It is not surprising that a story in the Samoa Observer this week on the little known ancient village of Vaigafa in the hinterlands of Upolu island struck a chord with a lot of our readers.

The article (The ancient village of Vaigafa in Upolu’s hinterland) in the Wednesday 16 February 2022 edition immediately went viral and triggered a long thread of discussions as Samoans discussed their links to the once-thriving village; how it is mentioned in old Samoan proverbs; and where the descendants of Vaigafa’s original inhabitants supposedly reside today after their forefathers abandoned the village.

Some of the feedback to the story on our Facebook page is fascinating which will further spur the interest of historians and sociologists alike in the village, which based on Samoan oral history points to it peaking around 600 years ago.

One reader, Nella Uale, claimed that the people of Vaigafa moved to Lotofaga and settled in a village called Etemuli while others went to Utulaelae in Falealili.  

“I know the story about Vaigafa and everything and why people moved away from there,” Nella’s Facebook post reads.

Another reader Jackson Lekaikai, who said his grandfather is from Lalomauga, spoke of stories his great grandfather told of the Vaigafa people of the mountain who spoke a funny dialect of the Samoan language.

“These Vaigafa people were said to speak a funny ancient dialect of Samoan that was sometimes hard to understand because they used words which were heavily tied to the ancient sport of seugalupe (bird catchers).”

While other readers like Seki Leilua called for the establishment of a ‘historical preservation society’ in Samoa.

“Would love it if local environmentalist and Samoa Conservation Society President James Atherton established a historical preservation society in Samoa to preserve these sites, and to raise awareness and build pride and knowledge in Samoa's fascinating historical sites.”

As cultured beings, Samoans always have a yearning for a sense of belonging which explains why at the heart of the Fa’a Samoa is aiga (family), as it is through the family we get our cultural identities, strength and wellbeing.

This is why the tale of a mysterious mountain village community called Vaigafa has sparked a lot of interest because people want to make a connection, and for some to probably revisit their backgrounds as they think they already have links to the ancient habitat through their bloodlines.

And we don’t blame them for their curiosity and as Samoans there is always hunger for more details of our family history, our ancestors and our culture. To become privy to such information can only strengthen our sense of belonging to a ‘home’ wherever we are or wherever we go.

But how much of our national historical treasures such as the fabled village of Vaigafa on Upolu or the ‘Star Mounds’ (now known as the Pulemelei) in Savai’i are we working to protect and preserve for the next generation?

Or will our legacy as the current generation be one of betrayal with the loss of such national historical treasures due to our lack of ingenuity, proactiveness and vision to acknowledge their significance to our national identity?

We support calls by members of the public and non-State actors such as Mr Atherton, who through the S.C.S. has publicly called for the establishment of a historical preservation society to take the lead.

“It is so important to start establishing a historical preservation society in Samoa to preserve these sites, and to raise awareness and build pride and knowledge in Samoa's fascinating, but poorly known historical sites," he said.

In retrospect, we must admit Samoa’s track record over the years in protecting historical sites has been abysmal. In 2018 the previous Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.) Administration demolished the 120-year-old Apia Courthouse, which UNESCO says was one of the world’s few remaining timber structures of German colonial design in the world at that time. 

Over 3 years after its demolition, the Samoa International Finance Authority (SIFA) is yet to advise if it will rebuild the historical building, or whether plans to build a hotel in its place will actually resemble the old colonial building.

So there will be scepticism amongst the public to the call for the establishment of a ‘historical preservation society’, with the failure to stop the demolition of the old Apia Courthouse still fresh on many peoples’ minds.

But if it is not done now then when will we start taking the first steps to protect our national historical treasures before it is too late?

This is an issue that should be part of conversation at home and be debated by our leaders in the Legislative Assembly. 

It would be an injustice to our nation’s founders – who used their knowledge of the nation’s historical treasures to push for a greater Samoa – to not act until the bulldozer’s engines burst loudly into life, to signal another demolition job and the loss of another piece of our cultural heritage.