According to Nanumean myth, it was brought to the island by Tefolaha, from Samoa or Tonga, and had been used in battle, including to kill giants.
The Kaumaile is believed to have been brought to Nanumea by Tefolaha (circa 1375 AD), from either Samoa or Tonga, where he had used it valiantly in battle.
Tefolaha would climb a palm tree and use a wooden hook on a piece of twine to trick the women into shouting their names.
[4] Nanumean traditions describe the islets, Te Motu Foliki, Lafogaki, and Teaafua a Taepoa, as being formed when sand spilled from the baskets of two women, Pai and Vau, when they were forced off Nanumea.
In the either the late 1890s or early 1900s, G. B. Smith Rewse (known to the Nanumeans as Misi Lusi), a British colonial administrator, came to know about the Kaumaile.
The Kaumaile was given up willingly, the Nanumeans likely hoping the officials would provide them with more information on the spear's age and where it originated.
Tefolaha's sons and daughters are today the founding ancestors of leading families and the seven chiefly lineages of Nanumea.