Matelita Shaw

Tui Manu'a Matelita, born Margaret Young, and also known as Makelita, Matelika or Lika (31 December 1872 – 29 October 1895) was the Tui Manu'a (paramount chief or queen) from 1891 to 1895. She ruled over Manu'a, a group of islands in the eastern part of the Samoan Islands (present day American Samoa). During her tenure, she served largely a ceremonial role at her residence on Ta'ū where she received British writer Robert Louis Stevenson. Matelita never married because she would not marry any of the eligible native chieftains and no other men were regarded as having the proper rank to marry her. She died of illness in 1895 although later reports claimed she died by a more violent means. She was buried in the Tui Manu'a Graves Monument.

Life

She was born on 31 December 1872.
Her parents were Arthur Paʻu Young and of Amipelia. Her father's heritage was half-Samoan and half-white; her grandfather was either a British or American surnamed Young and her grandmother was a Samoan woman of Fasito'o (located in the western Samoan Islands). On her mother's side, Matelita was a descendant of Tui Manu'a Taliutafa Tupolo, son of Tui Manu'a Moaatoa, of the ''anoalo'' class, the lineal descendants of the Tui Manu'a line.

The family resided in the main two villages of 'o Lumā and Sī'ufaga, on Ta'ū, the main island of the Manu'a group, where her father was a trader. The family lived in a two-story stone house in the center of the two villages near the Protestant Christian church.

Reign

After the death of Tui Manu'a Alalamua, the paramount title was left vacant and disputed. An election took place in the ''faletolu'', the council which traditionally decided on the next Tui Manu'a. The two candidates were Matelita and Taofi, a son of Tui Manu'a Tauveve. The ''anoalo'' led by Arthur Paʻu Young weighed in in favor of Matelita. The decision was not accepted initially by the main line of the Tui Manu'a, but Taofi conceded to Matelita and she became the new paramount chief of the group, ascending to the title on 1 July 1891. She was crowned in a traditional ceremony consisting of feasting, offering of food, kava drinking in the days before and after 13 July 1891.

During her tenure, she primarily filled a ceremonial role and resided on the main island of Ta'ū. In 1895, she gave a speech consecrating a new church. Contemporary and posthumous European and American accounts of her life portray her as a mere figurehead and as a white queen of the South Seas. Matelita never married because she would not marry any of the eligible native chieftains and no other men were regarded as having the proper rank to marry her.

Meeting Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson, a British writer and expatriate in Samoa, visited Matelita and the islands of the Manu'a group in 1894 aboard . During his two-day sojourn on the island, he stayed in a guest house belonging to the queen and was served the traditional kava drink. He described how Matelita had little to do and was not able to travel outside the capital village of Ta'ū. In a later letter written to Henry James, Stevenson stated:

Death and legacy

Matelita fell ill in September 1895 and died peacefully in her sleep, after the illness, on 29 October 1895.; ;
Later sources claimed she died after a kerosene lamp overturned causing her mosquito net to catch fire while she slept. This is not supported by contemporary sources of the Protestant missionaries which stated she died of illness. A son of her predecessor Alalamua, Elisala was elected as her successor to the title Tui Manu'a in 1899. After Elisala's death, the title was abolished by the United States, which had earlier incorporated the islands as a part of American Samoa. Matelita's brother Chris Taliutafa Young unsuccessfully attempted to claim the Tui Manu'a in 1924.

After her death, she was buried next to some of the preceding Tui Manu'a title holders and eventually her successor Elisala after his death. A marble monument was built over her final resting place. The tombstone, which is the most visible monument in the royal burial ground that is delineated by a stone enclosure, consisted of a round column on a square base. The inscriptions on the base memorializes, in both the English and Samoan language, the life of the Tui Manu'a including the words: These are my last words to you all, "May you live in peace". This grave site known as the Tui Manu'a Graves Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

American anthropologist Margaret Mead, who conducted research in Samoa between 1925 and 1926, was given the name Makelita by locals in her memory. During a local marriage ceremony, Mead also wore a dress woven by the late queen.

See also

* Fa'amatai

References

Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Matelita
1872 births
1895 deaths
Tui Manua
19th-century women rulers
Samoan people of British descent
Protestant monarchs