How “One” Became the First Number
O le Tala o Tasi ma Sefulu
This story time requires some background knowledge of counting in Samoan, so hereʻs a crash course in the cardinal numerals:
6- ono
7- fitu
8- valu
9- iva
10- sefulu/gafulu
1- tasi
2- lua
3- tolu
4- fā
5- lima
How “One” Became the First Number
Once upon a time there lived a couple named Sāfea and Falagaua. They had 11 children. The firstborn was Sefulu (Ten). After Sefulu came Iva (Nine), then Valu (Eight) was born, then Fitu (Seven), then came Ono (Six), then Lima (Five) was born, then Fā (Four), then came Tolu (Three), then Lua (Two) was born, then Tasi (One). Sina was the youngest, and the only girl in the family.
One day, the ten brothers and their little sister were playing tāgātiʻa. They sharpened wooden sticks (tiʻa) and competed to see who could throw theirs the farthest.
Photo: Tahitian women participants in the javelin throw at the annual Heiva, a month long festival that features cultural and sport competitions.
Photo: Javelin throw at Heiva.
Malae located in Vatia Village, American Samoa, 1998
Photo: Micah Van der Ryn
Sefulu went first (he always went first to do everything), throwing his tiʻa high above the jungle canopy. Iva hurled his tiʻa even farther, landing among the talo plants in their garden. Valu launched his tiʻa farther yet, landing in the thatch of their fale.
Fitu threw past the malae, Ono sent his tiʻa beyond the next village, and so on until the brothers believed there was no way that their little sister could possibly beat them.
But she did. Her brothers watched in disbelief as her tiʻa flew through the jungle canopy, between the banana trees in the garden, over their fale, past the malae, beyond the next village, and all the way to the sandy coast.
The brothers could not believe it! Surely she had cheated! The angry boys demanded a rematch. Tasi suggested that everyone should go and collect their own tiʻa, but Sefulu yelled for Sina to walk all the way down to the coast, retrieving her brothersʼ tiʼa along the way. She dutifully obeyed her eldest brother, returning several hours later, exhausted and thirsty.
While his older brothers stretched their arms and sharpened their tiʻa, Tasi -- the youngest brother -- offered Sina some cool water and fanned her sunburned shoulders with a banana leaf. Sefulu and the other brothers scoffed at their younger siblings and began the game anew -- each brother throwing their tiʻa farther than the one before. They were sure that they would beat Sina this time, especially since she was exhausted from her long trek. But, Sina won yet again.
The older brothers watched with angry faces and jealous eyes as Sinaʼs tiʻa flew past the beach and over the ocean where it landed on a shadowy island that was barely visible on the horizon.
Elder brother Sefulu was outraged that he had lost once again. Rather than accept defeat with dignity, he ordered Sina to swim across the sea to fetch her tiʻa from the island. The nine other brothers could not believe how cruel Sefulu was! They all knew that the island was the home of Pilioʻua, a terrifying demigod who took the form of a giant lizard.
Pilioʻua lived in a dark, underground cave that no human had ever escaped from.
Tasi begged his oldest brother to just let Sina go home with them. “Sefulu!” he said, “How could you send her down to Piliʻs den? You know the sea is full of sharks! Weʻll never see her again!”
But Sefulu was deaf with anger and ordered Sina again to retrieve her tiʻa from the island. Nine brothers walked home with their heads hung in sadness as they watched their sister fade into the distance toward the sea.
Sina swam all night and finally reached the haunted island at dawn. She heard a voice coming from the bottom of the deep cave -- there were bones and skulls littered around the entrance -- but it was too dark for her to see who was speaking.
“Welcome, friend! Youʻve swam so far! Come on in and show me who you are.” Sina had heard that a giant creature lived on the island, but the voice she heard was so kind and inviting… surely not the voice of monster, she thought.
Pacific Black Skink (Emoia Nigra), Mt. Vaea Reserve, Photo: ZooChat
Pacific Black Skink, Photo: P.Ryan
Pacific Black Skink, Mt. Vaea Reserve, Photo: ZooChat
“I am Sina and Iʻve lost my spear. Have you seen my tiʻa somewhere around here?”
“Oh yes,” the voice said, “but itʻs broken in two. Come into my cave and Iʻll give it to you.” Sina took a breath of courage and stepped into the hole.
