G. My Unscientific View

My humble unscientific view of what might have happened to those Hagoth led out of the Nephite country.

1. "The peopled waves; waves from east to west."

About 2000 years ago, a group of people traveled northward along the western coast of America by boat. Their language contained Egyptian words and they were keen sky observers. Lead by a man named Hagoth, the group splintered off from their home country to find new land and opportunities. They encountered strong westerly currents that drove them far and away from their intended destination. They saw land and thought they had arrived at the great northern land. Sorrowfully, the land they saw was an island in the middle of nowhere. They've traveled into the great Pacific ocean. They referred to the island as "motu," which in the Polynesian language means both "island" and "severed." They were separated from their kins. Could the word "motu" also means "floating mountain" and derived from the Egyptian words "mu" (water), and "tu" (mountain)? The Samoan word "mutu" also means separated and severed part. They were literally cut-off from their countrymen, and are now on their own.

After several generations they ventured further westward to the central Pacific. Is the repetition of the following line in the "Solo ole Va" for emphasis or typographical error? Why didn't they reverse course and go back eastward? I don't know. Anyway, they made a home for themselves in the new land and their children became adjusted to the new environment.

"The peopled waves; waves from east to west." (Solo Ole Va)

2. Rapa Nui

They were inspired to name one of the islands they landed on "Rapa Nui" after their paddles. Their paddles were vital for getting them there, and were useful as weapons when needed. The word "nui" in the Egyptian language means weapon or tool. The Polynesian word "rapa" ("lapa" in Samoan) also means paddle. The Samoan "foe" is another word for paddle, but from a later time when they interacted with people on the western Pacific. These travelers also used axes, the "toki" ("to'i" in Samoan). This name was probably derived from the Egyptian word "qeh" (axe).

"Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians". (Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1: 2)

"Easter Island was given the name "Rapa Nui" (Great Rapa) by Tahitian sailors, in the 1860's, as it reminded them of Rapa - a small island in French Polynesia (now commonly referred to as Rapa Iti). Before 1863, the name was unknown on the island." -S. Fischer, "The Naming of Rapanui", Easter Island Studies: Contributions to the History of Rapanui in Memory of William T. Mulloy (Oxbow Monograph 32, Oxford, 1993, pp. 63-66.)

April 12, 2004: Dear Pen, "Rapa Nui" means "big paddle", literally, although some say that it was named after the island of Rapa Iti because it remined people of that island. The Rapanui people call it "Te Pito o te Henua", "the navel of the earth", also translated as "the end of the earth". I don't speak any Tahitian, so I don't know what it translates to in Tahitian - sorry! Best regards, Antoinette, Easter Islad Foundation Books

The Samoan words for paddle are "lapa" (anything shaped like a paddle) and "foe" (specific word for rowing paddle). I don't know of any equivalent Samoan word to "nui", but that doesn't mean there is none. The word "nui" means big in east Polynesia, but could it also refers to the strength of something? It's possible that the word "nui" was at one time used by the Samoans and was later replaced by a word from the western Pacific. It's also possible that the Samoan words "tui" (king and spear) and "nuti" (to shatter) point to a meaning for "Rapanui" as I've described. The different interpretations of "Rapa Nui" tell me that, maybe, there's probably an alternative meaning to this word. The "kahuna nui" (guardian-priests) of Hawaii may also say something about this subject. If the Polynesians used their paddles as weapons, then it's possible that the Zapotec (Central America) word "rapa" (take care of, watches, and guards), has significance here too.

3. The Sun

The Samoan word "sa" is sacred or restricted, and as a prefix designates family associations. The "sa" is associated with the veneration of the sun. The word for sun in Samoan is "la". I believe that there is an association between the Samoan "la" and "sa". The sun to the Polynesians was a sacred object. Also, the Samoan "la" is synonymous with the word "ra" that is used in other parts of Polynesia. Across Polynesia, the letters "R" and "L" are used interchangeably, as in the name of the mythical Polynesian hero Rata (Lata in Samoa). Hence the Samoan word for sun,"la", is synonymous to "ra", also sun, in other Pacific islands.

The Samoan "la" also refers to the sail of a boat, which I believe had something to do with the nettle materials that they originally fashioned sails with. Nettle is "lah" in the Quechean language and "lalavao" in Samoan. The application of the rising and setting of the sun in the Samoan language may indicate some hidden fact to the direction of their migration.

Come now; go back by the road you came; take people to possess the Eastern groups; take Atu and "Sasa'e;" that is a pair; they were called conjointly "Atu-Sasae;" these two people came from the heavens from among the children of Tangaloa. (Fraser, Tala: Samoan Creation Story)

The conclusion I arrived at looking at these words is this - in the Samoan language, the word for sacredness, family, and sun are the same. This shows how important the sun is to Polynesians - it's the sacred sun.

The word "sa" survived the initial contact as a word for sun. It was used to derive new words as shown by the following examples. The words for east (sasae) and west (sisifo) are both derived from the word "sa".

The word "a'e" is the Samoan word for climb. The word "sasae" means, "sun climb" (sunrise). The phrase "o a'e" means "go from." Ole a matou o a'e mai le fale o Taga. (We will go from Taga's house.) The word "a'e" is also found in the word "fa'aa'ea'e" that means to continue. Fa'aa'ea'e le tou malaga. (Continue your trip.)

The word "sisifo" (west) probably started out as "sasifo", whereby making "sasifo" to mean "sun going down," or sunset. The word "ifo" is bow in Samoan. The phrase "o ifo" means "go to." Ole a matou o ifo i le fale o Taga. (We will go to Taga's house.)

