Related Research Articles
Samoa, officially the Independent State ofSamoa and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands, two smaller, inhabited islands, and several smaller, uninhabited islands, including the Aleipata Islands. The capital city is Apia. The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a Samoan language and Samoan cultural identity.
Malietoa Tanumafili II, addressed Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, was the Malietoa, the title of one of Samoa's four paramount chiefs, and the head of state, or O le Ao o le Malo, a position that he held for life, of Samoa from 1962 to 2007. He was co-head of state in 1962 with the tama-a-'aiga Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole and became the sole head of state on 15 April 1963 upon the death of his counterpart. At the time of his death, he was the oldest national leader in the world, and was also the last incumbent president-for-life in the world.
Queen Salamasina was a powerful and high-ranking woman in Samoan social history. She held the four papā (district) titles which gave her the paramount status of Tafa‘ifā on the western islands of Samoa. Contrary to popular belief she was not the first Tafa'ifā, as these titles were willed to her by their previous possessor, Nafanua. She is the titular ancestor of two of the four paramount titles of Samoa, Tupua Tamasese of Falefa and Salani and the Amaile Mataafa line.
Fiame Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II was a Western Samoan paramount chief and politician. The holder of the Mataʻafa title, one of the four main Samoan chieftainships, he became the first prime minister of Western Samoa in 1959, serving until 1970. He held the position again from 1973 until his death in 1975.
Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole was a Western Samoan paramount chief. He held the royal title of Tupua Tamasese from 1929 to 1963, and O le Ao o le Malo jointly with Malietoa Tanumafili II from 1962 until his death the following year.
Samoa is made up of eleven itūmālō. These are the traditional eleven districts that were established well before European arrival. Each district has its own constitutional foundation (faavae) based on the traditional order of title precedence found in each district's faalupega.
Ātua is an ancient political district of Samoa, consisting of most of the eastern section of Upolu and the island Tutuila. Ātua is ruled by the Tui Ātua together with the group of six senior orators of Lufilufi and 13 senior matai from throughout Ātua, comprising the Fale Ātua. The fono (meeting) of Atua's rulers takes place in Lufilufi on the great malae of Lalogafu'afu'a.
Tui Ātua Tupua Tamasese Tupuola Tufuga Efi is a Samoan political leader and as holder of the maximal lineage Tama-a-'āiga title of Tupua Tamasese, is one of the four paramount chiefs of Samoa. He also holds the royal pāpā title of Tui Atua.
Susuga Malietoa Laupepa was the ruler (Malietoa) of Samoa in the late 19th century.
Tupua is a state dynasty and one of the four paramount chiefly titles of Samoa, known as the Tama-a-Aiga. It is the titular head of one of Samoa's two royal families - Sā Tupua. Tupua derives its name from the first Tupua - King Tupua Fuiavailili, a direct descendant of Queen Salamasina, Samoa's first monarch under the Tafa'ifā system. He ascended to becoming King of Samoa in c.1550, upon the death of his adoptive father, King Muagututi'a. Tupua Fuiavailili was adopted by his aunt, Fenunu'ivao and named as the King's successor. Tupua's rise also led to the first usage of the term "Tama-a-'aiga" by the orator polity of Leulumoega and Lufilufi, in reference to his many genealogical connections to the great families of Ātua.
Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili I was the Malietoa in Samoa from 1898 until his death in 1939.
The O le Ao Mamalu o le Malo is the Head of State of Samoa. The position is described in Part III of the 1960 Samoan constitution. At the time the constitution was adopted, it was anticipated that future heads of state would be chosen from among the four Tama a 'Aiga "matai" paramount chiefs in line with customary protocol. This is not a constitutional requirement, so Samoa can be considered a parliamentary republic rather than a constitutional monarchy. The government Press Secretariat describes Head of State as a "ceremonial president". The holder is given the formal style of Highness, as are the heads of the four paramount chiefly dynasties.
Falefā is located on the north eastern coast of Upolu island in Samoa. It was the ancient capital during the ‘Malo’ (‘government’) of Tupu Tafa'ifa (King) Fonoti. After having defeated his siblings Va'afusuaga and Samalaulu for control of Samoa, King Fonoti chose to rule from his new seat in Falefa, an honour remembered in its faalupega to this day.
Fa'amatai is the indigenous political ('chiefly') system of Samoa, central to the organization of Samoan society. It is the traditional indigenous form of governance in both Samoas, comprising American Samoa and the Independent State of Samoa. The term comprises the prefix fa'a and the word matai.
Samoan literature can be divided into oral and written literatures, in the Samoan language and in English or English translation, and is from the Samoa Islands of independent Samoa and American Samoa, and Samoan writers in diaspora. Samoan as a written language emerged after 1830 when Tahitian and English missionaries from the London Missionary Society, working with Samoan chiefly orators, developed a Latin script based Samoan written language. Before this, there were logologo and tatau but no phonetic written form.
The Samoan Order of Merit is an order recognizing distinguished service in science, art, literature, or religion. Per the Honours and Awards Act 1999, admission into the organization is granted by the O le Ao o le Malo, presently Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II, and is limited to 15 living individuals from Samoa, plus an unspecified number of foreigners. All members receive the ability to use the post-nominal letters OM and a medallion to wear, and in the Samoan order of precedence fall between Companions and Officers of the Order of Samoa.
The Honours and Awards System of Samoa has its basis in the Merit Act 1992/1993 and the Honours and Awards Act 1999. From 1914 to 1962, Samoa was governed as the Western Samoa Trust Territory by the United Kingdom and New Zealand. During this time, awards of the British honours system were made to select individuals. For example, the first Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiame Mata'afa Faumuina Mulinu'u II was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Le Mamea Matatumua Ata, a framer of the constitution of Samoa, was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on the New Zealand list in the 1960 Birthday Honours.
The Council of Deputies is a constitutional body in Samoa. Its members serve as Deputy O le Ao o le Malo and act as head of state when the O le Ao o le Malo is unable to fulfill their duties due to absence or incapacitation.
Pakistan–Samoa relations are the bilateral relations that exist between Pakistan and Samoa. Pakistan's High Commission in Wellington, New Zealand, is concurrently accredited to Samoa. Pakistan also has an honorary consul in Apia.
The 2017 Samoa Honours and Awards were appointments made by the O le Ao o le Malo of Samoa, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, to various Orders, decorations, and medals of Samoa under the Honours and Awards Act 1999. The investiture ceremony was held on 3 February 2017.
References
- ↑ "Honours conferred". Samoa Observer. 22 December 2014.
- ↑ "TWENTY-TWO RECEIVE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS". Samoa News. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2021.