Titular disputes and national leadership in Samoa

Abstract

The political history of Samoa is principally a contest about matai (titled family head) titles. The significance of matai titles lies in the appurtenant land to which is tied the welfare of most Samoans. The contest for titles translates into the struggle for security of rights and access to land and resources. Four ancient and sacred titles called pāapā stood at the apex of Samoan society and an élite group of orators called tumua ma pule managed the complex political contest. Successful accession to all four titles was rare and contending parties usually spent a good deal of their lifetime in the struggle maintaining this largely ceremonial status. The most eligible contenders came from the Sā Tupuā family and were joined in the early 19th century by the Sā Malietoā family. The title disputes caused endless disruptions and the colonial administrations eventually abolished the titles. But they could not be swept away because the titles provided an ideological superstructure which glued the major descent lines together. The struggle continues with the revival of pāpā titles in the mid‐1960s and mid‐1980s but with a difference. Instead of tumua ma pule, Western institutions have become the new battlegrounds: the church, Land and Titles Court, political parties, and national government. The intrigues in the court, in parliament between opposition parties and government, and its consequences for leadership are discussed as old issues in new forms.