Tui Fiti

Early contacts between Samoans and Fijians, which indicate mutual awareness and intimacy, are recorded in the legends of both countries.

In one legend, A Tongan woman and a Samoan man left to go to the woman’s home in Tonga. On their way, a terrible storm arose. They were driven of course, by passing Tonga and ended up in Fiji. There they met the Tui Fiti or King of Fiji. He took the man’s wife for himself. Instead of killing the man, he made him into one of his generals. This man served faithfully and won a lot of victories for the king of Fiji. He was pleased with the man’s bravery, loyalty and courage. So the king of Fiji said, “You can have your wife back faithful warrior.”

The man and his wife started to sail back to Samoa. But in the stomach of this woman was not the seed of her husband but in her womb was the son of the Tui Fiti. When they reached Samoa, they settled in Fagamalo. In Fagamalo there is a malae which is called Tui Fiti. Tui Fiti is the acknowledged deity of Fagamalo. The ritual practice of placing food in the interior is ceremonially maintained today.

In the legend about Siamese twins called Taema and Tilafaiga, Samoans acknowledge the introduction of Tatooing from Fiji. Fiji is also credited by Samoans with the introduction of the kava plant. A Samoan woman married to a Fijian returned to Samoa bringing to Savaii the first kava plant which grew with exceedingly great luxuriance and spread over all of Samoa.

According to one legend, pigs were plentiful in Fiji and a ban was imposed on sending live ones to Samoa. A Samoan went to Fiji to smuggle one to Samoa. He baked a big pig and instead of stuffing it with stones, he put in a small pregnant sow in its cavity. The Fijians did not look inside the dead pig so the live sow was successfully taken to Samoa.

One of the best known legends which shows contact between Samoa and Fiji is that of Apaula, the daughter of the Tui Fiti, and a Samoan chief Vaea. Tui Fiti’s children Aloiva’afulu, Tauaputuputu, Aioufitunu’u, Tauatigiulu and their sister, Apaula, set out for Samoa. When they arrived, they beached their boat at Safune. Vaea went to the boat, lifted it onto the trees and threatened its crew. The Fijians offered their sister to Vaea if he did not harm them. Vaea agreed and took Apaula as his wife. When she became pregnant, Apaula returned to Fiji so that she might give birth to the baby there. Vaea asked that the child be called Tuiosavalalo, after the stone he was standing on. After the child was born, there was a famine in Fiji and Apaula’s son was eaten. Apaula returned to Samoa and found that because of his sorrow, Vaea turned into a mountain, now named Mt. Vaea.

The above information was taken (as written) from the MCKAY-FALE located in Sauniatu (on the island of Upolu) Western Samoa.