Samoa is a place of mystic. The mythologies of the land have captivated visitors for years. The stories of Samoa are kept in the tatu tradition, told in the tapa cloth and the wooden carvings of the place. I got to visit the actual site of one of the rather important, equally mystifying tales, how Samoa got its name.
In the isolated picturesque village of Uafatu, there lived the Tui Manu’a family. The family had chickens MOA that they cared for. Tagaloa, the chief of the village, named the birds sacred. The chickens were the protectors of the family.
SA meaning don’t and MOA meaning chicken, put together makes – “Don’t eat the chickens.” Our host told us, this is the meaning behind Samoa. The prized chickens of the chief Tagaloa were so loved, he turned them to stone forever. You can visit his chickens frozen in rock, in Uafatu Bay.
It is all a bit hard to grasp, standing among oddly shaped rocks and trying to pick out the ones that look like chickens, I gave up. My boss had a rather pragmatic take on the tale. The chief must’ve had his people refrain from eating chicken because chickens lay eggs and eggs feed more for longer.
It is an interesting tale, but not one that all Samoan’s share. Some say that Samoa was named after a Volcano from the same district. Others claim that SA and MOA were the name of star cross lovers. A Samoan acquaintance, hadn’t heard the tale, she reasoned, we eat chicken now? Samoan’s love KFC.
That is one thing about myths, they change with each telling and stories start overlapping. This is the mystic of Samoa, there are many versions of the place.
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