These words are also found in the western Pacific languages: "sae" (to climb - East Timor) and "sifo" (to go down - Lau). The origin and the exchange of these words is a matter for discussion, but it's clear that the rising and setting of the sun played a part in it.

The following Mayan words could provide some insight into the relationship between the Polynesian views of the Sun and their directional references.

	Maya	Samoa
nettle	lah	lalavao
sail	-	la
sun	k'in	la
east	lak'in	sasa'e
west	chik'in, och k'in	sisifo, probably sasifo
mouth	chi	-
enter	och	oi
climb	-	a'e
lift	-	sa'e, si'i, ee
north	e	matu
bow down	-	ifo

In the Inca region of South America, as well as other parts of Meso-America, the sun god was paramount. The sun played an important role in the lives of those who left with Hagoth. The "sa" might have derived from those old traditions.

"The traditional history of the Chibchas attributed their cultural attainments to the teaching of a foreign migrant, generally known to them as Bochica or Xue....Bochica was also known as Sua, the local word for sun, and when the Spinards arrived they were taken to be his envoys and were called Sua, or Gagua, which also meant sun. (Heyerdahl,p.109)

Could the Samoan "sa" originated from Egyptian myths, or Hebrew?

The Egyptians believed that Aker, an earth-god, guarded the gates of dawn (shahar) and sunset (shalim) through which the sun rose every morning and set every evening. The ancient Egyptians placed statues of Aker at the doors of palaces and tombs to ward off evil spirits (1) and malicious entities. Could it be that the sacred Samoan "sa" is related to the Jewish "sha?"

Sha	Be quiet!
Sha-buhs	rest
Sha-char	dawn
Sha-dai	Almighty God

According to Sir E.A. Wallis Budge, author of "Egyptian Language", "sa" is an Egyptian word for son, and also sacred. This could explain the dual use of "sa" in Samoan - sacred and lineage (belong to a certain family). For example, to refer to the Mita family - we would say the Samita family.

Someone questioned my attempt to connect the Polynesian sun ('ra', 'la') to the Native American names. If it's true that Polynesians migrated from pre-Columbian America - he asked why the peoples on the continent and the islands call the sun differently. The sun is also named differently amongst the Native Americans themselves. He made a good point, of which I'm not smart enough to provide a definite answer to. I came across a Kaingang (Brazil, South America) word for sun that looks interestingly similar to the Polynesians "ra", but, regrettably, that's not enough. The priests and astronomers of ancient Americas had immense influence on their cultures. The leaders, just as in our time, were mindful of the power of information and took advantage of it for their own gain. The dry astronomical facts were woven into social icons that became part of their languages and myths. The sun became god himself personified in their ruler - the sun was the king, the king was the sun. In Polynesia, the sun was an important navigational tool and its name was kept while they traveled between islands in the vast Pacific Ocean.

"About the Mayan glyphs - The Maya had 'published a record of themselves', as he (John Lloyd Stephens) put it. It was simple as that. The characters depicted on the stelae and lintels were not gods or priest, but Maya rulers." (David Drew, The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings, p.161)

"Thus each individual Maya king - and there were dozens of them - regarded himself as divine." (p.170)

"At Copan the very first Lord of all was named in full K'inich Yax K'uk Mo. He was the 'Sun-faced Blue-Green Quetzal Macaw'." (Drew, p.209)

"In charge of each of them was a category of nobility known as sahal. So far we have only come upon the word ahaw or 'Lord' when referring to the powerful families that ran a Maya city-state. All kings were of this rank and defined themselves more precisely as k'ul ahaw or 'holy lord'. But ahaw on its own is also used to describe members of the immediate royal family and heads of other major lineages. The distinction between the two is often hard to make in practice, but along the Usumacinta, sahal appears to refer to a slightly lower level amongst the aristocracy, often translated as 'governor' when it describes an individual who ran a dependent settlement on behalf of the king." (p.258)

Drew included in his book a Mayan glyph showing a picture of a jaguar with two symbols on its cheek - "kin" (the sun that's portrayed by four petals) and yax (first). Drew explained this by saying, "The first sun on the horizon at dawn, the moment at which the sun is reborn." Is the word "kin" originally meant sun or did it became sun due to some later valuation?

4. Roots

"Those who engage in Polynesian genealogy and recordkeeping, discover that the only records which antedate the arrival of Europeans in the Pacific which are available to the Polynesians today are the stories, genealogies and traditions which are preserved in the memories of the people. With the introduction of European records, traditions stories and legends are generally not accepted as sufficient proof for the establishment of a true record. However, in Polynesia, since memory and traditions are all that is available, as far as they seem reasonable and true, they should be accepted. The stories hand down by Polynesians from generations to generations may be classified into several groups: history, traditions, legends, folklores, and mythology. It is hard to determine at times, where true history ends and legends begins." (Bruce Sutton, "Lehi - Father of Polynesia", p. 153)

"It has been the experience of many genealogists who search out European genealogies to discover that family traditions are, in most cases, unreliable. Therefore, family traditions are not acceptable as facts until research proves them to be otherwise. Family traditions often supply good clues for research, and often, they have some truth. A good genealogist examining European records authenticates every connection from reliable recorded source materials, and does not accept anything as true because it looks good or sounds possible. These standards cannot necessarily be applied to the Polynesian genealogies. There are no written records to search, except those in existence, which came about, only after literacy was introduced by the Christian missionaries. All knowledge was handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth." [This was done through very selected pupils.] (Sutton, p. 171)

Bruce Sutton claims that Polynesians are decedents of people who came from the Americas. In his book "Lehi, Father of Polynesia", Bruce made extensive and detailed pedigree charts of several people from various Polynesia islands. One may question the authenticity of these his charts, but the fact that they exist in someone's memory makes me think that maybe we shouldn't discard them entirely from the discussion. The interesting thing about the charts is the pattern where the locations of common names shift east as you read higher up (backward) in the genealogies. It's not until much later that names with connection to Fiji are seen in the charts Bruce provided. All his charts point to Polynesians having roots in the eastern islands.

