Mata'afa

Matā'afa is one of the four paramount tama-a-'aiga (maximal lineage) titles of Samoa.[1][2] It is one of two such titles originating from the Atua district at the east end of Upolu island (the other being Tupua Tamasese of Falefa & Salani) and has its historical seat in the village of Amaile.[3] Prominent holders of the title include Matā'afa Iosefo of Falefa,one of the three rival candidates for the kingship of Samoa during the early colonial period,[4] Matā'afa Faumuina Fiame Mulinu'u I (died 1948) of Lepea and Lotofaga, who became leader of Samoa's pro-independence Mau movement after Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III's assassination; and his son Fiame Matā'afa Faumuina Mulinu'u II (1921–1975), the first Prime Minister of Samoa.

Group (seated, wearing white) with Wilhelm Solf, New Zealand parliamentarian Charles H. Mills and paramount chief Matā'afa Iosefo during a visit by Mills to Samoa, 1903.

The title was then passed on to Matā'afa Fa'asuamaleaui Pu'ela Patu. After his death in 1997, the title fell vacant and remains so to this day.

Origins of the Matā'afa

The beginnings of the tama-a-'aiga Matā'afa lineage is traced through to Queen Salamasina. Her granddaughter Taufau sired Tupuivao who founded the line which resides in Amaile. The lineage branches off in later years with the title's ancestor Luafalemana, the son of King Tupua Fuiavailili and Punipuao, daughter of Alai'asā of Falefa.[5] Luafalemana married Gese and together had a daughter, Salaina'oloa. Having been issued and raised by 'Aiga Sā Fenunuivao (descendants of Fenunuivao), she married Tuimavave (also known as Tauili'ili) of 'Aiga Sā Levālasi (descendants of Levalasi). The union of these two lines issued the first line of the Matā'afa titleholders, Fa'asuamale'aui, in 1785.[1] Tuimavave's other union with Letelesā issued another line of the title, Silupevailei. Both Fa'asuamale'aui and Silupevailei are the two lines of descent from whom the Matā'afa is selected.

Tuimavave's union with King Tupua's grand-daughter, Salaina'oloa, has resulted in the Matā'afa titles' close association with the other tama-a-aiga title, Tupua Tamasese and the aloali’i title Luafalemana of Falefa. This has at times, resulted in Matā'afa holders also holding the Tupua title concurrently, like Matā'afa Iosefo, who became known as Tupua Matā'afa Iosefo.[5] By joining the daughter of Luafalemana with Tuimavave, the Tui Atua line arrives at a harmonious junction between the two great families of Atua - 'Aiga Sā Levālasi (custodian of the Matā'afa title) and 'Aiga Sā Fenunuivao (custodian of the Tupua Tamasese title).[1]

Family traditions differ as to who was the first Matā'afa, but the majority of opinions favour either Filifilisounu'u, son of Fa'asuamale'aui or Tafagamanu, son of Filifilisounu'u.[1] Either way, it is the line of Fa'asuamale'aui that began and carried the title from its inception until 1948, when the title passed to the Silupevailei line. After subsequent appeals before the Lands & Titles Court, the title returned to Fa'asuamale'aui's line upon the death of former Prime Minister Fiame Matā'afa Faumuina Mulinu'u II, when it was bestowed on Matā'afa Puela Fa’asuamale’aui Patu who held it until his passing in 1997. The title remains vacant to this day.[1]

Authority

Like the Tupua Tamasese title, the Matā'afa titleholder is selected by its primary political family and heirs. The title is held in custodianship by the Aiga Sā Levālasi, named after Levalasi, Queen Salamasina's adoptive mother.

Ownership of the title was confirmed in 1939, where it was decided that Aiga Sā Levālasi would select who would hold the Matā'afa title from the heirs at Anapapa, the Matā'afa's appurtenant maota (seat of residence) in the village of Amaile. Once they have made their selection, the Aiga Sa Tago are informed. The Aiga's main branches are in Amaile and Lotofaga as well as the family Satago. The head of Aiga Sā Levālasi is the Fiame titleholder of Lotofaga, currently held by Samoa's former Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Matā'afa. [6]

Title holders

Holders of the Matā'afa title include;

See also

References
  1. Tuimaleali'ifano, Morgan A. (19XX). (2006). O tama a 'aiga he politics of succession to Samoa's paramount titles. Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific. ISBN 978-982-02-0377-8. OCLC 494614506.
  2. Tradition versus democracy in the South Pacific: Fiji, Tonga, and Western Samoa by Stephanie Lawson, p. 146
  3. Meleisea, Malama (1987). The Making of Modern Samoa. University of the South Pacific. p. 54. ISBN 982-02-0031-8. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  4. Tuimalealiʻifano, Morgan A. (2006). O tama a ʻāiga: the politics of succession to Sāmoa's paramount titles. University of the South Pacific, editorips@usp.ac.fj. p. 13. ISBN 982-02-0377-5.
  5. Krämer, Augustin, 1865-1941. (1999) [1994]. The Samoa Islands : an outline of a monograph with particular consideration of German Samoa. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2219-6. OCLC 58450475.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. Soʻo, Asofou. (2008). Democracy and custom in Sāmoa : an uneasy alliance. IPS Publications, University of the South Pacific. ISBN 978-982-02-0390-7. OCLC 244005120.


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