The Story of Big Sister and Little Sister
ʻO le Tala o Sinaulumatua ma Sinaleuiʻi
INTRODUCTION
This story time from old Sāmoa features the famous demigod, Tigilau, whose heroic exploits, mischievous shenanigans, legendary voyaging, and prolific lovemaking are recounted throughout Polynesia from the western isles up to Hawaiʻi and down to Aotearoa.
You may have noticed a lot of "Sina" stories, and there is good reason for that. The Sina characters in Samoan lore are archetypes of the character traits that the old Samoans so idealized for girls and women to emulate. Kind of like the "Disney princess" trope so often repeated in European fairy tales.
Although in Samoan legends, she is often named Sina, and she’s usually as much a vocal, athletic warrior as she is a genteel, soft-spoken "princess". Repetitive personifications are common in Samoan mythology (for example, the goddess of war, Nāfanua, appears "literally" in Samoan history at least four times in the last 800 years) and because of this recurring symbolism, we would be mistaken to think that it is the same "Sina" in all of these stories.
Please enjoy and remember that every family’s version might be a little different.
The Story of Big Sister and Little Sister
Photo Credit: Samoan women wearing ‘ula lei’ whale tooth necklaces supplemented by garlands of Gardenia leaves and flowers. Museum of New Zealand/Te Papa Tongarewa, Thomas Andrew Collection, ‘Two leaf-clad women,’ Regn no. O.001140/1.
Tafitofau and ʻOgāfau were an elderly couple who lived with their many sons and their two daughters, Sina-ulumatua (Firstborn Sina) and Sina-leuiʻi (Last born Sina).
As the sole caretaker of her frail, sick parents and her needy younger siblings, Sinaulumatua did not live an easy life. Her skin was leathery and her hands were rough from years spent working hard to keep everyone fed, clothed, and sheltered. But she served out her duties with a loving heart and a smiling face.
Sinaleuiʻi, on the other hand, was a spoiled, lazy brat who expected her older sister to do everything for her. She did not lift a finger to help around the house and only rarely helped take care of their parents and brothers.
On one particularly hot day, Sinaulumatua was not feeling like her usual, happy self. The pigs had broken out of their pen, the chickens had flown off into the jungle, the net did not catch a single fish, and the mat she had almost finished weaving was blown into the sea by the wind.
“Forget it,” big sister said, “I deserve a day to rest. A relaxing swim in a nice cool spring, and Iʻll be back to feeling my best.” Leaving her chores and her worries at home -- just for a little while -- Sinaulumatua strolled happily down the trail toward the pool.
Just as she stepped into the clear water, she heard her younger sister yell, “Big sister, I’m hungry, come make me some food, or else I’ll tell mother you’re up to no good!” She ignored the threat and rested her head in a shady spot under the togo (mangrove) tree.
Photo: Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson featuring togo or magrove trees in Upolu. An important part of the Samoan ecosystem, mangroves are efficient at keeping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and house a large variety of fish and crab species. The leaves, bark, and roots are used for a number of cultural practices. For instance, the roots are used to make the dye or paint for the motifs on traditional Samoan tapa cloth.
“Big sister, I’m starving,” she heard again, “come make me some food, or else Iʻll tell father youʻre up to no good!”
Sinaulumatua just wanted a moment to herself and her bratty sister wouldn’t even let her have that. “Okay, Little Sister, Iʻve had it up to here! It’s time you learned a lesson, go cook for yourself, my dear!”
After a couple minutes of silence, Sinaleuiʻi shouted back, “Ua lelei, Big Sister, Iʻm going to try to cook… but I’ve never seen the umu before, please tell me where to look.” When Sinaleuiʻi finally found the cooking house, she yelled to her sister that she didn’t know how to chop the firewood. She complained that she could not light the fire. She grumbled that the coconuts were too hard to husk.
After a while, the yelling and the complaints stopped and Sinaulumatua went to see how well her sister had prepared the umu.
Disappointed, but not surprised, she found that her younger sister had simply roasted a single breadfruit over the fire for herself, without even thinking of cooking for anyone else. Big sister sighed as she gathered the stones and lit the fire to start the umu to feed the rest of the family, while little sister napped lazily on the beach.
Photo: Samoan Umu, Samoa Tourism Authority
Later that afternoon, Sinaleuiʻi was awakened from her nap by the sound of a canoe being dragged onto the beach.
She saw two tall, handsome men walking toward her and she immediately sat up, wiping the somo from her eyes and casually trying to touch up her hair. The pair introduced themselves as Tuiatamai and Tuivalea, representatives of the famous warrior-chief, Tigilau (who remained onboard).
Their chief, the two explained, was in search of a wife to accompany him on his epic journeys around the world, and word had reached his land of Sāvavau that the beautiful, regal daughter of Tafitofau and ʻOgāfau would be a perfect match. Sinaleuiʻi could not believe her luck! She excitedly convinced them that she was indeed the woman they were searching for (without mentioning her older sister).
The two talking chiefs went back to the canoe and returned with Tigilau, the most stunning man that Sinaleuiʻi had ever seen. Tigilau was impressed by her beauty too, but his chiefly advisers wanted to test her other attributes as well.
Tuiatamai asked if Sinaleuiʻi knew any poetry. She had never had the patience to bother to memorize any, so she said no.