5. Residuals

I don't profess any great linguistic knowledge of Polynesian and Native American languages, but what little I came upon shows an interesting similarity of some words and grammatical rules between these languages. These like words and grammatical rules strongly suggest a connection between the Polynesians and Native Americans.

ma

The adverbial particles are very numerous in Maya. No attempt has been made to exhaust the list. The most important are as follows: NEGATION: This is shown by the particle ma which precedes the nominal pronoun and comes immediately before the verb when the verbal pronoun is used. (Alfred M. Tozzer, A Maya Grammar, p.104)

The Samoan language uses ma, the same way - to create opposite words. For example "malosi" - strong ("losi" is untidy, unorganized), "masina" - moon ("sina" is white, gray-hair, brightness of sun), "mafua - origin ("fua" is fruit), and "malala - charcoal ("lala" is tree branch).

la

"La" is the particle denoting totality. (Alfred M. Tozzer, A Maya Grammar, p.98)

This rule exists in the Samoan language. For example "laau" - tree ("au" is a tree branch), "lai'titi" - smallness ("i'titi" is little), and "lala'i" - come as a group ("la'i" - come).

6. Tuamotu

On the extreme eastern part of Polynesia lies the islands of Tuamotu. Could the name "Tuamotu" derived from the Samoan words "tua" (back) and "motu" (severed and island)? The Polynesians could have referred to Tuamotu as back islands. The word "tua" also emphasize enormity; severely separated. On the other hand, the word "tua" might have derived from the word "tua'a", which means ancient and ancestor in Samoan. The Polynesian drive to colonize islands westward was probably born on Tuamotu. The Egyptian word "tua" means to pray, to praise, to adore, and to entreat.

Some of them longed for their previous homes and cried out au'e! - a common Polynesian word that's called out by people in great distress and sadness. Could these Egyptian words be the root of this outcry in Polynesia?

a	to cry out, to call, to invoke
au	to be long, extended
aa	great
kes	pay homage
re	opening, mouth, door

It's also possible that they were using something common with the Mayan word for listen! - u'ye?

Some may have attempted return trips home. Despite the longing for the homeland by some, many of them ventured further west. The west was in front of them; north ("akau" in Hawai'ian; "matu" in Samoan) was on the right. The word "akau" also means right side in Hawaiian. The Samoan "tau'matau" (right side) could have originated from "matu". On their left was south ("hema" in Hawaiian, which also means left). Another Egyptian word for south is "shema." Perhaps that might be a connection. In Samoa, the southerly direction is Toga - in the direction of Tonga. Left-side in Samoan is "tau'agavale," which could be translated as "the side that behaved foolishly." If the direction of the Polynesian migration was westward, then the meaning of "tau'agavale" (left-side) will become clearer later when I talk about the Samoan word "togafiti."

7. Tagata Uli (Hiti)

On their journey west, they encountered another group of people already there who were darker in appearance. They called them "tagata uli", dark ("uliuli") people, or "hiti". They were darker in complexion and fierce warriors. In time, they merged with their new neighbors and gradually lost more of their original knowledge. Little by little, generation after generation, the knowledge and the language spoken by their fathers who left with Hogath was altered to what you hear today spoken by the Polynesians.

"In 1595 an inhabitant of Taumako in the eastern Solomons was able to describe to the first Spanish visitors a mental map of islands known to him, divided by the skin color of their inhabitants and associated propensities for cannibalism. The islands with lighter skinned people like himself, speaking related Polynesian languages, were described lovingly, those of darker skinned peoples as the haunts of cannibals." (Matthew Spriggs, The Island Melanesians, p.10)

"Egually dramatic are the stories from the Outliers of Rennell and Bellona further west in the Solomons concerning the fate of the indigenous inhabitants there, the hiti, described as black people. When the ancestors of the presents Polynesians speakers first arrived 23 generations ago they lived in harmony with the hiti for some generations, but then they turned on them and massacred the entire population. ... The oral traditions give a vivid and distressing picture of genocide which is chillingly reflected in modern Rennell and Bellona language where we find the word hiti with the meanings "original inhabitants...wretch, no-good (as in insults)..." (Spriggs, The Island Melanesians, p.206)

The word "hiti" might have been the origin of the name Fiti - Fiji. One can conclude from Spriggs' book that there was something akin to the arrival of the Europeans in western Oceania when the Polynesians arrived there previously. The new arrivals from the east probably named the natives as black people using a word originated from pre-Columbian America. The Mayan (3) word for black, "ek'," could have been the source for the word "hiti", pronounced as "e-k," or "hi-ti."

"Relations between the Solomon Islanders and the Spaniards were generally hostile... Coming out to Mendana's ship, they called for the tauriqui (spelt tabriqui in some accounts) of the Spaniards to appear, meaning chief or leader. From the general Polynesian term for chief, te ariki, this is not a local word and is one apparently unknown on Isabel today. (Spriggs, p.227)

"As can be seen from oral traditions in the region, the establishment of Polynesia populations on the Outliers was more often than not accompanied by the massacre or enslavement of the previous inhabitants. Perhaps this explains why these new foreigners, light-skinned like the Polynesians, were greeted everywhere they went with such vigorous response except on the two Outliers with which they had contact, Taumako and Tikopia. ... In Santa Cruz too the term Te Ariki was known for the leader of a foreign ship, as it was on Polynesian-speaking Taumako was the word for chief." (Spriggs, p.228)

Generation after generation, through wars, inter-marriage and commerce, that which we consider characteristically Polynesian today was gradually formed: different language, different custom, and different culture. However, there were legends and stories that were passed down through the generations by a degenerate form of priest-line. It was under those conditions that the "Solo ole Va" was authored and maintained through vocal traditions up to the time when Europeans appeared on the scene.

