Aoa is a
village on the north-east coast of
Tutuila Island
Tutuila is the main island of American Samoa (and its largest), and is part of the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisbane, Au ...
,
American Samoa. It is located on the north coast, close to the island's eastern tip, at a narrowing of the island and is connected by road with
Amouli
Āmouli is a village on the southeast coast of Tutuila Island, American Samoa at the narrowest point of the island. It is located to the west of 'Au'asi, immediately to the south of 'Aoa on the north coast. It was home to 920 residents at the 2 ...
on the south coast. Aoa is the oldest site on Tutuila to yield ceramics. Located in a large U-shaped valley on the northeast coast of the island, Aoa sits on a wide, sandy beach fronted by a large, deep bay. Fresh water is supplied by a steady river which runs through the village. It is located in
Vaifanua County
Vaifanua County is a county in the Eastern District in American Samoa.
Vaifanua and Sua counties are both ruled by the Le’iato family, one branch of which lives in Fagaitua, the principal place of Sua County. Another lives in Sa'ilele near ...
.
Over 40 ancient star mounds have been discovered in the bush near Aoa. Village chiefs believe these elevated stone platforms were used in the ancient chiefly sport of pigeon-snaring. Archeologists believe they served as military lookouts due to their placement at strategic vantage points, perhaps as a military lookout for enemy canoes. Besides the star mounds, lepita pottery has been discovered in Aoa. Some estimates date some of the potshards discovered here to 2000 BCE, while most of the scientific community dates them to 500 BCE. The Department of Tourism operated a camp site here complete with showers and barbecue facilities. The campsite was however closed as of 1994.
It is one of few places in American Samoa with remaining patches of
mangrove forest
Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fr ...
. The largest such forests are found in
Nu'uuli
Nu'uuli is a village on the central east coast of Tutuila Island, American Samoa. It is located on a peninsula several miles up from Pago Pago International Airport. Nu’uuli is located between Pago Pago International Airport and Coconut Point. I ...
and
Leone.
Aoa is adjacent to Faalefu, a neighboring village which shares Aoa Bay.
History
In 1942,
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
immigrant to the U.S.,
Karl Paul Lippe Karl may refer to:
People
* Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne
* Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer
* Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...
, was billeted in the village of Aoa. He had joined the
U.S. Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...
and was sent to the Samoan Islands. In the village of Aoa, Lippe was embraced by High Chief Logo, who asked him to move into his ''
fale''. Eventually, Lippe fell in love with Malele, the chief's daughter. At the time the young Marine was called off to war, his wife was pregnant. After World War II, he made an attempt to visit American Samoa, but was told no one was allowed to settle in the islands without the Naval Governor's permission. His request was initially denied but was later accepted when he managed to get in contact with the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington.
Geography
The steep and mountainous terrain of the northern coast separates the villages along this coast from
Pago Pago and other Tutuila villages. A narrow and unpaved road (as of 1975) connects Aoa with its neighboring villages.
[United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Pacific Ocean Division (1975). ''Water Resources Development by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in American Samoa, 1975''. Division Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer Division, Pacific Ocean, Corps of Engineers. Page 36.]
Demographics
References
{{American Samoa
Villages in American Samoa