Samoan Talc of a Mat. 



45 



(Ua e i ai i nei onapo o le ala o le Pipili i Safune.) 



Usu mai o le alii o Faitala mai Atua ia Tualafalafa, 

 fanau Sina fafaga i tua. Usu ifo o Aoee i luga i le lagi 

 ia Sinafafaga i tua, fanau Sinamaa Aoee. 



Ona gasegase ai lea o Aoee, ona feauina ifo ka o 

 Sina niaa Aoee e alu ai i le gasegase o lona tama; ua 

 faaputu toga ua ootai o le teiiie i lona tama, aua o le 

 gafa ua ta i le lagi. 



E i ai o le upii, "O le gafa ta i le lagi." 



Ua fai toga. A ua muimui Tualafalafa, aua ua leai 

 soona faitoga ; a afiifii lava i le aluga o le ie, ua igoa 

 tele. 



Ua oo i le aso ua tele ai toga, ona tatala loa lea 

 o le ie: 



Ua uila ma pogisa ma faititili ma afa sasa ia o le ie. 



Ua ofo o le toatele o tagata, ua latou faaigoa ai o le 

 ie ia Tasi e afe. 



O le uiga o lenei igoa : Ua tasio le nei ie, a ua afe 

 toga ua mauai. 



Ua tea i le lagi o le ie. 



Sa tepa ifo nei o Sina maa aoee ia Tooalo i RIanase, 

 ua to tigapula, ua sili i le tua o se ie ula. 



Ona tagi ai lea o Sina mia aoee i lona tama, ona oo 

 ane i ai lea o tama toalua o Ale ma o Ua faafuasei late 

 momolia o le teine i le alii, ua (ia fai tane ai. 



Ua to o Uafaafuasi, tago loa Tooalo, sei o le ie ula 

 e tu i lalo o le maa, a tu loa o le teine o Sina maa aoee, 

 ua tepa atu, ua leai o se ie ula ; ona fesili lea o le teine: 



Alii e, oifea o le alii, sa totoo lona tigapula? 

 Ua tali atu Tooalo; O au lava lenei. 

 Ona oso ai lea o le teine, o lea e au i le vai, a ua 

 afisi i lona aoao o le ie. 



Ua tatala o le ie, faa ua susu. 



Ua iloilo, ua mago lava. 



Ona faaigoaina lea o le ie ia Matumaivai. 



Ua nofo Sina maa aoee ia Matilafoafoa, ua fanau 

 o Sinataeoilagi. 



Usu Tooalo ia Sinataeoilagi, fanau Sinaautuimo. 



Usu mai Leuluialii ia Sinaautuimo. fanau Muliaga 

 ma Matagitausulu. 



Usu mai Tuisamoaia Matagitausulu, fanau Nonu- 

 maufele. 



( There is to this ila\' in Safune the street of Pipili. ) 



The chief Faitala ni li .'\tua m irrietl Tualafalafa and 

 begot Sina fafaga i tua. Aoee came down from heaven, 

 married Sinafafaga i tua and begot Sina maa Aoee. 



Aoee was ill, and Sina mia Aoee was sent down 

 from heaven to cure the illness of her father: fine mats 

 were collected, and the daughter goes to her father; so 

 it was the genealogy towered toward heaven. 



Thence comes the saying, "The genealog}' is from 

 heaven." 



Mats were collected and Tualafalafa murmured be- 

 cause her mat had not assisted. Therefore was the mat 

 with many names made into a pillow. 



As now many fine mats were collected, the mats 

 were lying unfolded. 



Lightning and darkness, thunder and hurricane 

 were the omen of the mat. 



A.stonished were the people, and they called the 

 mat "One of a thousand." 



The meaning of this name is: One is this mat, a 

 thousand would balance it. 



The mat so came to heaven. 



Then looked Sina maa aoee upon Tooalo in Manase, 

 he was planting a taro top and wore on his back a red 

 (feather) mat. 



Then did Sina maa aoee call to her father, and he 

 brought two youths. Ale and Uafaafuasei, for the 

 maiden longed to get the chief for a husband. 



Then fell a sudden rain and Tooalo caught hold of 

 his feather cloak and hid it under a stone ; then at once 

 stood the maiden Sina maa aoee before him and beheld 

 him without the red cloak ; then asked the maiden : 



"O Chief, where is the chief who plants taro? 



To her replied Tooalo, "I am he." 



Then plunged the maiden into the water, and swam 

 through the stream, taking the mat in her armpit. 



Then was unloosed the mat, lest it be wet. 



It was examined and found quite dry. 



Then was the mat called Matumaivai (drj- in the 

 water). 



Then Sina maa aoee dwelt with Matilafoafoa and 

 Sinataeoilagi was born. 



Tooalo married Si na tae iolagi and begot Sina- 

 autuimo. 



Leuluialii married Sinaautuimo and begot Muli- 

 aga and Matagitausulu. 



Tuisamoa married Matagitausulu and begot Nonu- 

 maufele. 



We can pi6lure to ourselves the Samoan woman sitting beneath the shade on 

 the bank of a stream singing this ancient song as she, too, tries to weave the fine mat 

 which may be kept in memory of the maker long after her earthly pilgrimage had 

 ended. The red mat in the song is supposed to be covered with the feathers of the 

 Fijian CaUiptilns solitarius^ Latham, feathers greatly valued but not found on Samoa. 

 The father of Sina maa aoee was the rain god, hence his sending of the lesser gods to 

 pour the sudden shower which caused Tooalo to hide his precious cloak from the rain. 