8. The Ripples At The Watershed

• Pigs, Chickens, etc.

  "[H. Wallin] ...made an important discovery that chicken bones were present only in the uppermost layers of refuse. The expedition's stratigraphic excavations revealed quite clearly that poultry, a Melanesian-Polynesian type of livestock, was unknown to the original inhabitants of EI and was introduced very late, presumably at the end of the Middle Period. This discovery confirmed the Easter Islanders' own account that seabird's eggs had been an important part of their forefathers' diet until they acquired poultry." (Heyerdahl, 1989, p. 228) (4)

  The contact with Melanesians provided new experiences: food, dance, and language. These new knowledge and things propagated backward (eastward) to other Polynesian islands. Researchers have found artifacts in the Society islands in eastern Polynesia that were made of materials found only in Southeast Asia. Commerce was widespread and the exchange of goods brought even more interactions with people of different cultures.

• Tattoo, Pe'a, Tatau

  Kirch observed: "Furthermore, the dominant or central motif throughout the corpus of early Far Western ceramics is the human face, originally in a highly recognizable synthetic figurative style, and later transformed to a more conventionalized, geometric figurative style. We are compelled to ask: were these cylinder stands and pedestalled-bowls more than mere utilitarian objects? Were they in fact representations of human being, living or dead, real or mythical?" (Kirch, p.143)

  "Tatau" is tattoo in Samoan, and it's probably the source of the English word. A Samoan legend says that some Fijian women taught the Samoans the art of tattooing. Not only were the new arrivals taught the art, but the mysteries surrounding it. Does the body art have a mythical parallel to the decorative pottery art? Were they vessels of spirits? Do tattoos protect warriors from evil spirits? Do tattoos provide connections to the spirit world? This was something that was readily adopted by the Polynesians. Interesting to know is the fact that the tatau for women is called the "malu" - to cover or to protect. The tattoos would have provided warriors with added confidence and they became an initiation for them into the warrior-world. A Samoan song explains that a man's whole body should be tattooed. We can find many similar elements in various myths of eastern Melanesia and western Polynesia. This merge gave birth to a new and unique culture in the central Pacific, which at a later time spread outward and reinvented Polynesia.

• Hindu Influence?

  As early as 100 BC, establishment of Indian settlements were made in Southeast Asia. According to the same source, contact between India and Southeast Asia went further back 2000 years. The Indian influence in that part of the world is very obvious by the languages and religion of Southeast Asia. The Hindu religion became a very powerful force in that region - influencing most of Southeast Asia and spilling over to lands further east. Chinese contacts were also made, with establishment of Chinese outposts around the 9th century. Islamic influence occurred around the 14th century.

  Including with these arrivals were sun-worshipers from the east. They said that they came from the "malae" - the celestial place. The original inhabitants referred to the new arrivals as malae (foreigners) - using their own word. The new arrivals were shunned, and their sun ideas were prohibited (sala). The word "la" is "not" in many Southeast Asia languages. The word "sala" is still the Samoan word for guilty or punishment. As the old "sa" (sun) traditions became corrupted, they adopted new words to their language and ideas to their tradition that remain to this day. The following Samoan words may have roots in Hindu traditions.

  Afi (fire)

  The Samoan "afi" (fire) could have originated from Agni, the Hindu god of fire, by way of Southeast Asia - "api" (Malay), "ahi" (East Timore).

  Agaga (spirit)

  Ananga is 'bodiless' in Hindu myth.

  Fetu (star)

  The Hindu word 'ketu' (brightness) could be the inspiration for the Samoan word for star (fetu). However, the Egyptian word for sanctuaries (hetu) may also be consider as the root of 'fetu' amongst the Samoan, who looked to the stars as their celestial origin.

  Mala (bad omen, transsexual)

  'Mara' in Hindu is the tempter, the destroyer of life, and a word for killing and death. The origin of the Samoan word 'mala' could be trace either to this Hindu word, or to a Native American myth. William Sullivan explains that the Inca astronomy divides the visible sky into upper (tuna) and lower (maras) planes.

  Nata (snake)

  The Hindu word for snake or serpent (naga) could be the origin of the Samoan word 'nata' (snake), but the root of this word may ultimately go back further to Egypt.

  Siva (dance)

  The Samoan word "siva" (dance) could have originated from the Hindu god Shiva. Another word for dance in Samoan is similar to the Zapotec (Central America) word - "saa."

  Tamaloa (man), Muli (butt)

  The "Seven Chakras" appears to provide some hints of Hindu influence in a couple of Samoan words - "muli" (butt), "mulimuli" (last), and "tamaloa" (man). The first chakra, Muladhara Chakra, is the basic support chakra (tail chakra). This sensual plane (Kama Loka) could be the source for the Samoan word "tamaloa" (man). The word "muli" would be a reference to the "muladhara chakra."

  An obvious question would be why the pervasive Hindu and Buddha cultures failed to move further east. Polynesia is basically a Sun-worship area.

