Nafanua

Nafanua

Nafanua is the name of the revered Goddess of War in Samoa and a deity in Polynesian Mythology.

According to Samoan mythology, Nafanua was the daughter of Saveasi'uleo, the God of Pulotu, Samoa's spirit world.[1] In one legend, Nafanua's mother was Tilafaiga the sister of Taema.

Contents

Background

Nafanua is a titled woman known throughout Samoa as a goddess of war. She was bestowed the title because she was highly respected by her family and village council and very dependable. As a goddess of war, it was her responsibility to protect her family and save her village from enemies. Her village was located on the western side of the island of Savai’i’i.

During Nafanua’s time, there was a war between the eastern and western sides of Savai’i’i as each side was competing for the land and title of the entire island. In the Samoan culture, land is very important because there are more people than inhabitable land. A family is more prestigious if they own a lot of land; and the family members (especially males) receive greater titles. Because of this tradition, Lilomai’ava, the High Chief from the eastern side of Sava’i’i, tried to conquer the whole island. During this war, if High Chief Lilomai'ava caught anyone from the east side on the west side, he would force the person to climb a coconut tree feet first, with head down as a punishment. He did this to show his power to the whole island that he planned to conquer.

One of the villagers that high chief Lilomaiava caught was Ta'ii (the uncle of Nafanua), and the older brother of Saveasi’uleo. Ta’ii was punished and was forced to climb the coconut tree feet first. As he was climbing the coconut tree, he let out a huge sigh because the climb was difficult. Ta'ii's sighs were overheard by Saveasi'uleo and Nafanua. This made Savesi’uleo angry; consequently he told Nafanua to cut down the Toa tree. The wood from the tree was to be used to make weapons to drive away the High Chief Lilomai'ava and his army. Immediately Nafanua cut down the Toa tree and left it there to dry. A few days later, she went back to the area where the Toa tree was cut and discovered that the tree attracted lots of Pule (seashells). "E gase toa ae ola pule". Literally this means that the shells are living but the Toa tree is dead. But metaphorically speaking, although we have great strength and power as human beings, we do not succeed if we do not have wisdom to make a good, solid decision. It takes courage to make wise decisions.

Later on down the line the war ended because Nafanua’s apana (shirt) was blown upward by the wind revealing her breasts. Up to this time the men did not know she was a woman. When they discovered that she was a woman, they decided to end the war. They felt humiliated because there was only one woman among several men fighting the war. This concludes the story about the Goddess of War, Nafanua, who was famous throughout Samoa, especially on the island of Savai'i.

Falealupo

In Samoa, the village of Falealupo on the island of Savai'i is the home of Nafanua.[2] Often chiefs from distant villages and islands would come to Falealupo to seek Nafanua's blessings before beginning any military adventure.

Falealupo is also the site of the entryway into the spirit world Pulotu.[1]

Other references

See also

References

  1. ^ a b [1], Coming of Age in American Anthropology: Margaret Mead and Paradise by Malo Pau'po Isaia, p. 39
  2. ^ http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3376/features/3217/cure_aids_conservation.html

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nafanua Volcano — Nafanua is a new active underwater volcanic cone growing inside the summit crater of Vailulu u submarine volcano, American Samoa. It did not exist just four years prior to its discovery in 2005, growing at about 8 inches per day since the last… …   Wikipedia

  • Vailulu'u — Location of American Samoa Summit depth 590 metres (1,940 ft) …   Wikipedia

  • Law enforcement in Samoa — Samoa has no standing army, as defense is the responsibility of New Zealand. However, Samoa does have a unitary national police force, the Samoa Police Service. The Samoa Police Service operates the Pacific class patrol boat Nafanua. It was… …   Wikipedia

  • Eel City — is the name of a community of deep sea eels living amongst hydrothermal vents in the new volcano of Nafanua in the Samoa. It is unique because most hydrothermal vents are predominantly inhabited by invertebrates, whereas there is little… …   Wikipedia

  • Samoa — This article is about the Independent State of Samoa. For the Samoan Archipelago, see Samoan Islands. For U.S. Territory of American Samoa, see American Samoa. For other uses, see Samoa (disambiguation). Malo Sa oloto Tuto atasi o Samoa… …   Wikipedia

  • Military of Samoa — Samoa has no formal defense structure or regular armed forces; informal defense ties exist with New Zealand, which is required to consider any Samoan request for assistance under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship. External links Nafanua off for $5.5m …   Wikipedia

  • Hydrothermal vent — Marine habitats White smokers emitting liquid carbon dioxide at the Champagne vent, Northwest Eifuku volcano, Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Littoral zone …   Wikipedia

  • Samoan Islands — For other uses, see Samoa (disambiguation). Samoan Islands Olosega island in the Manu a group, eastern Samoa Islands …   Wikipedia

  • History of American Samoa — Originally inhabited as early as 1000 BC, Samoa was not reached by European explorers until the 18th century. Early occupation by Polynesian people The pre Western history of Eastern Samoa (now American Samoa) is inextricably bound with the… …   Wikipedia

  • Neiafu (Samoa) — Satellite image of western end of Savai i island. (NASA photo, 2002) Neiafu is a village on the island of Savai i in Samoa. It is in the Vaisigano electoral district [1] and located at the south west …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”