Malietoa - Modern Branches of The Sa Malietoa

Modern Branches of The Sa Malietoa

The descendants of the Malietoa lineage, both titular and biological, are referred to collectively as the Sa Malietoa. The Sa Malietoa of today is expansive and transcends geographical boundaries, religious persuasions, socio-economic class and even ethnicity (considering various chiefly families in Fiji and other Pacific societies are genealogically linked to the Malietoa family). The subject of descendants of the Malietoa title is a thorny one riddled with claim and counter claim present from the first Malietoa to the present day.

In terms of relative history, the "oldest" branch of the modern Sa Malietoa is the Sa Natuitasina (also spelled Gatuitasina). Malietoa Natuitasina was the half-brother of Vai'inupo who allied with his own nephew Talavou against the London Missionary Society and the pacifist policy of Vai'inupo and the Christians in 1842. He is better known by his other chiefly title, Taimalelagi. The Sa Natuitasina considers the Maota Pouvi (Taimalelagi's former residential grounds) to be their familial "headquarters" and their council house is also located in Sapapali'i, Savai'i. Although only the apical ancestor of this branch has held the Malietoa title, the 1939 ruling grants the Sa Natuitasina deliberating rights on the succession of the Malietoa title.

Perhaps the most well-known of the three modern branches, the Sa Moli has been highlighted as Samoa's royal family for over a century. The families of the Sa Moli trace their genealogies to Malietoa Moli. The Sa Moli maintains a family council house in Sapapali'i called Poutoa, which, since it was established by Malietoa Vaiinupo, is also held as the ancestral maota of the Sa Natuitasina and Sa Talavou.

The Sa Talavou branch includes all descendants of Malietoa Talavou Pe'a, a son of Malietoa Vai'inupo who was born around 1810. Prominent members of the Sa Talavou include Talavou's son, Malietoa Fa'alataitaua, who held the Ta'imua office and was named successor to Mata'afa Iosefo's office as Ali'i Sili while under German colonial rule. Fa'alataitaua held the Malietoa title until his death in 1910. Fa'alataitaua's son, Fitisemanu, was also installed as Malietoa, styled as Malietoa Fitisemanu II, but later conceded the title following a legal battle in 1939. The communal council house of the Sa Talavou in Sapapali'i is called Maota Pouesi, the restored former residence of Malietoa Talavou.

While not legally recognized by the 1939 Malietoa edict (LC 853), there are technically many other family lineages that can claim genealogical connections as "branches" of the Sa Malietoa. Some of these descendants have come to light through media coverage of the ongoing titular dispute prompted by the death of Malietoa Tanumafili II, including families who claim descent from other Malietoas (besides Natuitasina, Moli and Talavou) and/or their descendants.