Safotu

No Mosquitoes In Safotu

A Journal Entry by JOHN ROLLEY THIS village, Safotu, is half way along the northern coast of Savai’i. It’s a typical Samoan coastal village except for one thing—there are no mosquitoes.

Day or night you can relax in peace and comfort without a mos quito net. It’s the only place in Samoa I’ve so far found to be ab solutely mosquito-free.

I cannot figure out the reason for this. A few hundred yards away— in the bush—the mosquitoes are thick. Maybe it is due to some par ticular way the village is situated in relation to prevailing wind, nature of soil, topography, and so on.

I am staying with Poulo Simiti and his numerous family, who extend to me the old spontaneous and charm ing hospitality for which Samoans are celebrated.

According to Poulo, local legend has it that some devils from Upolu planned to come and spoil Savai’i by liberating mosquitoes in every village. They filled a pin vai (x.o.s. coconut) with mosquitoes and all clambered intb a Vaa loa (or big canoe) one dark night.

This boatload of aitu leaga (that means very bad devils) landed at Salelavalu, a little village in a bay at the eastern end of Savai’i. There, they had a fono (meeting) to decide on a plan of action.

It so happened that a young fellow in Salelavalu, named Epi, was madly in love with a lass of Safotu village.

Her name was Lupe. But Lupe’s family would not hear of the match; said Epi was a ne’re-do-well, and lazy.

They warned him that they would throw stones at him, and kill him, if he returned to Safotu.

Stone-throwing is a very real and deeply ingrained custom in Samoa— so Epi stayed at home, miserable.

Lupe, though, loved this boy as much as he loved her. So she ran away from home to go to her lover in Salelavalu.

In the dark of night, when she was stealing towards the fale where her boy-friend lived, she overheard the aitu leaga making their vile plans.

As Lupe listened, an idea came to her—an idea which would cause her family to look with more favour on Epi. She quickly returned home and went to see the pule (head of the family). She confessed to him that she had run away, but added: “Al though you were unkind to Epi and drove him away, he sends you a

message and a warning. You must watch out for a crowd of aitu leaga, who will come in a vaa loa to lib erate mosquitoes in our village.”

The pule and other village chiefs sought assistance from some devils named Poga, who lived in the bread fruit trees of Safotu. So the bread fruit devils changed themselves into big fearful looking dogs. They rushed up and down the beach, barking and growling, when the aim leaga came with their coconut full of mosquitoes.

The aitu leaga were cowards, and fearful of landing. So they went on, further along the coast, to Asau.

They felt very angry at being thwar ted in their plans, so they let out a double dose at Asau—just for spite, and cursed the mosquitoes into the bargain. Ever since then, Asau has been plagued with swarms of mos quitoes, of a most aggressive type.

However, at Safotu, the matai were so pleased at the turn of events that they sent a special message to Sal elavalu to tell Epi he could come whenever he liked. So Epi and Lupe lived together happily—and Safotu is free from mosquitoes to this day.

Mr. N. R. Ford, who is in charge of the Pacific area section of Metro Goldwyn Mayer film organisation, returned to Australia on April 10, after visiting Central and Eastern Pacific. He is off again soon to Papua and New Guinea, but at the moment (he says) he is recovering from the overwhelming hospitality of all the Islands people he met —particularly the cinema owners at Papeete (Mr. Tony Bambridge), Suva (Messrs, Crawford and Mullaly), Santo (Mr. Tom Harris), and Noumea (M. August Mercier).