Samalaeʻulu

Samalaeʻulu is a village on the northeast side of Savaiʻi island in Samoa. The village is situated on the main island highway about a 40-minutes drive north west from Salelologa ferry terminal and township and is part of the electoral constituency (Faipule District) of Gaga'emauga 1.^[1] The population is 1054, making it one of the more populous villages in Savai'i.^[2]

Samalaeʻulu inland and the south east of the black lava fields along the coastline. (NASA photo, 2009

The villages name sa malae ulu means "this place used to be dominated by breadfruit trees".^[3] During the volcanic eruption of Mt Matavanu (1905 - 1911), lava flowed between Samalae'ulu and Saleaula to the west, forcing villagers to move from the coast to its present inland location.

References

1. "Electoral Constituencies Act 2019" (PDF). Parliament of Samoa. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
2. "Census 2016 Preliminary count" (PDF). Samoa Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
3. Fepuleai, Aleni; Weber, Eberhard; Nemeth, Karoly; Muliaina, Tolu (2016). "Eruption Styles of Samoan Volcanoes Represented in Tattooing, Language and Cultural Activities of the Indigenous People". Geoheritage. 9 (3): 395-411. doi:10.1007/s12371-016-0204-1. Retrieved 30 July 2021.

13°30′10″S 172°18′00″W