letters, nonfiction, and. Staff development the american samoa government provides opportunities for staff to pursue professional development and training. This short history of western samoa is the work of twelve writers from western samoa who took part in a history writing project sponsored by the united nations development programme through the western samoa extension services centre of the university of the south pacific. For those sailing around the south pacific, neiafu, is a popular spot to dock your yacht, allowing you to explore more of vavau islands natural beauty. Family cruising suwarrow, samoa, and tonga noonsite.
If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple faq for additional information. Of particular importance to samoans are the original documents containing ceremonial greetings and genealogical pedigrees. Samoa, formerly known as western samoa, comprises the two islands of upolu and savaii, as well as several smaller islands. Special offers to book the same hotel at the cheapest price. List of books and articles about fijian history online. Samoa gained its independence from new zealand in 1962 after more than a century of foreign influence and domination, but it remains a member of the commonwealth. Therefore, it can be assumed that all of the samoan islands have been inhabited by people for over 2,500 years.
Earthquakes in samoa, landforms of samoa, natural disasters in samoa, populated places in samoa, samoa geography stubs, subdivisions of samoa, apia, 2009 samoa earthquake, cyclone val, safune, falealupo, 1889 apia cyclone, satapuala. Savaii is the largest, but upolu is the most developed and center of government and commerce. Add a brief paragraph about your center here and the area it serves. Polynesians are all samoans says captain of voyaging canoe. Neiafutai is also famous in samoan history, this is where the last tongan warriors got on. History of samoa samoa has a long and fascinating history spanning more than 3,000 years.
Samoa a historical novel kindle edition by shaffer, j. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title neiafu. Like many villages in samoa, neiafu has two settlements neiafu tai coastal and neiafu uta inland. The samoan islands were first settled some 3,500 years ago as part of the austronesian expansion. Millions of products all with free shipping new zealand wide. A history of american samoa is a high school level textbook initiated and completed by the amerika samoa humanities council. Top 7 free family history apps for ipad or iphone discover a new story. Archaeological excavations in western samoa revealed lapita pottery dating back to about 800 b. American samoa and vavau neiafu, tonga are getting temples. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Shop for books at and browse categories like young adult books, childrens books, mystery books, adult coloring books and cook books.
Guided by the stars, the polynesian ancestors made their way across the pacific in oceanfaring canoes thousands of years ago. Samoa s early and more current history is strongly connected with the histories of tonga and fiji, which are in the same region, and with whom it shares historical, genealogical, and cultural traditions. The samoan journals of john williams anu open research. I now try to live a quiet life of reading, research into the samoan history and. Neiafu destination guide samoa general, samoa trip. The beautiful harbour opposite the main town of neiafu known as the port of refuge harbour is a common destination for yachties sailing the south pacific. Pages in category samoa family history centers the following 22 pages are in this category, out of 22 total. Edited by malama meleisea and penny schoeffel meleisea, lagaga covers samoan history from early polynesian arrival through the missionary era, independence in 1962 and the first two decades of the state of western samoa.
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