====================== Origins of the name #FĀNENE, and #FALEALILI ====================== The name Fānene arises in the village cluster of Falealili on the island of ‘Upolu.
The meaning of the name of the family and their home district is layered in word play. Depending upon how the word is segmented and deconstructed into root morphemes the meaning shifts.
FALEALILI:
Fale a lili = House of (a Fijian chief named) Lili
Fale a lili = House of the Clustered Lili mollusks
Fale a
Fale Ali’i Lī = House of Kings Who Stand Fast Together
Fale Ali’i Li’i = House of the Pleiadean Kings
Fale a Li’ili’i = House of Ripples (expeditions)
Fale a Li’ili’i = House of Kingmakers
Fale a Li’i Li = House of the Finely Made Fence
Historically, Falealili was the mustering place of a number of warlike chiefs and their war gods including Gege the slayer of Savai’i’s demons (cannibals), Pili the Manu’a chief who sailed with Pa’ao to Moku Hawai’i Nui, Pava who may have preceded them and become Ka Pawa, and many others.
The Fānene clan emerged from Falealili of Sāmoan, Tongan, and Fijian stock and produced a number of legendary heroes and anti-heroes that shaped the course of Sāmoan history. Manusāmoa, Tuisāmoa, Gege are but a few and this clan’s history has been closely linked to the Malietoa clan since its very beginning. Indeed, if not for Fānene, the Malietoa may not have risen to its august position as the reigning monarchy which still exists today--a lasting legacy facilitated by the Fānene who were kingmakers, tacticians and orators par excellence.
The name appears to begin in the time of Tuimanu’a Fa’ane’eiai the daughter of Tuimanu’a So’o-pili, the “relative of all around”, known as Tui o Sasa’e, or “the Light of the East”. She was an ancestress of later Fānene. Fa’ane’eiai traveled to Fiji and married Tu’i #Fiti (King of #Fiji) whose epithets included Tui o #Sisifo, “the Light of the West”. Their union produced the demonic Tuife’ai, “King Cannibal”, who was later dubbed #Tuisāmoa by #Malietoa #Savea who is famously remembered for saying with a mixture of envy and respect of Tuiāamoa and Falealili: "My, I wish I could be from Falealili, too." Tuife’ai as an adult embarked on a trip to ‘Upolu to visit with his cousins #Pate and #Oilau, the daughters of his uncle Chief #Fānene.
Tu = "to stand"; "to stand up"; "to arise" i = "in"; "at"; "of"; "for"; "on account of"; "on behalf of"
#Sāmoa = "Sāmoa"(!)
Tuisāmoa was therefore the “Defender of Sāmoa”, not necessarily “King of” (Tui) Sāmoa, for Malietoa became “king” on 'Upolu. He played a significant role in the liberation of Sāmoa from slavery under Tonga during the #Tongan #War, which was a period of 300-400 years. A saying credited to him goes “point, Lord, and, wherever you point, there your enemies shall fall.” This commemorates the services he rendered to Malietoa.
Tuisāmoa / Tuife’ai (“cannibal chieftain”) moved to Tutuila and set up his headquarters there notorious for its grisly mound of human skulls from slain enemies, made into meals for this brutal nobleman who in his mountain exile gave his name to the region called Aitulagi—“demon mountain”, or “heights of the demon”.
He was both hero and monster.
Devil and kingmaker.
Savior of his people, but a nightmare to his enemies.
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