Safotu 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 ...

. Safotu is in the district Gagaifomauga and has a population of 1270. Traditionally, it attained the status of 'Pule,' customary political authority, and has been the main centre of the Gagaifomauga district. Safotu is also associated with the chiefly ''matai'' ''Ao'' title of Lilomaiava. The village is situated by the sea with a district hospital and school at the west end. The hospital sits upon a small rocky rise of black

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

rock. The main island road passes through the village and there are several churches and local stores. A turnoff from the main road leads to the inland village settlement of Paia. Safotu is about 46 km from

Salelologa Salelologa is a village district at the east end of Savai'i island in Samoa. It is the main entry point into the island with the only ferry terminal on Savai'i. It also serves as the main township for shopping and public amenities with a market s ...

and the ferry terminal. The popular tourist destination

Manase Manase is a village on the central north coast of Savai'i island in Samoa in the political district of Gagaifomauga. It has a population of 123. Situated by the sea with a white sandy beach, Manase has become a popular tourist destination sinc ...

village is the neighbouring village to the east. Heading west past the village is

Samauga Samauga is a village on the central north coast of Savai'i island in Samoa. It is situated on the central north coast of the island in the district of Gagaʻifomauga and the electoral district of Gagaʻifomauga 2. The population is 373. There is ...

followed by Lefagaoali'i and

Safune Safune is a traditional village district on the central north coast of Savai'i island in Samoa. It lies within the electoral constituency of Gaga'ifomauga. Safune is the birthplace of Mau leader Olaf Frederick Nelson and the filming location o ...

Geography

Safotu is situated on a coastal strip at the west end of a volcanic

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

approximately 50 m high that runs down to the coast. The coastal strip extends inland rising steadily towards

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 ...

. Atuimo Point is a rocky headland forming one end of Safotu beach. The lagoon varies from 300m - 400m in width along the coast with small reef breaks off the shore. There are small freshwater springs surfacing along the shore and some of these are contained as village pools at the western end of Safotu beach.

Pre-history

In pre-history, Safotu was a settlement for

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

ns Talaaifeii was the name of one of the Tongan chiefs.

Mythology

There are different stories about the origin of the name Safotu. *In

Samoan mythology Samoan culture tells stories of many different deities. There were deities of the forest, the seas, rain, harvest, villages, and war. There were two types of deities, ''atua'', who had non-human origins, and ''aitu'', who were of human origin. Taga ...

Safotu and

were named after Fotu and Fune, the children of Lafai. *The name Safotu goes back to the name of a girl Fotuisamoa, a sister of Ututauaofiti. *Safotu and other villages in Savai'i (Matautu, Sataua, Salega) were founded by the children of Laufafaitoga who was the daughter of the Tui Tonga. Laufafaitoga's husbands were Tupa'imataua of Samoa and Lautala of Fiji. *Laufafaetoga went to Samoa and became pregnant to Tupaimatuna. They sailed for Tonga but were blown off course and landed in Fiji. Their child was born and given the name Vaasilifiti. At this time, Fiji was in continual warfare and Lautala was the most famous warrior. Laufafaetoga and Lautala had three children. The first was named Ututauofiti who established the village of Matautu (where

Fagamalo Fagamalo is a village situated on the central north coast of Savai'i in Samoa. It is a sub-village or ''pito nu'u'' of the larger traditional village enclave of Matautu in the political district of Gaga'emauga. The population of the village is 3 ...

is situated). The second child was named Tauaofiti and he founded the village of

Sataua Sataua is a village on the island of Savai'i 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); ...

. The third child, a girl named Lelegaotuitoga founded the village of

Salega Salega is a traditional district on the island of Savai'i in Samoa. It is situated on the south side of the island. The population is 3,461 (2006 Census). Electoral constituency (Faipule District) In modern politics, Salega is also an electoral co ...

. Laufafaetoga ran away and returned to Tupaimatuna. She became pregnant again. The child was born before landing and was given the name Fotusamoa, hence the beginning of Safotu.

References

{{Gaga'ifomauga Populated places in Gaga'ifomauga