Vailoa (Vailoa i Palauli) is a village 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 ...

. Vailoa is the capital of Palauli district on the south east of the island.
The Growth and Collapse of Pacific Island Societies by Patrick Vinton Kirch, Jean-Louis Rallu, p.222. Retrieved 6 November 2009 The population is 784. Vailoa attained the status of ''Pule'' (traditional political authority) sometime in the 19th century. The village is associated with the chiefly title of Lilomaiava. It is referred to as ''Vailoa i Palauli'' (Vailoa in Palau district). Like most villages in Samoa, the local economy is based on subsistence living. The people live off their land from crops grown in plantations behind the village or fishing.

Customary land claim

In recent years, village chiefs have been involved in a legal claim for customary land lost during the Germany, German era of Samoan

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

. The dispute dates back to 1886 when customary land was sold to the family of Olaf Frederick Nelson. The village claims that the land is custom held and was never lawfully alienated and couldn't therefore become freehold. In 2008, the Samoa Court of Appeal turned down the claim for the second time. The disputed land includes an area known in modern times as the Nelson Plantation where extensive prehistoric settlement remains and monuments have been surveyed and studied, including Pulemelei Mound.

Notable people

* Uale Mai, from Vailoa village, is a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player and a former captain of the Samoa Sevens team and one of the great players in the international sport. He is the only Samoan to be awarded the

IRB International Sevens Player of the Year The World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year is awarded by World Rugby each year. It was first awarded in 2004. The award is based in large part on the player’s performance over the course of the World Rugby Sevens Series, along with other Sevens to ...

which he received for the

2005–06 World Sevens Series The 2005–06 World Sevens Series was the seventh edition of the global circuit for men's national rugby sevens teams, run by the International Rugby Board since 1999-2000. The series was won by Fiji in the last event of the competition, ending ...

. * Marina Alofagia McCartney, is the granddaughter of Sevai Leleisi'uao from Vailoa, Palauli and Asiata Leaoa Lameko from Pitonu'u, Satupa'itea. Her Mother is Tavu'i Mapuni Leaoa from Pitonu'u, Satupa'itea and Stuart Stanley McCartney from

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. She was Miss New Zealand 1997 and placed 15th in

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

1997. She is now an award-winning writer and director (Vai, Milk & Honey) and academic.

References

{{Palauli Populated places in Palauli