9. Further Interaction Created A New People.

For hundreds of years, the descendents of those who left with Hagoth intermingled with the people they encountered, and they became a different people. The result was unique both physically and culturally. When the Europeans arrived in the Pacific, the people they met were products of that interaction. Even though they are now a completely different people from those who boarded the boat with Hagoth, there are certain things that tend to refocus my attention to the Americas as an origin of the Polynesians. I would like to point out a few things to illustrate the connection between the Polynesians and the Book of Mormon.

For defensive purposes, the Polynesian islands bordering Fiji and other Western Islands were fortified, from Savai'i to what is now Tonga. In the proximity of the Tonga island-chain and islands east of Fiji, the Polynesians positioned reinforced settlements. This group had its center in the city of Mu'a. The Fijians were a short distance away and was an important Melanesian center. The people of that area were dark in complexion, and were very ferocious and war-like. It's my belief that the Fijian culture greatly influenced the Polynesians. There are numerous stories of wars amongst the inner triad - Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Since Tonga is more westward and bordering Fiji, war in that region was more common. For that reason the Polynesians positioned their primitive force in that part of the region.

10. Toaga

Because of the importance of those islands to the Polynesian's defense, they referred to them as "Toaga" ("toaga" in Samoan means attentive, eager or dedicated). The phrase "o toa ga" translates as "those toa" or "those braves." They were the braves, the soldiers - the "toa" (brave or courageous). Could the Samoan word 'atoa' for 'complete' has a root to that period in early mid-Pacific history? What are now the Tongan islands was the location of that force, and their leaders shared families with islands eastward. I'll quote here an article I read, saying, "'Opeti Taliai [M.A. student at the University of Auckland] spoke on the various language levels in traditional Tonga. He hypothesized that the vocabulary reserved for the royal family was of Samoan origin." (The Tongan History Association) (5)

11. Tautoga

Those who joined the "Toaga" force gave "tautoga" to their leaders. The Samoan word "tautoga" (swearing or oath) is probably derived from the words "tau" (fight) and "toaga" to mean "fight for Toaga", "fight for Toga", or "fight for Tonga". Members of the "Toaga" swore to defend Polynesia - reminiscent of Moroni's declaration in the Book of Mormon, Moroni being the military leader familiar to those who left with Hogath.

"...Moroni...waving the rent part of his garment in the air, that all might see the writing which he had written upon the rent part, and crying with a loud voice, saying: Behold, whoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant..." (Alma 46: 19 - 20)

The Polynesian "Toaga" were their first lines of defense. The disintegration of the Polynesian "toaga" force gave birth to a different political entity - Toga (Tonga).

12. Inasi, Lafoga

"The chiefly residential center of Mu'a on Tongatapu incorporated 26 langi mounds, the largest fronting a great ceremonial plaza, where in A.D. 1777 Captain Cook and his crew witnessed the annual rites of tribute called 'inasi." (Kirch, On The Road Of The Winds, p.226)

Each year double-hulled canoes brought tribute to Mu'a from these outlying islands, to be offered up to the Tu'i Tonga at the 'inasi ceremony..." (Kirch, p.289)

The "Toaga" was supported by contributions. The Samoan words relating to begging are "aisi", "inasi", "aioi", and "faatoga". The Samoan word "faatoga" could be interpreted as "the Toga way". Lafoga is tribute or offering. The root word "lafo" means "toss with great care," unlike "togi" which means "throw." therefore, the "inasi" tradition in Tonga emphasizes receiving tribute, and "lafoga" in Samoa emphasizes giving tribute. The legend of "Samoan Gift, Tongan Payment" is most likely based on this precarious, I think, but necessary exchange.

"In a time long-ago, Tonga had coconuts but Samoa had none. Samoa had fowls but Tonga had none. A god of Samoa asked a god of Tonga for a coconut, and the god of Tonga answered, "Yes, for a fowl." Then those gods prepared a trick, each man. Instead of a fowl the Samoa god brought an owl for a gift; and that Tonga god open his nut and scooped its flesh out, he brought an empty husk. Then they-two exchanged their gifts. As the Samoan went away he said, "Alua, mo moa lulu - Farewell, with owl-fowl." The god of Tonga answered him, "Alua, mo niuniu pulu - Farewell, with cut nut." (Antony Alpers, Legends of the South Seas, p.290) (6)

13. Malietoa

The royal title of "Malietoa" designated the best of the Toa's - the best of the "Toaga". The word "malie" in Samoan is satisfied. The name "Malietoa" is a combination of two words, "malie" (satisfied) and "toa" (brave). The word "malie" is also the word for shark and, I think, also means "the best." When the Tongans ended their occupation of Samoa, they called the Samoan warrior who lead the revolt against them "Malie Toa," reminiscent of some past tradition of acknowledging a shared comradeship, a champion in a competition.

"...in the western islands the august title of Malietoa was acquired in the thirteenth century when the brothers Tuna and Fata, as they drove the last of the Tongan invaders from Samoan shores, were hailed by the departing Tui Tonga Talakaifaike with the words, 'Brave warriors! Well fought! I will not again venture to Samoa in a war canoe!' The memory of this occasion still excites the pride of Samoans, as does Marathon that of the Greeks." (Freeman, p.171)

A 1616 Dutch lithographic image depicts a Samoan canoe next to the Dutch's Schouten/Le Maire somewhere between Tonga and Samoa. The outrigger canoe has a drawing of a rooster (toa) on its sail, which might be related to the Malietoa.

14. Togafiti

Something very important happened in the middle Pacific can be illustrated by the Samoan word "togafiti" (Tonga-Fiji). The meaning of the word "togafiti" is schemer or stratagem. At some point in their history, members of the "Toaga" (Tonga) allied themselves with Fijians and went to war against the traditional Polynesian islands. The Samoans angrily referred to that alliance as "togafiti". That word is still in use today to describe some devious scheme.