In the darkness, she saw a handsome man holding her broken tiʻa and motioning for her to take it, but as her eyes adjusted to the darkness she realized the human face was attached to a slithering reptile body!
She snatched the tiʻa from Pilioʻuaʻs slimy, scaly hand and turned to run away, but it was too late… she was trapped in the giant lizardʻs cave.
When Sina did not show up for breakfast, her parents asked Sefulu where she was.
“Oh, sheʻs probably just tired from our games yesterday… Iʻll tell Iva to check on her right away.” Brother Ten had lied. He knew he had sent his sister to an almost certain death.
When Iva was headed to the plantation, the parents asked him how Sina was. “Oh, sheʻs probably getting something to eat… Iʻll tell Valu to bring her a treat.” Brother Nine had lied. He also knew his sister was headed to the monsterʻs island. One after the other, each brother pretended that they didnʼt know where their sister was. They were ashamed to tell their parents the truth and they were afraid of what their oldest brother would do to them if they betrayed his evil deed.
But Tasi, the youngest brother -- who was always the last to wake up, last to eat, last to bed -- decided to be the first to do the right thing. He sailed his canoe to the island of the Pilioʻua, outrunning swift sharks and fighting fierce sea monsters along the way.
He followed Sinaʼs footprints in the sand to the entrance of the lizardʼs cavern. He had to get his sister’s attention, but he couldn’t wake up the beast, so Tasi looked around and came up with a quick plan.
He climbed to the top of a gigantic fala tree and gathered handfuls of colorful pandanus fruits, which he tossed into the dark cave.
Fala (Pandanus) Tree, Photo: Pixabay
Samoan Flying Fox, eating pandanus fruit. Photo: Nat’l Park of American Samoa
Pandanus Fruit, Photo: Pixabay
Pe’a (Flying Fox Fruit Bats) , Photo: Pixabay
The sound of the falling fala caught the attention of Pilioʻua, who called out, “Welcome friend! Youʻve sailed so far! Come on in and show me who you are!”
Tasi was not fooled by the warm invitation. He rustled the leaves of the fala tree and whistled like a peʻa (flying fox), “lu-lī, lu-lī, lu-lī” while tossing more pandanus fruits. When Sina asked who had come to the cave, Pilioʻua told her it was nobody, just a clumsy flying fox knocking fala fruits off the tree. Sina pretended like she wasn’t interested, but actually she had recognized Tasiʼs voice disguised as a peʻa and realized her brother had come to help her escape.
“Pilioʻua,” she spoke sweetly, “I need some fresh air, may I go out to the door of cave over there?”
“Okay,” said the lizard, “but donʻt go too far. Tie this rope to your leg so Iʻll know where you are.”
As soon as Sina stepped out of the cave, Tasi jumped down from the pandanus tree to greet her. He fumbled to untie the knot from Sinaʻs ankle and Pilioʻua felt the movements and tension on the rope. “Sina, donʻt try it, thereʻs no way you can win. Iʻll pull on this rope and drag you back in!”
Tasi managed to slip the rope off Sinaʻs leg and tied it around the base of the towering fala tree. Sina yelled back, “You tricked me once, but Iʻm no fool. If you want me back then go ahead and pull!” Full of rage, the giant lizard heaved with all his might, but instead of dragging Sina back into the cave, he pulled down the massive fala tree instead, crashing down on him, roots and all.
Pilioʻua was dead because of the bravery and quick thinking of the youngest, smallest brother.
After sailing home, Sina and Tasi were happily greeted by their relieved parents. After learning the full story, Sāfea and Falagaua called the entire village together and made a special decree.
Sefulu and the older brothers had brought shame to themselves by allowing foolishness, anger, and jealousy to overshadow their sacred duty to honor their sister. Sefulu and the older brothers had always been first, but from now on everything would start with Tasi because of his kindness and sense of duty toward his family.
And so it continues today, when counting from one to ten -- tasi, lua, tolu, fā, lima, ono, fitu, valu, iva, sefulu -- the courageous and honorable little brother Tasi is always first and disgraced elder brother Sefulu comes last.
MORAL OF THE STORY
In old Sāmoa the sacred protective relationship between brother and sister -- called feagaiga --was of utmost importance. A brother was expected to fiercely defend his sister at any cost, and to fulfill her every request. Even after she was married, this sacred status passed on to the sisterʻs children -- called tamasā -- who were given special status and honored with gifts and deference by their motherʻs brothers.
