Sale'aula is a village on the central north coast of Savai'i island in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

and is the traditional center of the Gaga'emauga political district. Chief council meetings are held at Vaitu’utu’u malae in the village. The village has a population of 600.

Volcanic eruptions

Volcanic eruptions of Mt Matavanu (1905 - 1911) in central Savai'i swept northwards towards the coast and destroyed villages in its path. The lava flowed over of countryside to the sea and also destroyed another village Salago. The depth of the lava flow in some parts was 400 feet. A

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and a meetinghouse of the

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

were also buried. Sale'aula land was covered by lava that reached other villages to the east including Mauga and Samalae'ulu. The colonial German administration acquired land on the main island

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approxi ...

and resettled villagers at Salamumu and Leauva'a. Today, those villagers are still part of the Gaga'emauga electoral district on Savai'i. Today, a few families have re-built homes upon the lava fields where there is sparse volcanic vegetation. There are some church ruins and the grave of a nun which was encircled by the lava flow. Local families provide fale accommodation for visitors and tourists by the lava and the coast.

Origins

Samoa has different stories about the origins of different names and villages. For the origin of Sale'aula village, one version tells of two brothers, Le'aula and Letufuga. Le'aula founded the village of Saleaula (''Sa Le'aula'', family of Le'aula), and Letufuga founded

Safotulafai Safotulafai is a traditional village at the east end of Savai'i island with historical and political significance in Samoa's history. It is the traditional center of the island of Savaii, now became the center of Fa'asaleleaga political distr ...

References

{{Gaga'emauga Populated places in Gaga'emauga