If the Fijians had conquered the Tongan islands, they would have taken over the center of the Polynesian west most front. They would have married into the Tongan population. At a future time, the Polynesians were able to repel the Fijians to their own islands, but the effects of the Fijian occupation were permanent. In their history, the royal Tongan families sought wives from Samoa. Was that done to preserve bloodline? Tongans see their royal relationship to Fiji paternal in nature, while maternal towards Samoa. (7)

Assuming that some dreadful event occurred in the Central Pacific, such as the violent war by members of the Toaga during the Toga-Fiti. Those who could have escaped eastward might find safety in far away places as in the west coast of the Americas. Their navigational abilities would certainly allowed them to make such long distance trips. As I see, the following Zapotec words (Central America) just might clue us to a description of the Polynesian "Toaga" during "Toga-Fiti" event.

hard, rigid	nachonga
hardened	richonga
head	ique
idiot	ique chonga

Reseachers have identified chicken remains in South America (Chile) that are genetically identical to the chickens in Polynesia. The scientists are now asserting that those bones are the remains of chickens brought to America by early Polynesians long before the Europeans arrived. Before this finding, the common notion was that the chicken was brought to the new world by Europeans. This discovery is credited to University of Auckland anthropologies Alice Stoery and Lisa Matisoo-Smith, and collaborators Jose Miguel Ramirez and Daniel Quiroz from Valparaiso and Santiago, Chile.

15. Tongan Creation Story

A Tongan story ('Aho'eitu the first Tu'i Tonga) says that the god Tangaloa had a son by a Niue (Polynesian) woman. The boy, according to the story, was more handsome than Tangaloas other two sons. Envious of their younger brother, the two killed him. In my opinion, at the conquest of Polynesia by the "Tonga-Fiji," their leader, a Melanesian, had a son by a Polynesian woman. Because of the prejudice toward dark skin, the son, who was given birth by the Niue woman, was seen as more appealing then his half-siblings, who were given birth by the leaders other wife (wives). (8)

16. Manu'a - A Polynesian Alamo

With their western front fallen to the Fijians, the Polynesians retreated back eastward to their other islands.

"On this fabulous account of the origin of the names Samoa and Manu'a, Mr. Powell's MSS. have this note: This affair of the names is in a very confused state. A man, Taua-nu'u, who is 'keeper of the traditions' for Tau, told me lately that Tangaloa fell from a precipice on to Malae-a-Vavau, and was badly wounded, and from that circumstance Tau was called Manu'a tele, 'greatly wounded.' Several persons told Mr. Pratt and myself, in 1862, that the whole group is named Samoa, from Moa, the family name of the present King of Manu'a, Samoa or Sa-moa-atoa. Fofo and Taua-nu‘u still maintain that the account given to Mr. Pratt and myself is perfectly correct, and that le atu o Moa ('the Moa group') includes Samoa, Tahiti, &c., &c." (Fraser, Tala: Samoan Creation Story; Appendix D)

Wounded and defeated, the core of the Polynesian society who retreated eastward settled on some small islands which they referred to passionately as Manu'a. Some went further east to other islands including Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tahiti, the Marquesas, the Hawaiian Islands, and may even ventured into coastal America.

17. Aotearoa (New Zealand)

"Ao" in Samoan means several things: cloud, daylight, and to collect. If the name "Aotearoa" is pre-European, than I think "Long White Clouds" as the translation could be a modern expression. It could possibly be "Ao te a Roa," and it could possibly means "Rally of Moa" or "Rally of Toa" - the rallying point for retreating warriors of the "Toaga". The Maori word "roa" for age could be a reference to the old country. The "Archaic Maori has many expressions that encourage us to walk The Higher Ground. This suggests that there was a time when Maori lived a very high quality lifestyle." (9)

That sounds more like a military life to me. Could the Maori's be a displaced military group of the "Toaga"? My observation of the Maori culture reminds me so much of military protocols and traditions. The welcoming "Kawa" and "Taki" protocols are a challenge to anyone - friend or foe! The Samoan words "taua" (war) and "tali" (to answer) demonstrate that tradition. To me, during the "togafiti" (Tonga-Fiji) conflict, members of the "Toaga" forces found safety on a land they called "Aotearoa." According to some, the Maori were the only people not defeated by Britain in war. The war ended with a peace treaty, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, between the Maori and the technologically powerful Great Britain. General Rommel, the famous German general of World War II, is quoted as having said that if he had three Maori divisions he could rule the world.

There is a Maori legend, "Kupe's Discovery of Aotearoa," that explains the discovery of Aotearoa by Kupe. It was the same Kupe that told Turi how to get there from Havaiki - their homeland. In the story of "The Migration of Turi to Aotearoa", we're told of Turi's trip to Aotearoa. Tapo, the navigator, started a mutiny because of Turi's trickery. He was thrown overboard, but was saved by devine intervention. Because of that, they missed Aotearoa. There was another canoe, the Te Ririno, in the company that was lead by Potoru. At that point in their journey, the two chiefs argued about the direction they should head. Turi insisted that they should continue east, as Kupe instructed, but Potoru wanted them to go west. After some strong-arm persuasion, the group traveled south west. The Potoru's ship, the Te Ririno, was wrecked, so the group altered their course east and reached Aotearoa. The Aotea, lead by Turi, landed on the western side of the north island. It seems that the whole trip traveled a "Z"-shaped path. Clearly, the path travelled by these warriors, according to these legends, places their point of departure in west polynesia - the Toaga. (10)

The story also mentioned a man "named Tuanui A Te Ra, who had a crooked foot, was disobedient and isolent to Turi, so he was thrown overboard." What was significant about him to be mentioned in the legend? The story told that when the company landed, they saw Tuanui's footprints on the beach. Immediately upon their arrival, they built a fort.

