SOME FOLK-SONGS AND MYTHS FKOM SAMOA. 133 



XIX. — The Kings of Manu'a and Samoa. 



Introduction : — These genealogies are partly mythical, partly historical. 

 The account, for instance, of the progeny of Le-Fatu and Le- f ele'ele (No. 

 XXII.) is clearly fabulous, but the list of the kings of Manu'a (No. XX.), 

 given, as it is, by Taua-nu f u, the official recorder, is, in the main, reliable ; 

 so is also the history of the two f Ali f a brothers (No. XIX.), for that is 

 supported by the traditions of the Earotongans themselves. In any case 

 these genealogical records are worth preserving, as they show us what 

 account the Samoans can give of their own ancestry. 



Mr. Powell says, under date Dec. 10, 1870 : — Taua-nu f u, legend keeper 

 has given me the following particulars to-day : — 



The present Moa-Tui-Manu'a is the thirty-fifth of that name. 

 Taua-nu'u himself, in his boyhood, has seen the immediately pre- 

 ceding Moa, who was not only Tui-Manu'a, but also priest of the 

 gods ; about fifty years ago, he was killed in a war with Fiti-uta, 

 an inland village on Tau of Manu'a. His predecessor again was 

 Moa-atoa, ' the complete Moa '; he lived to a great age, and in his 

 reign there was no war. Some of the early kings also lived to a 

 great age, but most of the more recent reigns were very short ; 

 for it was the custom to elect only men of mature age and experi- 

 ence to the office. The first Moa had, added to his name, the 

 epithet i ali i a-tama (tama, 'boy' 'ali'a* 'double-canoe'). 



The following is the genealogy of Moa-Tui-Manu'a, 'Moa, king 

 of Manu'a': — 



There was at Le-Faga, in the district of Fiti-uta, a band of 

 spirits dwelling in a cave, Lua-ai-aitu, ' cave for spirits'; these 

 gave birth alternately to men and spirits. Thus was born a man 

 named Le-Folasa, ' the prophet'; he had a son also named Le- 



* This word corresponds with the Earotongan kingly title f Karika '; 

 it is the same word. Sari'a, whose malae in Manu'a was named Earo- 

 tonga, went on a voyage in a double canoe and never returned. This is 

 the Karika referred to in "William's "Missionary Enterprises." The 

 Earotongans have no s, but, in some instances, the h is substituted for it; 

 e.g., in Samoan, sapo is ' to catch with the hand/ in Earotongan kapo; in 

 Samoan su is 'wet/ in Earotongan ku; hence Karika is the Samoan 

 Sari'a.— T.P. 



