Mata'afa Faumuina Fiame Mulinu'u I

Mata'afa Faumuina Fiame Mulinu'u I (died 27 March 1948)[1] was a high chief of Samoa and a leader of the country's pro-independence Mau movement during the early 1900s. He was the holder of high-ranking ali'i chiefly titles: the Tama-a-'aiga Mata'afa, Fiame from Lotofaga and Faumuina from Lepea.

Mata'afa Faumuina Fiame Mulinu'u I (centre, facing camera), 1930

Biography

Mulinu'u was a civil servant, rising to the position of Inspector of Police.[2] He became the President of the Mau following the assassination of its leader, paramount chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III in 1929.[3] He was one of the wounded during a peaceful Mau procession in the capital Apia on 28 December 1929 when New Zealand police fired into the crowd and resulting in a day of violence that saw up to 11 Samoans and a New Zealand constable killed.[4][5] The date is referred to as Black Saturday in Samoa's history.

Ascension to the Mata'afa Tama-a-'aiga title

In March 1939, he succeeded Mata'afa Salanoa Muliufi as Mata'afa following a hearing by the Samoan Land and Titles Commission.[2] This was the first time the Mata'afa title passed from the elder line of Faasuamale'aui to the younger line of Silupevailei, which held the title until it was passed back following the death of his son and successor in 1975.[3]

Political Leadership & Legacy

In 1944 he became the third Fautua.[1] He died at his home in Lepea on 27 March 1948 at the age of 58, and was subsequently given a state funeral.[1][6]

His wife Fa'amusami, was the daughter of paramount chief Malietoa Laupepa. His son, Fiame Mata'afa Faumuina Mulinu'u II (1921–1975) became the first Prime Minister of Western Samoa at the country's independence from New Zealand colonial administration.[3] His granddaughter, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa is a high-ranking chief Lotofaga, the head of Aiga Sā Levalasi and is the current Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa.[7]

Mau carrying the coffin of Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III. Standing to the right wearing a single white stripe on his lava-lava, the Mau uniform, is Mata'afa Faumuina Fiame Mulinu'u I.

See also

References
  1. Mataafa Dead: Leading Samoan Chief Pacific Islands Monthly, April 1948, p18
  2. Faumuina Pacific Islands Monthly, April 1939, p16
  3. Tuimalealiʻifano, Morgan A. (2006). O tama a ʻāiga: the politics of succession to Sāmoa's paramount titles. University of the South Pacific. p. 23. ISBN 982-02-0377-5. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  4. "Tapuitea, Historical Notes" (PDF). Government of American Samoa. Vol. 3, No.50. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
  5. http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/samoa/rise-of-mau
  6. State Funeral for Mataafa: Thousands Pay Last Homage to High Chief Pacific Islands Monthly, May 1948, p58
  7. "Government of Samoa". Government of Samoa. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
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