Samalaeʻulu

Village on the northeast side of Savaiʻi island in Samoa

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]

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

^ "Electoral Constituencies Act 2019" (PDF). Parliament of Samoa. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
^ "Census 2016 Preliminary count" (PDF). Samoa Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
^ 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.