37-Stone Woman
p. 17 · Read in the full issue
Special Burial for 37-Stone Woman Officialdom’s Pounce on Erring Husband
From Our Own Correspondent APIA, November 26.
THERE died recently, at Apia, a Samoan woman, Pii Moananu, wife of a Samoan Cchief, Moananu, aged 38 years. She was the heaviest woman in Samoa and probably in the South Seas, turning the scales at just under 37 stone. Her height was 6ft. 7in. She was only with great difficulty able to rise and walk a few steps.
Owing to transport difficulties, her husband, on her decease, decided to avoid the trouble of burying her in the native cemetery, and interred her in his back yard.
But he had not reckoned with our ever-vigilant police force. He was promptly grabbed and taken to court, to stand trial for having used land for burial purposes without the permission of the chief medical officer. The judge had no consideration for Moananu’s natural grief, or the unusual circumstances. He fined the delinquent £2, and 7/- costs. ... ===