[4] Traditional oral literature of Samoa and Tonga speaks of a widespread Polynesian network or confederacy (or "empire") that was prehistorically ruled by the successive Tui Manu'a dynasties.

Manu'an genealogies and religious oral literature also suggest that the Tui Manu'a had long been one of the most prestigious and powerful paramounts of the Pacific and the first pre-eminent ruler of all Samoa.

Oral history suggests that the Tui Manu'a kings governed a confederacy of far-flung islands which included Fiji, Tonga[1][2][3] as well as smaller western Pacific chiefdoms and Polynesian outliers such as Uvea, Futuna, Tokelau, and Tuvalu.

Commerce and exchange routes between the western Polynesian societies is well documented and it is speculated that the Tui Manu'a dynasty grew through its success in obtaining control over the oceanic trade of currency goods such as finely woven ceremonial mats, whale ivory "tabua", obsidian and basalt tools, chiefly red feathers, and seashells reserved for royalty (such as polished nautilus and the egg cowry).

Although the Tui Manu'a would never again regain rulership of the surrounding islands, it is permanently held in high esteem as the progenitor of the great Samoan and Tongan lineages.