"At last Turi reached the river mouth that Kupe had discribed, and there he built a pa, or fortified village, which he called Rangitawhi. It is said that there were no inhabitants when Kupe came to these islands, yet Turi built a pa." (Antony Alpers, Maori Myths and Tribal Legends, p.147)

My military experience taught me that the first thing to do upon arrival, especially in unfamiliar places, is to secure the ground. Turi in the legend followed a very similar tradition. As to the location of Havaiki, in the Polynesian legends, I believe that Havaiki in Polynesian legends indicated an idea like the Christian "Zion" instead of a definite location.

18. Tui Manu'a

In time, those who retreated to Manu'a rebuilt their forces and launched military campaigns aimed to retake captured islands from the Fijians. The leader of those campaigns became a very feared and respected man. They called him Tui Manu'a. The Samoan "tui" (spear or punch "tu'i") also means to string things together, indicating that the Tuimanua was someone who gathered certain islands and possessed them. The word "tui" may be connected to an ancient god of Samoa, Tu (or Ku). Tuimanua led the Polynesians to recapture what the Fijians conquered of their Polynesian empire. His forces advanced through Upolu and Savai'i towards the Tonga-Fiji region. He gathered forces as he traveled from island to island until his forces defeated the Fijians and sent them back to their own islands.

"When Makea, the paramount chief of Rarotonga, visited Samoa in the 1830s he had been hailed as a distant cousin by Malietoa because of his descent from Karika, thought to have been the Tui Manu'a 'Ali'a." (The Journal of Pacific History, "Great families of Polynesia: inter-island links and marriage patterns", Sept, 1997 by Niel Gunson)

The Tuimanu'a became the supreme title of Manu'a, and several other Pacific islands.

O Great Fiti, with all thy eastern isles.
And thy mountains scattered throng,
You each and all to Great Manu'a look:-
Fiti, Tonga, the Slippery Rock,
The spreading Masoa
Which raised again the fallen heavens;
Savai'i, leafy like the teve,
In vain displays its lofty range;
She cannot supplant the firm seed stone of Manu'a

This part of the Solo probably speaks of the Toga-Fiti period. The great honor aforded Tuimanu'a can't be justified by the size of his home island. He might have earned that honor during some momentous episode in the middle Pacific. Indeed Tuimanua was admired and honored by many on the larger islands of Samoa and Fiji. The way the title Nephi in the Book of Mormon is explained below is very similar to the way Samoans refer to their kings. The last Tuimanu'a was Tuimanu'a Elisara.

"The people having loved Nephi exceedingly, he having been a great protector for them, having wielded the sword of Laban in their defense, and having labored in all his days for their welfare - Wherefore, the people were desirous to retain in remembrance his name. And whoso should reign in his stead were called by the people, second Nephi, third Nephi, and so forth, according to the reigns of the kings; and thus they were called by the people, let them be of whatever name they would." (Jacob 1: 11)

I have the notion that the word "tui" is related to the Andean "Ticci" title. The Polynesian god, Tagaloa, is often referred to as Tui Tagaloa. The Andean god, Viracocha, was referred to as Ticci Viracocha. The Polynesians might have referred to the easterly direction as "tui" - the place of their origin.

Concerning the god Wiraqocha, he was "the Andean deus faber. Therefore he was addressed as "Ticci Virachocha." Ticci is Quechua for 'source, beginning, foundation, prime cause,' a phrase also redolent of the Old World formulation of Saturn as 'the originator of time.'" (Sullivan, p.98)

19. Lefiti

The Manu'a chiefly title of "Lefiti" means "Not Fijian." This name might show something about the Samoa-Fiji relationship at some past history. The animosity caused by the "togafiti" (Tonga-Fiji) lasted until the Tongans attacked and occupied Samoa (during the 12th century?), which started the Samoan-Tongan feud. If there was such an alliance between some Polynesians (Tongans) and Fijians, the word "togafiti" probably expressed the Samoans detestation of it. This way of referring to people by using names that describe their deeds is common in the Book of Mormon. For example, Alma chapters 23 and 24 describe a group of Lamanites who were converted and who lived in the areas of Nephi and Lehi. They called themselves "Anti-Nephi-Lehi" to denote their conversion and to distinguish themselves from other Lamanites who lived in the Nephi and Lehi areas.

The word "le" also means "the", which would then make the title "Lefiti" to mean "the Fijian." If this was the meaning of Lefiti, why was it necessary to point that out? Maybe, in that case, there was a reason to distinguish this name from the rest of the Manu'a titles.

Matai titles are serious issues in Samoan affairs. Chiefly titles are aggresively protected and pursued, even in modern times. The ceremonial solutations (fa'alupega) of villages and regions depended on the advancements of titles in various political settings. For an example are the Lefiti and Sotoa titles in Manu'a. They are very controversial, and you'll hear heated debates amongst the Manu'ans when these titles are discussed. Some claim they aren't even Samoan names at all. Could these titles offer some hints to a Toga-fiti time period. The first four lines from the "fa'alupega" (salutation) of the Ta'u village suggests just such a case.

Afio le Tuimanu'a, o le la'au amotasi	Come Tuimanu'a, the lone staff
Susu Fa'atui o le motu	Come Princes of the island
Susu Sotoa, o ia o le vaimagalo	Come Sotoa, of the fresh water   (Come Sotoa, the helper)
Susu suafa o Lefiti...	Come the Lefiti

The Samoan word 'Sau' is the common everyday translation of the English word 'come'. The word 'Susu' is another translation that is reserved for chiefs. Another translation of the word 'come' is 'Afio', which is reserved for paramount chiefs.

