Tuimalealiʻifano Faʻaoloivi Siʻuaʻana I (~1854 — 14 October 1937) was a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a Chiefdom, chief-based system. This term is used occasionally ...

, and the first holder of the

Tuimalealiʻifano Tuimalealiʻifano is one of the four paramount chiefly titles of Samoa, known as the '' tama a ʻāiga''. Samoa's other three paramount chiefs are Malietoa, Mataʻafa and Tupua Tamasese. The seat of the Tuimalealiʻifano title is at Falelatai i ...

title. He was one of the leaders of the

Mau movement The Mau was a nonviolence, non-violent movement for Samoan independence from colony, colonial rule during the first half of the 20th century. ''Mau'' means 'resolute' or 'resolved' in the sense of 'opinion', 'unwavering', 'to be decided', o ...

. Faʻaoloiʻi was the youngest son of Tuiaana Sualauvi. He was raised in

Afega Afega is a village on the island of Upolu in Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of the island to the west of the capital Apia in the countryside. The population is 1998. Afega is part of electoral constituency (''faipule district'') ...

, but recalled to Falelatai on the death of his father to take up his chiefly title. In 1889 he was made ''Kovana Aana'' (district governor) by the Samoan government. In the 1890s he became a friend of the writer

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

. He served as a ''taʻimua'' under the German colonial administration, and in 1915 was made a ''fautua'' (native advisor) under the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

administration.

Mau movement

In late 1926 Tuimalealiʻifano attended a meeting with

Olaf Frederick Nelson Ta'isi Olaf Frederick Nelson (24 February 1883 – 28 February 1944) was a Samoan businessman and politician. He was one of the founding leaders of the anti-colonial Mau movement. Biography Nelson was born on 24 February 1883 in Safune on t ...

and other independence activists at the home of

Samuel Meredith Samuel Meredith may refer to: * Samuel Meredith (American politician) (1741–1817), American merchant and politician, Treasurer of the United States, 1789–1801 *Samuel Meredith (police officer) Captain Samuel Meredith (5 August 1794 – June 18 ...

to plan the response to an inquiry into Samoan grievances. This led to the formation of the citizens committee, which became the ''Mau''. When he attended a public meeting of the committee, he was suspended as ''fautua'' by New Zealand administrator

George Spafford Richardson Major-General Sir George Spafford Richardson, (14 November 1868 – 11 June 1938) was a senior officer in the New Zealand Military Forces. Born in Northamptonshire, England, Richardson originally served with the British Army's Royal Regi ...

. In August 1927 following the sitting of a commission of inquiry into Samoa he resigned as ''fautua'' due to dissatisfaction with the administration. He subsequently became one of the ''Maus principal leaders, alongside

Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III Tupua Tamasese Lealofi-o-ā'ana III (4 May 1901 – 29 December 1929) was a Fa'amatai, paramount chief of Samoa, holder of the Tupua Tamasese dynastic title and became the leader of the country's pro-independence Mau movement from early 1928 unt ...

. He was one of the leaders of the procession on Black Saturday, and attempted to hold back the crowd when the shooting started. He was injured, with a slight wound to the arm, and spent several weeks hiding in the hills with other members of the ''Mau''. He was subsequently arrested and was charged with wearing a ''Mau''

lavalava A lavalava, sometimes written as lava-lava, also known as an ''ie'', short for 'ie lavalava, is an article of daily clothing traditionally worn by Polynesians and other Oceanic peoples. It consists of a single rectangular cloth worn similarly to ...

. In March 1930 he was convicted of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

and fined £3. In April 1930 he was again arrested for wearing ''Mau'' uniform and jailed for three months. In January 1937 he celebrated his "100th birthday" because "he may not live to see it". He died later that year.

References

{{Reflist Tuimalealiʻifano Samoan independence activists People from A'ana 1937 deaths