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Vailele is a village situated on the central north coast of
'Changing perception of land: Samoa 2000'' by Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop, Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment, Samoa Government. Retrieved 2 November 2009
Archaeological field work in Samoa uncovered earth mounds at Vailele, including a large mound Laupule, associated with a figure called Tupuivao in oral history and another mound Tapuitea (''evening star'').
The studies of the mounds during the early 1940s were carried out by New Zealand anthropologist
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 ...
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 ...
.
Vailele is in the electoral constituency (''faipule district'') of Vaimauga East in the larger political district of Tuamasaga
Tuamāsaga is a district of Samoa, with a population (2016 Census) of 95,907. The geographic area of Tuamasaga covers the central part of Upolu island.
History & Politics
Malie & the Malietoa
The paramount ''matai'' title of Tuamasaga is the ...
.
The village is less than ten minutes east of the country's capital, Apia
Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...
. The settlement is north facing and situated in Vailele Bay.
Historical
In the 1800s, the large Vailele Plantation inland was owned by the German company Deutsche Handels und Plantagen Gesellschaft (DHPG) which employed workers from theMelanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...
n islands. DHPG was a major plantation owner in Samoa. It had formerly traded in the Pacific as Godeffroys but changed its name and expanded operations in Samoa when the family's parent company in Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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became bankrupt.
Much of the village land lost during colonialism
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
is now owned by the government operated Western Samoa Trust Estate Corporation (WSTEC). Financial difficulties by WSTEC in the late 1970s and early 1980s resulted in the sale of land in Vailele. However, the government returned some of the land to villagers in Vailele and neighbouring villages Lauli'i and Letogo.'Changing perception of land: Samoa 2000'' by Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop, Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment, Samoa Government. Retrieved 2 November 2009
Archaeology
Archaeological field work in Samoa uncovered earth mounds at Vailele, including a large mound Laupule, associated with a figure called Tupuivao in oral history and another mound Tapuitea (''evening star'').
The studies of the mounds during the early 1940s were carried out by New Zealand anthropologist Derek Freeman
John Derek Freeman (15 August 1916 – 6 July 2001) was a New Zealand anthropologist knownTuzin, page 1013. for his criticism of Margaret Mead's work on Samoan society, as described in her 1928 ethnography ''Coming of Age in Samoa''. His at ...
(referred to as J.D. Freeman in literature) who was a schoolteacher in Samoa from April 1940 to November 1943. Freeman also excavated the Falemauga Caves
The Falemauga Caves are large natural caverns in a series of lava-tunnels situated in the Tuamasaga district along the central ridge of Upolu island in Samoa. The caves have been studied by archaeologists in Samoa with evidence of human occupat ...
in Upolu's interior. Plainware pottery sherds were found in 1957 by archaeologist Jack Golson
Jack Golson (born 1926) is an archaeologist who has done extensive field work in Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. He was born in Rochdale, England.
Golson studied history and archaeology at University of Cambridge, Cambridge University. In ...
.
Notable people
*Mikaele Pesamino
Mikaele Pesamino (born 2 April 1984) is a rugby union player in the Samoa Sevens team. He was the highest point scorer in the 2009–2010 IRB Sevens World Series helping his country in securing their first World Series crown and was awarded th ...
, a rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player in the Samoa Sevens team which represents 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 ...
internationally in rugby sevens.
* Simaika Mikaele, also a rugby union player in the Samoa Sevens team
See also
*Archaeology in Samoa
Archaeology of Samoa began with the first systematic survey of archaeological remains on Savai'i island by Jack Golson in 1957.German Samoa
German Samoa (german: Deutsch-Samoa) was a German protectorate from 1900 to 1920, consisting of the islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono, now wholly within the independent state of Samoa, formerly ''Western Samoa''. Samoa was the last ...
References