Soundings from American Samoa

by Jim Civale

An exciting thing happened in March. Before sharing the news, here is a little Samoan vocabulary…

Pale = a special head dress worn only for formal ceremonies and celebrations

Kiki = a special belt adorned and draped with yards and yards of satin material

Ula fala = a special red necklace that may only be worn by a high chief

Ula tupe = a necklace decorated with dollar bills

Fale tele = an open house used for family meetings and meetings of village chiefs

Matai = a general term for any Samoan chief

Saofa’i = a ceremony in which a matai title is bestowed

Ava = a special ceremonial drink used in official welcoming ceremonies and saofa’i

Ali’i = a high chief or paramount chief (as opposed to a tulafale or talking chief)

Sa’o = the head of an extended family and its communal lands

Now to the news… On March 20th Jim received the honor of being named the next Maui, an ali’i9 title that Emi’s father held for many years. Maui is a paramount chief title in the village of Asau where Emi was born and raised. The Maui serves as the sa’o10 of Emi’s extended family. Rejoice with us and pray in thanksgiving for this mighty move of God. The bestowal of a title of this stature upon a foreigner is unprecedented and opens many doors to ministry that had always been closed before. You see, in the independent country of Samoa, citizens do not enjoy the religious liberty that the U.S. territory of American Samoa enjoys. Many villages like Asau are closed to new churches, hindering the planting of churches of “like precious faith” to yours and mine. There is only one group that can change such village laws—you guessed it, the council of ali’i’s.

Oh, how we wish you could all have been with us for the ceremonies! They began at 6:00 a.m. with Jim bedecked in a pale1, kiki2, ula fala3 and ula tupe4. After dressing for the occasion, Jim was escorted to a fale tele5 where all of the village matai’s6 were waiting for his arrival to start the saofa’i7. The saofa’i began with a prayer service and dedication and continued with a formal ava8 ceremony to welcome Jim as an ali’i of the village.

We cannot describe how humbling it is to receive a title such as this. As we think of the ministry opportunities the title affords, we praise God for His wonderful working in our lives.