Lumā is a village on the northwest coast of Taʻū Island in

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...

, south of the village of Taʻū and north of Siʻufaga. The last Tui Manuʻa is buried in Lumā. It is also where anthropologist

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard C ...

researched and authored her classic ''

Coming of Age in Samoa ''Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilisation'' is a 1928 book by American anthropologist Margaret Mead based upon her research and study of youth – primarily adolescent girls – on the island of ...

'' in 1925.Swaney, Deanna (1994). ''Samoa: Western & American Samoa''. Lonely Planet. Page 191. . Lumā and neighboring Siʻufaga are subvillages of the Village of Taʻū. The main settlement on

Taʻū Taʻū is the largest island in the Manuʻa Islands and the easternmost volcanic island of the Samoan Islands. Taū is part of American Samoa. In the early 19th century, the island was sometimes called ''Opoun''. Taū is well known as the site ...

Island is based around the twin villages of Lumā and Siʻufaga. The Taʻū Motel is located near the small boat harbor in Lumā, known as Lumā Harbor. The harbor is mostly used by local fishing boats, and is not recommended for yachts.Stanley, David (1999). ''Tonga-Samoa''. Moon Handbooks. Pages 190-191. .

Demographics

Geography

It is located in Taʻū County in the

Manuʻa District The Manua District is one of the three primary administrative divisions of American Samoa. The district comprises the Manua Islands, which are located approximately 61 miles east of the main island, Tutuila. The Manua District is considered to ...

. It is bounded by one side by the Pacific Ocean and a jungle hill known as Tunoa Ridge on the other. It mostly consists of clapboard and stucco bungalows roofed with corrugated iron. Lumā is home to two large churches and one shop. It is 70 miles of ocean from the territorial capital of

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...

Margaret Mead

Anthropologist

traveled from

to Lumā in 1925. The 24 year-old Mead stayed in the village for half a year while doing fieldwork such as interviewing villagers. She complained of the heat that made it impossible for her to work several hours at midday. This is also where she wrote her classic anthropological work ''

'' (1925). Later, a devastating hurricane left just a few houses standing in the village, and prevented Mead from interviewing villagers for several weeks.

References

{{coord, -14.230, -169.516, type:city_region:AS, display=title Villages in American Samoa