MAP OF THE SAMOA ISLANDS
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono and Apolima); and several smaller, uninhabited islands, including the Aleipata Islands (Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Fanuatapu and Namua). Samoa is located 64 km (40 mi) west of American Samoa, 889 km (552 mi) northeast of Tonga (closest foreign country), 1,152 km (716 mi) northeast of Fiji, 483 km (300 mi) east of Wallis and Futuna, 1,151 km (715 mi) southeast of Tuvalu, 519 km (322 mi) south of Tokelau, 4,190 km (2,600 mi) southwest of Hawaii, and 610 km (380 mi) northwest of Niue. The capital city is Apia. The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a Samoan language and Samoan cultural identity.Samoa is a unitary parliamentary democracy with 11 administrative divisions. The sovereign state is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Western Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. Because of the Samoans' seafaring skills, pre-20th-century European explorers referred to the entire island group (which includes American Samoa) as the Navigator Islands. The country was a colony of the German Empire from 1899 to 1915, then came under a joint British and New Zealand colonial administration until 1 January 1962, when it became independent. Samoa comprises eleven itūmālō (political districts). These are the traditional eleven districts which predate European arrival. Each district has its own constitutional foundation (fa'avae) based on the traditional order of title precedence found in each district's faalupega (traditional salutations). The capital village of each district administers and coordinates the affairs of the district and confers each district's paramount title, amongst other responsibilities.
For example:
A'ana has its capital at Leulumoega. The paramount 'tama-a-'aiga' (royal lineage) title of A'ana is Tuimalealiifano. The paramount pāpā title of A'ana is the Tui A'ana. The orator group which confers this title – the Faleiva (House of Nine) – is based at Leulumoega.
Ātua has its capital at Lufilufi. The paramount 'tama-a-'aiga' (royal lineage) titles of Ātua are Tupua Tamasese (based in Falefa and Salani) and Mata'afa (based in Amaile and Lotofaga). The two main political families who confer the respective titles are 'Aiga Sā Fenunuivao and 'Aiga Sā Levālasi. The paramount pāpā title of Ātua is the Tui Ātua. The orator group which confers this title - the Faleono (House of Six) - is based at Lufilufi.
Tuamasaga has its capital at Afega. The paramount 'tama-a-'aiga' (royal lineage) title of Tuamasaga is the Malietoa title, based in Malie. The main political family that confers the Malietoa title is 'Aiga Sā Malietoa, with Auimatagi as the main speaker for the family. The paramount pāpā titles of Tuamasaga are Gatoaitele (conferred by Afega) and Vaetamasoalii (conferred by Safata).
The eleven itūmālō are identified to be:
Political districts of Samoa, including minor islands
On Upolu
1. Tuamasaga (Afega)
2. A'ana (Leulumoega)
3. Aiga-i-le-Tai (Mulifanua)
4. Atua (Lufilufi)
5. Va'a-o-Fonoti (Samamea)
On Savai'i
6. Fa'asaleleaga (Safotulafai)
7. Gaga'emauga (Saleaula)
8. Gaga'ifomauga (Safotu)
9. Vaisigano (Asau)
10. Satupa'itea (Satup Samoa lies south of the equator, about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. The total land area is 2,842 km2 (1,097 sq mi), consisting of the two large islands of Upolu and Savai'i (which together account for 99% of the total land area) and eight small islets.
The islets are:
the three islets in the Apolima Strait (Manono Island, Apolima and Nu'ulopa)
the four Aleipata Islands off the eastern end of Upolu (Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Namua, and Fanuatapu)
Nu'usafe'e, which is less than 1 ha (2+1⁄2 acres) in area and lies about 1.4 km (0.87 mi) off the south coast of Upolu at the village of Vaovai
The main island of Upolu is home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa's population, and to the capital city, Apia.
The Samoan islands result geologically from volcanism, originating with the Samoa hotspot. While all of the islands have volcanic origins, only Savai'i, the westernmost island in Samoa, remains volcanically active, with the most recent eruptions at Mt Matavanu (1905–1911), Mata o le Afi (1902) and Mauga Afi (1725). The highest point in Samoa is Mt Silisili, at 1,858 m (6,096 ft). The Saleaula lava fields situated on the central north coast of Savai'i result from the Mt Matavanu eruptions, which left 50 km2 (19 sq mi) of solidified lava.
Savai'i is the largest of the Samoan islands and the sixth-largest Polynesian island (after New Zealand's North, South and Stewart Islands and the Hawaiian islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui). The population of Savai'i is 42,000 people. #mapschool #maps #samoa