In Samoan mythology, Fagamalo is the home of Tui Fiti, a spirit deity[4] who resides in the sacred forest, vao sa, an area that is tapu in the village.

Taua went and settled further west at what is now called Sataua, and the sister Lega went to the south-west of the island to the place that is known today as Salega.

In 1978, the Governor-General of Fiji, Ratu Sir George Cakobau, arrived in Fagamalo during a state visit to Samoa.

[8] During World War II, Fagamalo, which had a wharf and anchorage, was the main village and administrative centre on Savai'i and home for a resident commissioner of Allied forces defending the South Pacific against Japan.

[9] The government administration centre was later moved from Fagamalo to Tuasivi village on the north coast towards Salelologa township and ferry terminal.

The others said, “Only a handsome man like Nafo'i is able to do a thing competently.”[10] More recently, in 2002, the small village made the headlines in New Zealand[11] when the chiefs declared Fagamalo smokefree and imposed fines on people who broke the local law.