Abstract
On 10 December 2011, following several unsuccessful attempts to reach agreement, and convinced that the village matai (traditional Samoan chief) Leota Ituau Ale (Ale) was acting against the interests of the village, the village council of Solosolo banished Ale and his family from the village of Solosolo. On 9 February 2012, Ale petitioned the Land and Titles Court of Samoa (LTC) to overturn the decision of the village council. A week later, in a decision handed down on 17 February 2012, the LTC ruled in favour of Ale and revoked the banishment order of the village council. On 20 February 2012, a family home belonging to Ale at Solosolo was scorched to the ground. Despite the LTC decision, the village council continued to enforce its banishment order over Ale and his descendants.
On 24 February 2012, deeply affected by the destruction of Ale’s residence, Satoa a village youth wrote to the editor of the local newspaper the Samoa Observer, expressing profound disappointment, and questioned the tofa faatupu (customary deep wisdom) and the Christian morals of the village council. He challenged Solosolo villagers around the globe to fight against ‘village corruption’, to prevent future destruction to property and families resulting from village council decisions in Samoa.
On 28 February 2012, Satoa’s family was banished from Solosolo. Satoa’s parents paid ST$2,000 and two sows, following which the banishment order was partially lifted and only Satoa’s family members were allowed to remain and participate in village activities. The banishment order against Satoa remained. From the village council’s perspective, Satoa was banished because he had shamed the village by publicising Solosolo village matters in the local newspaper. It was also to remind the youth to respect the institution of the village council, which is the highest traditional authority responsible for the welfare of the village.
Satoa later published a public apology to the Solosolo village council in the local newspaper. He accepted the banishment order against him, but also posed a challenge, ‘if the village council can prohibit the freedom of speech, there is no point in government preaching the importance of individual rights’.
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Notes
- 1.
Ripine (2012), Samoa Observer.
- 2.
Leota Leuluaialii Ituau Ale et al v Alii & Faipule Solosolo (Unreported, Land and Titles Court of Samoa, LC.11469 P2, 17 February 2012). Solosolo is a Samoan village on the eastern coast of Apia.
- 3.
Ilalio (2012), Samoa Observer.
- 4.
Pseudonym, 2012, Samoa Observer. The writer wrote under a pseudonym, and was later identified by the local newspaper as Satoa. Since the banishment order, Satoa has lived in another village, while his wife and two children continue to live at Solosolo.
- 5.
Tupufia (2012), The Samoa Observer.
- 6.
Ibid.
- 7.
McLachlan (1988), p. 336. In a study on state recognition of customary laws in the South Pacific, McLachlan finds that due to the complexities of the relationship between state law and customs, studies of each separate jurisdiction are realistic.
- 8.
Meleisea (1987).
- 9.
- 10.
Taule’alo et al. (2002), p. 2.
- 11.
Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa 1962 (Samoa) art 102.
- 12.
Samoa Bureau of Statistics (2011), p. 27. Other inhabited islands Manono and Apolima account for less than 3% of the population and are counted in the Upolu population.
- 13.
- 14.
Samoa Bureau of Statistics, above n 12, 27–28. This 2011 census found that of the working age group of Samoa aged 15 and above (115,871), 59% were non-economically active, while 41% were economically active. Of the non-economically active, 71.4% were involved in domestic duties and 23% attended school. Of the 41% economically active, 35.6% were involved in subsistence employment such as agriculture, farming and fishing while 57% were employed in non-subsistence employment.
- 15.
Ibid, 68. About 46% of the population 5 years and above only reached secondary education and 22% attained tertiary education. Although about 87% of the population aged 15 and over reached secondary school or achieved the Pacific Senior Secondary Certificate (PSSC), only 6% completed a Post-Secondary Certificate, 4% gained diplomas, and 3% completed a first degree or higher qualification.
- 16.
Ibid. Of 26,205 Samoan households surveyed, only 2611 had access to a computer of which 1905 can access internet, the majority of this number were located in the urban area Apia.
- 17.
The origins of Samoa’s indigenous institutions are complex. A simplified account of it in this book could unfortunately diminish its importance. The brief account here is to put this study into context.
- 18.
Suaalii-Sauni et al. (2009), p. 157.
- 19.
Vaai (1999), p. 37.
- 20.
Ibid, 41.
- 21.
Le Tagaloa (1992), p. 121.
- 22.
Interview with VC1 Focus Group (Samoa, 1 March 2011).
- 23.
Meleisea (1987), pp. 1–2.
- 24.
Samoa Bureau of Statistics (2001), p. 1.
- 25.
Officer of Internal Affairs (MWSCD) to Lalotoa Mulitalo (2012).
- 26.
Le Tagaloa, above n 21, 118–119.
- 27.
Keesing (1934), p. 52.
- 28.
Samoa Bureau of Statistics, above, n24.
- 29.
Acts Interpretation Act 2015 (Samoa) s 3.
- 30.
Interview with SOH Respondent 4 (Samoa, 11 July 2011).
- 31.
Regulations Ordinance 1953 (Samoa).
- 32.
- 33.
For the procedure of law making of the village councils, see Suaalii-Sauni et al. (eds), above, n 18, 165.
- 34.
Le Tagaloa (1992), pp. 117, 121. Le Tagaloa argues that the faamatai is the most appropriate social organisation for the Samoan people on the basis that the faamatai gives everyone the right to be an heir, the insistence of culture on unity or holistic view of life, the inclusive decision-making process of soalaupule, and the ability of the Samoan culture to adapt to change and new ideas.
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Court Decision
Leota Leuluaialii Ituau Ale et al v Alii & Faipule Solosolo (Unreported, Land and Titles Court of Samoa, LC.11469 P2, 17 February 2012)
Legislation
Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa 1962 (Samoa)
Acts Interpretation Act 2015 (Samoa)
Regulations Ordinance 1953 (Samoa)
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Mulitalo Ropinisone Silipa Seumanutafa, T.L. (2018). Introduction. In: Law Reform in Plural Societies. The World of Small States, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65524-6_1
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