Fitiuta, also known as Fiti'uta or Maia, is a village on the northeast coast of

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

island, one of the

Manuʻa Islands The Manua Islands, or the Manua tele (Samoan: ''Manua tele''), in the Samoan Islands, consists of three main islands: Taū, Ofu-Olosega, Ofu and Olosega. The latter two are separated only by the shallow, 137-meter-wide Āsaga Strait, and are now ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 153. The village of Fitiuta is made up of two hamlets: Maia and Leusoali'i, the latter of which is the most eastern area on the island. Historically, they were classified as villages. The town has two shops, a hotel and a church, which was recently built.

Fitiuta Airport Fitiuta Airport is a public airport located in Fiti‘uta, a village on the island of Ta‘ū in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Fitiuta Airport replaced Tau Airport (located in the village of Tau), which was ...

is located in the town. The area is famed for its myths and legends. According to

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. Ta ...

, it was in a place called Saua in Fitiuta that the god

Tagaloa In Samoan mythology, Tagaloa (also known as Tagaloa-Lagi or Tagaloa, Lagi of the Heavens/Skies) is generally accepted as the supreme ruler,

decided to make the first human being and crown the first human king, the Tuimanu'a. It was also near this village that the first kava ceremony was performed.Holmes, Lowell D. (1974). ''Samoan Village''. Holt McDougal. Fitiuta is recognized as the most ancient village in the Samoan Islands. It is the oldest settlement in the Manu’a Islands. The Fagā Village Site, located in Fitiuta, is among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in American Samoa. It features foundation ruins, stone terraces, and other archaeological structures dating back to approximately 1000 CE.

Etymology

According to legends, the village was originally known as Aga'e. The village was home to the first Samoan chief, Tagaloa Ui, in ancient times. He was a mortal descendant from the gods and his daughter, Sina, was known all over the

Samoan Islands The Samoan Islands () are an archipelago covering in the central Pacific Ocean, South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Political geography, Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Samoa, Indep ...

for her beauty. Tuifiti, the king of

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

, traveled to Samoa and proposed to Sina. After some time in Fiji, Sina became lonely and the chief's eldest son, Taeotagaloa, traveled to Fiji in order to bring her home. The king was sad to see Queen Sina leave and made a request for her to rename her village “Fitiuta”, which means “Fiji in the Mountains.” It can also be translated as "Inland Fiji" or “The Fijian Land”. The name ''Fitiuta'' is derived from the combination of two words: "Fiti" (

) and "uta" (land behind each village). In the typical Samoan village layout, settlements are located along the coast, facing seaward ("tai"). From Sāmoa, facing westward toward Fiji places it in front ("tai"), while the area behind would be referred to as “uta." If the Polynesian migratory direction was primarily eastward, the name Fitiuta would appear to be a misnomer, and a name such as Fititai or Fitiluma ("luma" meaning front) would be more appropriate. The naming of Fitiuta, situated east of Fiji, may underscore Fiji's significance during that era. This could also imply that the Polynesian migration followed a westward trajectory rather than an eastward one.

History

The

Faga Village Site The Fagā Village Site is a major archaeological site in the United States territory of American Samoa. Located on the north shore of the island of Ta'u, it is, according to local oral history, one of the oldest settlements in all of the Samoan ...

is one of American Samoa's oldest continuously populated settlements, with foundation ruins, stone terraces and other features dating to 1000 CE. It has been named the oldest village in the

. Pre-European

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s have been discovered in Fitiuta Village. These engravings were created using techniques such as pecking (hammering the stone with a pointed tool), bruising (rubbing the surface with another stone), and abrading (a combination of pecking and bruising). Traditionally, Fitiuta was divided into two distinct sections: Fitiuta-by-the-sea and Fitiuta-landwards.

Geography

The village is located on the northeast coast of Ta‘ū Island. Fitiuta is one of three villages on Ta'ū Island. On both sides of the village are steep slopes with agricultural lands on their summits, owned by Fitiuta families and certain areas communally owned by Fitiuta village. A number of fruits are grown here, including breadfruit, banana, coconut, and some taro. The village of Fitiuta is made up of two hamlets: Maia and Leusoali'i. The two Fitiuta hamlets share the same schoolhouse, dispensary building, and church. Fiti'uta Village, like Ta‘ū Village, forms its own distinct county, as does Faleasao Village, which also constitutes a single county. This unique political structure is a defining characteristic of the villages in the

and has been in place since the establishment of governance under the first

Tui Manu'a The title Tui Manuʻa was the title of the ruler or paramount chief of the Manuʻa Islands in present-day American Samoa. The Tuʻi Manuʻa Confederacy, or Samoan Empire, are descriptions sometimes given to Samoan expansionism and projected ...

. This system is exclusive to the Manuʻa Islands and is not observed in the neighboring

Tutuila Tutuila is the largest and most populous island of American Samoa and is part of the archipelago of the Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisba ...

and Aunuʻu Islands. It is directly north of the

National Park of American Samoa The National Park of American Samoa is a national park of the United States located in the territory of American Samoa, distributed across three islands: Tutuila, Ofu, and Taʻū. The park preserves and protects coral reefs, tropical rainfores ...

. The climate is described as "a warm, tropical island surrounded by the South Pacific Ocean with temperatures moderated by southeast trade winds. It has humid days and nights and rainfall is abundant."

Notable people

* Galea'i Peni Poumele, former

Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa The government of American Samoa consists of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the American Samoa Fono, which consists of an 18-member Senate and a 21-member House of Representatives. The first popular election for Governor an ...

References

External links

National Park Service map of the Manu‘a Islands
showing location of Fiti‘uta on the island of Ta‘ū. Populated places in American Samoa {{AmericanSamoa-geo-stub