Before “Samoa” was so named, there was first only rock (papa) and soil (‘ele’ele). The rock’s sovereign deity was Salevao; ‘ele’ele had no particular deity. After Papa and ‘Ele’ele married, the islands began to form. Salevao observed the ‘Ele’ele’s middle- the center sections of the earth- moving in the mire of the ground. This movement was their son growing inside her. They would name him Moa, meaning “center”. When Moa was born, according to custom, the deity ordered the midwives to “Set the cord of the boy up in the tree and cut it.” They did as he ordered, and this pleased him. But Papa and ‘Ele’ele wanted water to drink, not just to bathe Moa, and begged him for some, to which the elder deity replied, “Bring me a bamboo shoot and I will draw the water from the rocks, to create the streams to quench the thirst of everyone.” Thus, water is obtained from the rocks. This is why there are streams beneath mountains. Salevao ordered the parents to cut off all of Moa’s hair, but they disobeyed, and the sacred commandment was broken; this disobedience angered Salevao so greatly that to punish them he banished Moa, forbidding him from the presence of Papa and ‘Ele’ele. They- the lands formed by Papa and ‘Ele’ele- were thereafter named “Sa Moa,” literally meaning a land without Moa.

Another version of the story begins with the supreme deity of the heavens – Tangaloa- and his sister, who was a bountiful breeze who (married to the sun) had a daughter with him named Lu. Lu bore a son, also named Lu, likely with Moa, her cousin and nephew, since Tangaloa had two sons, Moa and Lu, in that order.

As in the first version, Tangaloa became angry with the boy because of complaints about the water, saying, “If you would bring me a (tool) I can drive a hole into the rocks and bring up water for you”. This explains why water comes from the rocks, but Tangaloa became very frustrated that he had to call him eight times.

One night when the old man Tangaloa was asleep, he heard a melody about his beloved daughter in law when he overheard his son Lu singing, “Moa Lu, Moa Lu,” but then observed to his surprise that the song changed to the voice of the boy singing, “Lu Moa Lu Moa.”

Upon hearing these lyrics change the old man grew upset with the boy for his thoughtlessness, as it seemed as though the boy Lu thought himself elevated above his first son Moa. Tagaloa then pretended that his back had an itch and called out to Lu to come and scratch it.

Tagaloa grabbed Lu by the arm and dragged him out of the house, set upon him beating him on the throat with his fue. The boy was very upset and ran away fleeing forever to the earth, producing the name for the islands Sa Moa. Because he was banished forever and separated from Moa and his heavenly family, meaning “without” (Sa) and “Moa” his father’s name.

Note: This means that Lu, the son of Tagaloa’s daughter, is forbidden from residing in heaven were brother, the firstborn Moa lives. Another way to view this is that Lu, the son, is forbidden to live together with Lu, his mother.

In Samoan communal life, to be separated from family would be an unthinkable cruelty, an unbearable pain for any Samoan to endure; hence, this version cures that pain that with the final ending, “In fact, Lu, the son of the daughter of Tagaloa was born again, and lived in Heaven where the oldest son Moa also lived.”