Malietoa
It is the titular head of one of the two great royal families of Samoa: Sā Malietoa.
The title is currently held by HH Malietoa Faamausili Molī II and co heir HH Malietoa Bob Ainuu Afamasaga based on Samoa's Lands and Titles Court Decision of 16 August 2018.
In early Polynesian history Tongan king Tu'i Tonga Talakaifaiki of the Tu'i Tonga dynasty ruled, around 1250 to 1300, over several western Polynesian polities including Lau group of islands (eastern Fiji), Niue, 'Uvea, Futuna, 'Upolu, and Savai'i).
Tu'i Tonga Talakaifaiki established a long-term residence at Safotu, Savai'i, Samoa[1] and installed his brother, Lautivunia, as governor of Western Samoa islands.
The three brothers and their nephew led a wide-scale campaign of civil disobedience which ultimately escalated into the military overthrow of Talakaifaiki.
Driven westward from Aleipata, 'Upolu (where the Tu'i Tonga's birthday festivities were underway) to the coast of Mulifanua, the king and his bodyguards were cornered against the sea.
There was fierce fighting all the way to the sea whereon the Tu'i Tonga reached his superior navy vessels and called out to those on the land.
Upon his departure, the aged monarch delivered a short speech which praised the brave fighting qualities of the Samoan warriors and conceded victory to his once-subjects.
"[2] It is said that the brothers Tuna and Fata both took a fancy to the honor spoken by the deposed Tu'i Tonga and a quarrel between the two ensued.
The political vacuum left by the ousting of Talakaifaiki was immediately filled by Savea, meaning all the areas Tui Tonga Talakaifaiki once ruled was then under the rulership of Savea the first Malietoa.
The appellation "Na-fa'alogo-iai-Samoa (He Who Samoa Listened To)" was added on during the time of Malietoa Vainu'upo who, as Tupu Tafa'ifa after the death of Tamafaiga, formally accepted Christianity into Samoa in the late 1800s.
A handful of other versions are also recorded; however, the overall consistency of chronology and nomenclature is impressive given the oral nature of Samoan genealogy transmission.
The Sā Malietoa of today is expansive and transcends geographical boundaries, religious persuasions, socio-economic class and even ethnicity (considering various chiefly families in Fiji and other Pacific societies are genealogically linked to the Malietoa family).
Natutasina is alleged to have allied with his nephew Talavou against the LMS and the pacifist policy of Malietoa Vai'inupo and the Christians in 1840.
Although only the apical ancestor of this branch has held the Malietoa title, the 1939 ruling grants the Sa Natuitasina deliberating rights on the succession of the Malietoa title.
Perhaps the most well-known of the three modern branches, the Sā Moli has been highlighted as one of Samoa's four royal families for over a century.
Prominent members of the Sa Talavou include Talavou's son, Fa'alataitaua, who held the Ta'imua office and was named successor to Mata'afa Iosefo's office as Ali'i Sili while under German colonial rule.
Some of these descendants have come to light through media coverage of the ongoing titular dispute prompted by the death of Malietoa Tanumafili II, including families who claim descent from other Malietoas (besides Natuitasina, Moli and Talavou) and/or their descendants.
Tala o le Vavau: The Myths, Legends and Customs of Old Samoa.
"Myth, Cultural Identity and Ethnopolitics: Samoa and the Tongan "Empire"".
"Rank, Gender and Politics in Ancient Samoa: The Genealogy of Salamāsina O le Tafaifā".
"War of Tonga and Samoa and Origin of the Name Malietoa".
"The Riddle in Samoan History: The Relevance of Language, Names, Honorifics, Genealogy, Ritual and Chant to Historical Analysis".
"Great Families of Polynesia: Inter-Island Links and Marriage Patterns".