Mema Sesega and Tupe Crawley perform their own arrangement of the ever popular and often misunderstood Sou Fuga Sina. Sou Fuga Sina also known as Soufuna Sina is a song based on a legend told many times through Fagogo, which acts as a reminder of the relationship that a Samoan brother has with his sister (Feagaiaga - Covenant). Taken from Coconet TV
While men were often seen as holding chiefly, governing roles of authority, Samoan women held ceremonial power and social prestige that often outranked their male counterparts.
Many of our most celebrated warriors and revered rulers and deities were female, including Queen Salamāsina, the war goddess Nāfanua, our tattooing goddesses Taemā-Tilafaigā, Mālietoa Taiāʻopo, and many more.
The story of Sina and her ten brothers also highlights traits like honesty, loyalty, sportsmanship, and accountability by showing examples of consequences that come about from dishonorable behavior (including Sefulu losing his birthright and eight of the brothers losing the trust of their people).
CHARACTERS
Sāfea & Falagaua: parents
Sefulu: youngest, tenth brother
Sina: youngest sister
Tasi: firstborn brother
Tolu: third brother
Pilioʻua: giant lizard demigod
Fā: fourth brother
Fitu: seventh brother
Iva: ninth brother
Lima: fifth brother
Lua: second brother
Ono: sixth brother
VOCABULARY
Fā: four
Fala tree: pandanus tree used for food and many other applications
Fale: house
Feagaiga: sacred relationship/covenant between brother and sister
Fitu: seven
Iva: nine
Lima: five
Lua: two
Malae: central meeting ground or area
Ono: six
MEDIA
REFERENCES
Cain, Horst. “The Sacred Child and the Origin of Spirits in Samoa.” Anthropos, vol. 66, no. 1/2, 1971, pp. 173–181. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40457754.
Charlot, John. “Aspects of Samoan Literature III: Texts on Historical Subjects and Bodies of Literature.” Anthropos, vol. 87, no. 1/3, 1992, pp. 44–46. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40462573.
Latai, Latu. “Changing Covenants in Samoa? From Brothers and Sisters to Husbands and Wives?” Oceania, vol. 85, no. 1, 2015, pp. 92–104.
Meleisea, Malama, and Penelope Schoeffel. Meleisea. Lagaga: A Short History of Western Samoa. University of the South Pacific, 1987, pp. 27-37.
Motusaga, Mema. “Women in decision making in Samoa.” (2017). http://vuir.vu.edu.au/35037/1/MOTUSAGA%20Mema-Thesis_nosignatures.pdf
Schoeffel, P. “The Samoan concept of feagaiga and its transformation”. Tonga and Samoa: Images of Gender and Polity, pp. 85-105. Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, 1995.
Sierich, O. “Samoanische Märchen.” International Archives of Ethnography, Supplement: V.15, 1902, pp. 167–68. HathiTrust, babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112111870355&view=1up&seq=217&q1=sina.
Thomas, Allan. " Traditional Games: Recording Experiences in Pacific and European Cultures." The Journal of New Zealand Studies [Online], 3.3 (1993): n. pag. Web. 20 Jul. 2020 https://core.ac.uk/reader/229703538
More on Malae
Churchill, W. Geographical Nomenclature of American Samoa. Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, 45(3), 1913, 187-193. doi:10.2307/199273. https://www.jstor.org/stable/199273?seq=3#metadata_info_tab_contents
Grattan, F.J.H. An Introduction to Samoan Custom. A Samoan Village Chapter 5. n.d. http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-GraIntr-c5.html
Van der Ryn, M. Which way is front?: Spatial orientation complications in contemporary samoan villages. Structure and Dynamics, 9(1). 2016. Chicago. https://escholarship.org/content/qt2jg0r9cb/qt2jg0r9cb.pdf
More on Pe’a
Information: https://nationalparkofamericansamoa.weebly.com/the-samoan-flying-fox.html
Photos: https://www.pbase.com/jfp_photo/image/162513922
More on Pilioʻua
B. J. Gill. The land reptiles of Western Samoa, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 23:2, 1993, 79-89, DOI: 10.1080/03036758.1993.10721219. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03036758.1993.10721219
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