Sale'aula is a village on the central north coast of Savai'i island in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

and is the traditional center of the Gaga'emauga political district. Chief council meetings are held at Vaitu’utu’u malae in the village. The village has a population of 600.

Volcanic eruptions

Volcanic eruptions of

Mt Matavanu Mt Matavanu is an active volcano on the island of Savai'i in Samoa. The volcano was formed during an eruption in 1905. Lava flows from the eruption covered a large area of land in the Gaga'emauga district, leading to the relocation of several vil ...

(1905 - 1911) in central Savai'i swept northwards towards the coast and destroyed villages in its path. The lava flowed over of countryside to the sea and also destroyed another village Salago. The depth of the lava flow in some parts was 400 feet. A

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and a meetinghouse of the

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

were also buried. Sale'aula land was covered by lava that reached other villages to the east including

Mauga Mauga is a village in Savai'i island in Samoa. The village is in the Gaga'emauga 1 constituency, a sub-division of the larger Gaga'emauga district. The population is 162. The word ''mauga'' means ''mountain'' in the Samoan language. The settlem ...

and Samalae'ulu. The colonial German administration acquired land on the main island

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximatel ...

and resettled villagers at

Salamumu Salamumu is a village on the south west coast of Upolu island in Samoa. The village has two settlements, Salamumu Uta (population 338) and Salamumu Tai (population 33). The village's name is derived from the words ''sala'' (fire) and ''mumu'' (pun ...

and Leauva'a. Today, those villagers are still part of the Gaga'emauga electoral district on Savai'i. Today, a few families have re-built homes upon the lava fields where there is sparse volcanic vegetation. There are some church ruins and the grave of a nun which was encircled by the lava flow. Local families provide fale accommodation for visitors and tourists by the lava and the coast.

Origins

Samoa has different stories about the origins of different names and villages. For the origin of Sale'aula village, one version tells of two brothers, Le'aula and Letufuga. Le'aula founded the village of Saleaula (''Sa Le'aula'', family of Le'aula), and Letufuga founded

Safotulafai Safotulafai is a traditional village at the east end of Savai'i island with historical and political significance in Samoa's history. It is the traditional center of the island of Savaii, now became the center of Fa'asaleleaga political distr ...

References

{{Gaga'emauga Populated places in Gaga'emauga