The Tui Manu'a Graves Monument is a funerary marker and grave site on the island
Ta'u, the largest island of the
Manu'a group 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 Internation ...
. It is located northwest of the junction of Ta'u Village and Ta'u Island Roads on the west side of the island. It consists of a stone platform, about in height, that is roughly rectangular in shape with a projection at one end. Three graves are marked by square sections of smoothed stones, while a fourth is marked by a marble column. A possible fifth grave, unmarked, is in the projection. It is the burial site of several (four or five)
tu'i
Tu'i, also spelled more simplistically Tui, is a Polynesian traditional title for tribal chiefs or princes. In translations, the highest such positions are often rendered as "king". For details, see the links below various polities. Traditionally, ...
, or kings, of Manu'a, including
Tui Manu'a Matelita
Tui Manu'a Matelita, born Margaret Young, and also known as Makelita, Matelika or Lika (31 December 1872 – 29 October 1895) was the Tui Manu'a (paramount chief or queen) from 1891 to 1895. She ruled over Manu'a, a group of islands in the east ...
and
Tui Manu'a Elisala
Tui or TUI may refer to:
Places
* Tui, Pontevedra, Spain
* Tui, Iran, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Tui, North Khorasan, North Khorasan Province, Iran
* Tui Province, Burkina Faso
* Tuis District, Costa Rica
* Tui railway station, New Zealand ...
, the Samoan leader whose signature granted the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
hegemony over the islands.
The monument was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
in 2015.
See also
*
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 project ...
*
References
History of American Samoa
Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in American Samoa
Buildings and structures completed in 1909
1890s in American Samoa
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