SOME FOLK-SONGS AND MYTHS FROM SAMOA. 205' 



to bathe ; Lele'a stood forth and demanded to know where his 

 grandfather's yams were. The king responded that there were 

 only two or three left, and begged Lele'a to acept them and spare 

 his life. He did so on condition that they should no more invade 

 Samoa.- He returned to his grandfather with the yams. These 

 people existed prior to the bringing down of the cloud from 

 heaven. 8 



*' I got this legend from Taua-nu'u (on Manu'a), Mar. 23, 1871.' 



c This man. Taua-nu'u was Kecorder (or Keeper of the Traditions) for 

 the island of Tau.' 



T. Powell. 



1. The name Alele is composed of a, an intensive particle, and lele, ' to 

 fly.' Tua-langi means ' the back of the sky'; an Irishman would probably 

 call it ' the back of beyont.' In Samoan myths, Alele is said to have been 

 the first king of Manu'a. (See page 210.) 



2. This tale reminds one strongly of what is said about the Grecian 

 ' Harpies.' They too had wings, were very swift fliers, and were plunderers. 

 One of them was called Aello, ' swift as the storm wind ;' another was 

 Okupete, 'swift-flying.' In the Grecian story, the lives of the Harpies 

 are spared on their promising that they will no more molest Phineus ; in 

 this story, the life of the chief of the Alele is spared, on his promise that 

 they will never again invade Samoa. 



The binding obligation of such an oath is illustrated by the following 

 facts. About the beginning of this century, the Tongans, in great force, 

 invaded all the Samoan islands and conquered them. In token of their 

 victory, the Tongans made the Samoans set up for them an oblong pile 

 of stones in Savai'i, covering about an acre of ground ; it was flat on the 

 top and seven feet high. The invaders remained in possession of the 

 islands for some time, but ultimately the Samoans recovered strength, 

 and drove them out, taking from them a sacred oath that, except for 

 peaceful purposes, such as barter or trade, they would never return. 

 'When I was in Savai'i,' says Mr. Pratt, 'a report spread that the Tongans 

 were about to make another hostile descent, but an old man assured me 

 that he was certain they would not come, for they were bound by that 

 heavy oath, which they could not break.' 



3. ' Eecesses in their back.' Of course, as these Alele people went off 

 with whole loads of yams at once, it was necessary for the old story- 

 makers to describe them as having some means of carrying their plunder,,, 

 and these receptacles in their backs just suit the purpose. But the idea 

 may have been suggested by a similar Samoan custom ; the women there 

 carry heavy burdens on their backs, suspended in a net by a thong pass- 

 ing across the forehead. We know that the Centaurs of old Thessalian 

 times were supposed to be man and horse all in one ; and so our myth 

 may find it convenient to represent the Alele and the net-basket on their 

 back as all one piece. At all events, we have here an old folk-lore story; 

 for the name Alele has passed into a proverb, as above. 



4. Tvi-Sa.mata, ' king of Samata/ (See pages 199 and 208.) The futu 

 is a large Samoan tree. A landing place in Tonga is named from such 

 a tree ; and so elsewhere. 



5. The So. in all such words means 'race of j' so also in the name Sa-moa> 



