Vaetoefaga left Nu‘uausala (the Tui Ā‘ana's residence in Leulumoega) to seek refuge among her Tongan relatives who had settled in the villages allotted to her brother (Tamasese 2004:10).
Her home was named Afeafe-o-Vaetoefaga ("refuge of Vaetoefaga") to commemorate this fearful time of persecution and conflict between the budding Tongan community and the established Samoan factions.
Their relationship brought forth a daughter named Lupefofoaivaoese, who grew to become Tui Ā‘ana and the ancestress of several prominent Samoan families, including the line that would rule Samoa until the death of Safeofafine.
One of the most significant episodes of her reign was the thwarting of a plot orchestrated by her maternal uncle, Ulualofaiga, a member of the esteemed Tu‘i Tonga dynasty.
With prior knowledge of the plot, an armed fleet of war canoes remained hidden from sight as warriors from neighbouring districts descended quietly over the mountains surrounding the bay.
The aftermath of the confrontation saw Ulualofaiga's remaining supporters flee in disarray, with Tongan forces retreating to their war boats and returning to Tonga.
Leifi and Tautolo had seduced Ulualofaiga into their plan and were also the very men who had assassinated Salamāsina's adoptive father, Tui Atua Mata‘utia.
Scholars have been particularly interested in Salamāsina's life (and the fact that her supreme titles passed on to her chiefly descendants primarily through her daughter Lupefofoaivaoese) because ancient Samoa has often been portrayed as a male dominated society.
Penelope Schoeffel and Gavan Daws point to Salamāsina's significance as the ancestor of many powerful Samoan rulers: Salamasina's historical significance was that she was the means of drawing together all the great aristocratic bloodlines and links to supernatural power in a period of political transformation, to create a basis of legitimacy for the new power-brokers of Samoa, the orator group Tumua of A‘ana and Atua.