Samoan Mythology
Dear Readers, especially all of you who love to “talk story.” Please go immediately to our restored website, www.samoanmythology.org which is in the final stages of completion. You will find the stories there. We leave here only the images created by Dorothy Kneubuhl (“Dotsy”) for the Board of Education of American Samoa in 1980. We are leaving this collection in memory of Peter Buddemeyer whose untimely passing on October 6, 2021 required a rebuild of the entire site. Peter was the “illuminator” for this project which began in 2018 since he brought so much light, energy and insight to it. Peter loved learning for its own sake, found joy in illuminating the universal truths of other cultures, especially indigenous ones, and embraced the promotion of creative connections with all peoples everywhere throughout our shared humanity. Dotsy’s original work was published in stark black and white; Peter resurrected them and brought them all to life. Our new site which uses these images and shares the stories was created by Jeff Napier of US-Web-Design during 2022, and we are indebted to him for doing so.
Tali Tonuga Anamua
The Origin of the People
This is the legend of the origin of the Samoan people as told by the an old man named Tuamᾱsaga: In the beginning, before the Samoan people began to live on the earth below, the supreme God Tagaloailagi (Tagaloa)… more
Vave: Fast like a Bird
Vave is a god who was born in a stone in Tutuila, perhaps in the village of Amanave. “Vave” means swift or quickly. It is thought Vave first came as a spirit from Tonga, and since being a spirit Vave could take many forms. Since a spirit cannot… more
Maui Captures Fire
Maui, who is known as a god throughout the Pacific, is the son of Maeatutala and Talaga, who are both superhuman deities. This is the story where their son Maui brings fire to the people of Samoa, and therefore the wonderful new delight of the ability to cook food… more
The Legend of the Sun: Uiga I Ie La
There was a woman named Magamagai who was so distressed that she could do nothing but stare all day at the Sun. One day she became very heavy since she became pregnant from staring at the Sun. She bore a son and gave him the name Alo o le Lᾱ ( Child of the Sun)… more
Talaaga Samoa Lafai
The Creation
As Brother Fred Henry points out in the Lambie edition of History, (pp. 18) the Samoans believed Samoa was the whole earth. Like philosophers everywhere throughout history, some emphasized the physical creation… more
The Story of Maui
One day, Maui met a woman. Immediately he felt sure that she was his true mother. He told her this, knowing he would have to convince her, since, by discarding him in the first place, she would believe it impossible that he could be alive. But it was not long until… more
The Story of Lata o Rata
Lata, who lived about A.D. 860 was the son of Fafieloa and Tula. The father of Fafieloa was Tavai who lived in Pago Pago. Fafieloa had been killed by a Chief named Matu’uta’ota’o who lived in Fogatuli on the southwest… more
Souls Traveling to Pulotu
While the scholars will search feverishly to uncover the precise origin of the Samoan people, and chart the paths of their migration to Samoa, others unquestionably accept what Brother Fred Henry writes, i.e. there was no migration at all, since… more
Sina and Tigilau
The Origin of the Name “Tigilau”
In the village of Taga in Savaii, there was a maiden named Lau. She was a maiden who was sought by many young men who competed for her from Samoa. The young man who won her heart was a young man from Falelatai in Upolu named Olo. Then Lau married Olo. However, there was a young man… more
The Story of Sina and Her White Seagull (Gogosina) and Her Twelve Brothers
There was a couple by the name of Tafitofau and Ogafau and their eleven children. All ten were named Tui, and Tui and Tui, and Tui, and Tui, and Tui, and Tui, and Tui, and Tui, and Tui and their only sister named Sina. Sina was the tenth child and the youngest boy was also named Tui… more
The Story of Sina and Her Strong Desires for Tigilau
In the village of Lepu’a, there lived a couple named Taue and Fa’alaulaue. They had only one child, their daughter Sina. Sina was a beautiful young lady. Not only was her face beautiful but she was also very strong physically. This was the reason her parents were very proud of her… more
The Legend of the Courting Parties That Went to Sina
There was a couple by the name of Vi and Vo and their only daughter named Sinausuimanu. This young lady was also well known by her shortened name, Sina. This Sina loved her parents dearly more than men and those of high status who had come to propose to her. This story… more
About Us
This website is designed to restore, preserve, and especially share the illustrations drawn in the early 1980’s by Dorothy Kneubuhl, known as “Dotsy” or just “Tasi.” She and her husband John Kneubuhl, who lived in American Samoa, worked alongside many other persons and scholars of distinction in the Bilingual Bicultural Program of the American Samoa Department of Education. They produced three volumes they called “readers” to be used to restore teaching the Samoan language in the schools. These are titled Lafai, Talitonuga Anamua and Sina and Tigilao. In particular, John feared the loss by Samoan youth of their Samoan cultural literacy and language, as the island’s social structures and norms faced increasingly intense pressures of displacement, diversification and assimilation. Dotsy illustrated three volumes; each illustration is accompanied by text, whether a translation, a summary or a simple comment. The text borrows heavily from the work of Brother Fred Henry whose volume, Lafai, (History of Samoa) was reproduced in 1979 at the National University of Samoa in tribute to K.R. Lambie with an extended gathering of talented and gifted linguists. Please see our full acknowledgements here.