Tui Fiti or Tuifiti is the name of a figure referred to in different legends in

Samoan mythology Samoan culture tells stories of many different deities. There were deities of the forest, the seas, rain, harvest, villages, and war. There were two types of deities, ''atua'', who had non-human origins, and ''aitu'', who were of human origin. Ta ...

and in other parts of

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

. In other stories, "Tui Fiti" means "high chief of Fiti."

Savai'i

On the island of

Savaiʻi Savaii is the largest and highest island both in Samoa and in the Samoan Islands chain. The island is also the sixth largest in Polynesia, behind the three main islands of New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands of Island of Hawaii, Hawaii and ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, a spirit deity called Tui Fiti resides in Fagamalo, a village said to have once been settled by

Fijians Fijians () are a nation and ethnic group Indigenous peoples of Oceania, native to Fiji, who speak Fijian language, Fijian and English language, English and share a common history and culture. Fijians, or ''iTaukei'', are the major indigenous ...

. The special abode of Tui Fiti was a mound within a grove of large and durable trees called ''ifilele'' (''

Intsia bijuga ''Intsia bijuga'', commonly known as Borneo teak, ipil, merbau, Johnstone River teak, and kwila, amongst many other names, is a species of tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae, native to coastal areas from east Africa, through India and ...

''). Tui Fiti's abode is called the ''vao sa'', a sacred part of the forest which is tapu in Fagamalo. Tui Fiti is referred to as the ''

aliʻi The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. Cognates of the word ''aliʻi'' have a similar meaning in other Polynesian languages; in Māori it is pronoun ...

'' (high chief) of Fagamalo. There are no other ''aliʻi'' chiefly titles in the village where all the '' matai'' chief titles are of orator ''tulafale'' status. Fagamalo is one of the ''pito nuʻu'' sub-villages of the greater

Matautu Matautu is the name of different villages in Samoa. Places named Matautu are found on the two largest islands, Upolu and Savaiʻi. Matautu, Upolu Island On Upolu island; *Matautu, a village located on the central north coast of the island to t ...

village on Savaiʻi island's central north coast. The missionary George Turner wrote in ''Samoa, a Hundred Years Ago and Long Before'' (1884) that Tuifiti was the name of a village god in Savaiʻi who appeared as a man who walked about but was never visible to the people of the place. However, he could be seen by strangers. In 1978, the

Governor-General of Fiji The governor-general of Fiji was the representative of the Fijian monarch in the Dominion of Fiji from the country's independence in 1970 until the monarchy's deposition in 1987. History Fiji became a sovereign state and adopted an independe ...

, George Cakobau, arrived in Fagamalo during a state visit to Samoa. The High Chief of Fiji had requested a visit to Tui Fiti's burial ground. Cakobau was bestowed the chiefly title of Peseta{{cite book , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UiZzAAAAMAAJ , title=Samoans in Fiji: Migration, Identity and Communication , first=Morgan A. , last=Tuimaleali'ifano , page=45 , year=1990 , publisher=University of the South Pacific , isbn=9789820200197 , access-date=November 20, 2018 by the ''matai'' of

in recognition of Samoa's ancient connection with Fiji. The ''matai'' chief title of Peseta is referred to as a ''manaia'' title, one of the highest chief titles in Matautu. The title Peseta is included in the ''faʻalupega'' genealogy in Samoan oratory for the people of Matautu.

References

Samoan deities Fijian deities Polynesian deities