Tui Manu'a

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tui Manuʻa Confederacy
i-Kiribati
Tahitian

Religion
Samoan mythology
GovernmentMonarchy
Tu'i Manu'a 
Historical eraPre-Tagaloa
Today part ofSamoa
Fiji
American Samoa
Niue
Wallis and Futuna
Tuvalu
Tokelau
Cook Islands
Kiribati
Rotuma
French Polynesia
Tui Manu'a Elisala
was the last title holder
Tui Manu'a Matelita was the Tui Manuʻa from 1891 to 1895.

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 hegemony in Oceania which began with the founding of the Tui Manu'a Title, Traditional oral literature of Samoa and Manu'a talks of a widespread Polynesian network or confederacy (or "empire").[1][2][3]

History

The Tui Manu'a is the oldest title of Ancient Samoa. Tui Manu’a conquered nearby islands such as Fiji, Cook Island, Tuvalu, and Tonga. According to Samoan and Tongan oral histories, the first Tui Manu'a was a direct descendant of the Samoan supreme god,

Manu'a (Ofu, Olosega, and Ta'u) are always the first lands to be created or drawn from the sea; consequently the Tui Manu'a is the first human ruler mentioned. This "senior" ranking of the Tui Manu'a title continues to be esteemed and acknowledged by Samoans despite the fact that the title itself has not been occupied since the American takeover in the early 20th century.[4]

The Tui Manu'a Confederacy

Traditional

Futuna, Tokelau, and Tuvalu. Commerce and exchange routes between the western Polynesian societies is well documented and it is speculated that the Tui Manu'a dynasty grew through its success in obtaining control over the oceanic trade of currency goods such as finely woven ceremonial mats, whale ivory "tabua", obsidian and basalt tools, chiefly red feathers, and seashells reserved for royalty (such as polished nautilus and the egg cowry
).

Decline and Isolation

Eventually, the maritime empire began to decline and a new empire rose from the South.[5] In 950 AD, the first Tu'i Tonga 'Aho'eitu started to expand his rule outside of Tonga. Samoa's Savaii, Upolu and Tutuila islands were to eventually succumb to Tongan rule, and would remain part of the empire for almost 400 years. However, as the ancestral homeland of the Tu'i Tonga dynasty and the abode of deities such as Tagaloa 'Eitumatupu'a, Tonga Fusifonua, and Tavatavaimanuka, the Manu'a islands of Samoa were considered sacred by the early Tongan kings and thus were never occupied by the Tongans, allowing for it to remain under Tui Manu'a rule.[6]

By the time of the tenth Tu’i Tonga Momo, and his successor, Tuʻitātui, the Tu'i Tonga's empire had grown to include much of the former domains of the Tui Fiti and Tui Manu'a. The expulsion of the Tongans in the 13th century from neighbouring Upolu and Savaii would not lead to the islands returning to Tui Manu'a but to the rise of a new dominant polity in the western isles: the Malietoa, whose feats in liberating Samoa from the Tongan occupants led to the establishment of a new political order in Upolu and Savaii which remained unchallenged for nearly 300 years. Although the Tui Manu'a would never again regain rulership of the surrounding islands, it is permanently held in high esteem as the progenitor of the great Samoan and Tongan lineages.[7]

Colonization and the "Abolition" of the Tui Manu'a title

The Manu'a islands were grouped with

Tui Manu'a Elisala officially ceded the islands of Manu'a to the United States through the signing of the Treaty of Cession of Manu'a
. He was relegated the office of Governor of Manu'a for the term of life and the understanding that the Tui Manu'a title would follow him to the grave. He died on 2 July 1909.

After a fifteen-year break, the office was revived in 1924 when

Matelita who reigned between 1890 and 1895, was named Tui Manu'a by the general assembly of the Faletolu and Anoalo. American officials were worried that the Manu'ans were restoring a "king" who would cause trouble for the administration. Governor Edward Stanley Kellogg opposed the bestowal and had the new Tui Manu'a brought to Tutuila where he was prevented from exercising the powers of his office. The Governor did not recognise the title on the basis that a monarchy was incompatible within the framework of the Constitution of the United States
, stating that the previous Tui Manu'a had pledged under duress to be the last person to hold the title.

The descendants of Tui Manu'a are numerous.

List of Tui Manuʻa

  1. Satiailemoa
  2. Tele (brother of Satiailemoa)
  3. Maui Tagote
  4. Maugaotele
  5. Folasa or Taeotagaloa
  6. Faʻaeanuʻu I or Faʻatutupunuʻu
  7. Saoʻioʻiomanu (Saʻo or eldest son of Faʻaeanuʻu I)
  8. Saopuʻu (second son of Faʻaeanuʻu I)
  9. Saoloa (third son of Faʻaeanuʻu I)
  10. Tuʻufesoa (fourth son of Faʻaeanuʻu I)
  11. Letupua (fifth son of Faʻaeanuʻu I)
  12. Saofolau (sixth son of Faʻaeanuʻu I)
  13. Saoluaga
  14. Lelologatele (eldest son of Saofolau)
  15. Aliʻimatua (eldest son of Lelologatele)
  16. Aliʻitama (second son of Lelologatele)
  17. Tui Oligo (grandson or son of Aliʻitama's daughter)
  18. Faʻaeanuʻu II (eldest son of Tui Oligo)
  19. Puipuipo (second son of Tui Oligo)
  20. Siliʻaivao (third son of Tui Oligo)
  21. Tuimanufili (daughter of Faʻaeanuʻu II)
  22. Faʻatoʻalia Manu-o-le-faletolu (eldest son of Tuimanufili)
  23. Segisegi (son of Faʻatoʻalia)
  24. Siliave (daughter of Faʻatoʻalia)
  25. Tui-o-Pomelea (son of Siliave)
  26. Tui-o-Lite (or Tui Aitu) (son of Tui-o-Pomelea)
  27. Toʻalepai (son of Tui-o-Lite)
  28. Seuea (daughter of Toʻalepai)
  29. Salofi (brother of Seuea)
  30. Levaomana (son of Salofi)
  31. Taliutafapule (son of Salofi and brother of Levaomana)
  32. Taʻalolomana Muaatoa
  33. Tupalo
  34. Seiuli
  35. Uʻuolelaoa (killed in a war with Fitiuta)
  36. Fagaese
  37. Tauveve
  38. Visala
  39. Alalamua
  40. Matelita or Makelita
    (1872–1895), r. 1891–1895
  41. Elisala or Elisara (died 1909), r. 1899–1909[9]
  42. Chris (Kilisi) Taliutafa Young (1924)[10]


See also

References

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ a b E. E. V. Collocott. "Journal of the Polynesian Society: An Experiment In Tongan History, By E. E. V. Collocott, P 166-184". jps.auckland.ac.nz.
  3. ^ a b Teiufaifeau Brown. "Unit 27 Samoas Political History" (PDF). pacificschoolserver.org.
  4. ^ "Tupou 2". Samoa History. 2012-12-27. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  5. .
  6. . Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  7. .
  8. .
  9. ^ Ben, Cahoon, ed. (2000). "American Samoa". WorldStatesman.org. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  10. ^ Isaia 1999, pp. 257–258.

Bibliography