Tuimalealiʻifano is one of the four paramount chiefly titles of Samoa, known as the tama a ʻāiga. Samoa's other three paramount chiefs are Malietoa, Mataʻafa and Tupua Tamasese. The seat of the Tuimalealiʻifano title is at Falelatai in the Aʻana district.
The current title-holder is Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II, who has held the title since 1977[1] and currently serves as the head of state of Samoa (O le Ao o le Malo).[2][3]
Origins
editThe title is the most recent of the tama a ʻāiga, originating in the mid-nineteenth century with Tuiaana Sualauvi, a nephew of Malietoa Fitisemanu I. Sualauvi was appointed Tui Aʻana in 1848.[4]: 78 By the early 1860s he had also been appointed to the pāpā titles of Gatoaitele and Vaetamasoalii.[5]: 51 In 1869, he obtained the support of Fuataga and Tafua of Aleipata and Moeono and Tusa of Falefa and Lufilufi and was appointed Tui Ātua, briefly ascending to the position of Tupu Tafaʻifa.[5]: 55 His reign would only last a year until his death on 25 August 1870. After Sualauvi's death, his youngest son Faʻaoloiʻi succeeded,[5]: 55 and was referred to by the name Tuimalealiʻifano, a contraction of Tui, from Tuitaʻalili, and Lealiʻifano, whose origins are disputed.[4]: 106
Tuimalealiʻifano Faʻaoloiʻi Siʻuaʻana I lived until 1937, surviving the civil war and colonial rule by Germany and New Zealand.[6] Following his death the title was disputed, and in 1949 the Land and Titles Court of Samoa ruled that it belonged to the descendants of Tuiaana Sualauvi.[4]: 110 The title was again contested following the death of Tuiaana Tuimalealiʻifano Suatipatipa II.[1]
Holders
edit- Tuimalealiʻifano Faʻaoloiʻi Siʻuaʻana I (1871–1937)
- Tuimalealiʻifano Faʻaoloiʻi Siʻuaʻana II (Siʻuaʻana's eldest son, held title for nine months)
- Tuiaana Tuimalealiʻifano Suatipatipa II (1952–1974) (son of Siʻuaʻana I)
- Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II (1977–present)
References
edit- ^ a b "Royal titles, a sore point". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 48, no. 10. 1 October 1977. p. 11-12. Retrieved 7 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "New head of state for Samoa". Radio NZ. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ "Tuimaleali'ifano Va'aleto'a Sualauvi II, is Samoa's fourth Head of State". Samoa Observer. 5 July 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ a b c Ato'ese M. Tuimaleali'ifano (1997). Aganu'u Ma Agaifanua Fa'a Samoa: A history and process of a tama'aiga (PDF) (PhD). University of the South Pacific. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Morgan Tuimaleali'ifano (2006). O Tama a ʻāiga: The Politics of Succession to Sāmoa's Paramount Titles. Fiji: University of the South Pacific. ISBN 9789820203778.
- ^ "LAST LINK WITH OLD SAMOA: Death of 90-years-old High Chief Tuimalealiifano". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. VIII, no. 4. 25 November 1937. p. 60-61. Retrieved 7 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.