Tuivalea asked Sinaleuiʻi if she could prepare ʻava for them to drink. She had always been too self-centered to worry about serving others, so she said no.
Tigilau asked Sinaleuiʻi if she could host a royal feast. “Oh, yes!” she lied, “Ō mai loa, have a look! I can roast a breadfruit, yes, of course I know how to cook!”
Little sister wandered through the jungle with Tigilau and his companion chiefs, after all she had only visited the cooking house once in her life and she was having trouble remembering where it was. As the sun began to set, she was relieved to see the flicker of candlenut lamps inside her parents’ house, and she followed the light home.
After exchanging pleasantries, Tigilau revealed the purpose of their long voyage and asked Tafitofau and ʻOgāfau for their daughter’s hand in marriage.
Just then, Sinaulumatua gracefully entered the house carrying baskets of steaming delicacies fresh from the hot umu. The guests realized they had been deceived by Sinaleuiʻi, who made herself out to be the only eligible maiden in the family. Even with the smell of smoke in her singed hair and her face (mata) red and hot (vela) from the umu, the older sisterʻs poise was regal and her charm lit up the room.
Tigilau asked Sinaulumatua if she had prepared the royal feast. She had been cooking for her parents and siblings for years, so she said yes.
Tuivalea asked Sinaulumatua if she could prepare ʻava for them to drink. She had strained and mixed ʻava to soothe her fatherʻs pains every night, so she said yes.
Tuiatamai asked Sinaulumatua if she knew any poetry. She had memorized her motherʻs poems as she massaged her legs every night, so she said yes.
Photo: Percy Smith, Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 29 1920 Supplement. Kava Drinking ceremonies among the Samoans and a boat voyage round 'Upolu Island, Samoa, p 1-21.
Tigilau was smitten. He asked Sinaulumatua to marry him and sail back with him to Sāvavau that same night. To commemorate the occasion, Tuiatamai composed a poem which he told the younger sister to memorize:
Tautua matavela ua faʻaeaina, fai ma āvei e lē faʻagaloina (“self-sacrificing service exalts above all else, forming bonds never to be forgotten”).
Tuivalea also composed a poem for the younger sister to learn and remember:
E iloa gōfie tamaʻitaʻi tausala i lana amio ma lana tautala (“it’s easy to tell a true noblewoman by how they act and how they speak”).
With her parents’ loving blessing, Sinaulumatua took Tigilau’s hand and bid farewell to her former life of hard, thankless work. She would finally get her well-deserved rest while her spoiled little sister was left home to keep everyone fed, clothed, and sheltered.
MORAL OF THE STORY
Today, the term “tautua matavela” -- literally, “hot-faced service” (in reference to the labor-intensive process of cooking with fire and red-hot umu rocks) is still used to describe extraordinary effort in going above and beyond to serve and honor someone else.
The “e iloa gōfie…” proverb is also in common usage today (with many different variations) as a corrective reminder that the way we act and speak as individuals reflects on our upbringing and the reputation of the entire family, village, etc.
Whether or not these sayings really did originate with this tale (which is historically unverifiable), the morals of the story according to my grandma are still valid: don’t throw people under the bus, honesty is the best policy, hard work pays off, and take care of your parents.
CHARACTERS
Sina: common character in Samoan storytelling, usually representing an idealized character archetype.
Sinaleuiʻi: lastborn Sina
Sinaulumatua: firstborn Sina
Tafitofau: elderly father of Sinaulumatua and Sinaleuiʻi
Tigilau: demigod, famous chief-warrior
ʻOgāfau: elderly mother of Sinaulumatua and Sinaleuiʻi
VOCABULARY
‘Ava: ceremonial drink made from the kava plant.
Breadfruit (ma‘afala/‘ulu): starchy fruit that is a staple crop
Mata: face
Somo: eye secretion
Togo: mangrove tree
Umu: earthen oven
Vela: hot
MEDIA
REFERENCES
larke, Marcus A. H. The Song Of Tigilau. , Melbourne, 1890. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.library.arizona.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy1.library.arizona.edu/docview/2147814832?accountid=8360.
"Fables of Samoa: Sina, Tigilau, on world stage", Pacific islands monthly : PIM [Sydney: Pacific Publications, 1931. Web. 30 June 2020. <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-356411351>.
Huntsman, Judith W. “CONCEPTS OF KINSHIP AND CATEGORIES OF KINSMEN IN THE TOKELAU ISLANDS.” The Journal of the Polynesian Society, vol. 80, no. 3, 1971, p. 351 JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20704788. Accessed 2 July 2020.
Kalolo, Kelihiano., et al. Tigilau Ma Sina / Tusia e Kelihiano Kalolo ; o āta Na Tusia e Fara Pikiti ; Faʻaliliuina e Ester Temukisa Laban Alama. Lālā o Le Matāgaluega o Tusiga Tau Aʻoaʻoga, Matāgaluega o Aʻoga, 1989.
Moyle, Richard M. Fāgogo : Fables from Samoa in Samoan and English. 1981. Print.
Pouesi, D., et al. The Stone Maiden and Other Samoan Fables. United States, Kin Publications, 1994.
Te'o, Tuvale. The Turtles of Tigilau - An Account of Samoan History up to 1918.
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