La'aka is a powerful ancestress and one of the most widely propitiated of spirits among the eastern Kwaio on Malaita, Solomon Islands.
She is seen as both a protective figure who exemplifies maternal virtues and the productive powers of women and as a warrior whose deeds rivalled those of the ancient Kwaio strongmen who, as ancestral spirits (adalo), are propitiated and confer power to the living.
British officers arrested Noto'i and his followers, and when the Americans did not appear, many believers became disillusioned, though the movement continued underground for several years.
[3] By 1942, the British had in fact scattered in the face of the Japanese invasion, and the Americans came later in the Guadalcanal campaign.
Malaita was in general not involved in World War II, but many Kwaio volunteered for the Solomon Island Labour Corps positions assisting the Americans on Guadalcanal or Tulagi.