Sotoa and Lefiti, in my oppinion, were alliances of the Tuimanu'a during the Toga-fiti. I think that Sotoa was probably a military leader of the Toaga (a Tongan) who helped the Tuimanu'a, and Lefiti was a Fijian who also offered help. It's just an idea.

20. Fitiuta

The name Fitiuta, a village in Manu'a, is a combination of the words "Fiti" (Fiji) and "uta" (land behind each village). A typical Samoan village sits on the coastal area facing seaward ("tai"). If a person located in Samoa faces Fiji, he would be looking west, with Fiji in the front (tai) while whatever land behind him would be "uta." If the Polynesian's migratory direction was eastward than the village of Fitiuta is misnamed. In that case a name like Fititai or Fitiluma (luma is front) would be more appropriate. I think that the naming of Fitiuta, a village located east of Fiji indicates how important Fiji was in those days. That may also be a hint to the Polynesian's migratory direction - which was westward.

Here's an interesting legend from the village of Fitiuta (Antony Alpers, Legends of the South Seas). Movie fans of "X-men" will enjoy this one. The story of Fiti Au Mua tells of a couple (Veu and Veu) that was exiled to Niue by a chief of Manu'a because of a wrongdoing. While in Niue, they convinced a woman-chief (Sinasina) not to sacrifice their child, that her servants (Saumani and Saumani) netted while fishing for something for the offering. A local woman became the foster mother for Fiti. The woman had her own son by the name of Lau Foli, a warrior. The boy grew up, and was told that his real parents were exiled from Samoa. In his rage, he accidentally killed his foster mother. He fashioned himself two-war club and went to war with Samoa.

"Then Fiti went with his parents to visit their homeland, and battle was fought at once. That was the first fight. Mata'afa's people drove them back and forth, they were driven east and driven west. Fiti was chased and pushed down. The club in his left hand fell, but the club in his right hand remained. Then Fiti dived into the reef passage at Aumuli, and he swam beneath the sea. He came up first at Fiji. He fought at once with them. Fiji was overcome. Then Fiti swam to Tonga; fought with Tonga, overcome. He returned here to his own land in Samoa, he went inland at A'ana. He crossed over to Savai'i; fought a fight at Pu'a pu'a; continued to fight at Matautu, where Le Fanoga helped against him. Then Fiti was killed and the wars were ended." (Alpers, p.293)

Superman couldn't have fought better. This legend reveals something about the extensive fighting during the Toga-Fiti conflict. The legend indicates that there were fighting in the major island groups of the Pacific. The symbolism of the two married couples with same names, and the two war-clubs wielded by one person, probably indicates a confederation between two different entities. According to the legend, it was only with the help of the god of war (Le Fanoga) that Fiti Au Mua was defeated. Coincidentally, the name Fitiaumua (Fiti-au-mua) translates as "the Fijian side won": "Fiti" (Fiji), "au" (side), and "mua" (win).

21. Tahiti

The Samoan word "ta" (to strike or hit) could provide some insight to the meaning of the name "Tahiti", which could very well mean "strike Hiti" or "strike Fiji"; a possible war cry from a remnant of the Polynesian "Toaga" force. I came across an article published by "WISE News Communique" about a declaration by Hiti Tau, a special interest group in Tahiti. It's interesting, and how appropriate, I think, that they chose the name Hiti Tau that to them (in Maohi) meant "the time has come to act." (11)

From Tahiti is a legend about a heroic character by the name of Rata (Antony Alpers, Legends of the South Seas). This is a classic hero myth. The story recalls Rata's journey to avenge the abduction of his parents by the evil Puna from the land of Hiti marama. The story started out with the introduction of the main players. The grandparents were lords of Tahiti. Their names were Tahaki and Kui kura. His parents were Vahieroa and Matamata taua. His mother was very important and held the title Tahiti tokerau of the Scarlet Girdle. On a night-fishing trip, the demon-bird of Hiti marama kidnapped the parents and took them to Puna's land. The direction was toward the Horizon-of-the-Moon, "land lay where the moon comes up." That direction is west. We see the moon moving across the sky from east to west, so that it sets in the same direction as does the Sun. The moon actually orbits the earth in a west to east direction. The fact that the Earth spins much faster than the moons movement eastward tricked us into thinking that the moon rises in the east and moves westward.

The demon-bird, Matuku, swallowed the fathers' head and threw the rest of him into the ocean. The mother was given to Puna who used her as a food-stand for his wife. With his parents gone, the grandmother raised the boy to be the ariki nui. The Chiefs made her a regent chief until Rata grows up to inherent it. The boy was described as impetuous and brave. When the time came to choose chiefs from the youths, a boar-chasing game was held. Four groups competed, Pe'eai, Papahonu, Hiti uta and Hiti tai. Two teams were made up with Pe'eai and Papahonu on one side, and Hiti uta and Hiti tai on the other. Rata was instructed by his grandmother not to play in the game, but to sit next to her as judges. During the game, however, the excited Rata jumped out into the field and during the commotion killed some members of Pe'eai and Papahonu team. Kui scolded him. Because of his actions, he was left with no help to build a ship so he can avenge his parents' abduction. Kui, however, instructed Rata to go to the Sacred Valley in the inland forest to fetch a tree.

The god Tongahiti and his minions inhabited the forest. When Rata arrived in the Sacred Valley, he cut down a tall tree and went back home to rest. The next morning when he returned to start building his boat, he found that the tree was standing as though nothing was done to it. He again cut down the tree. Instead of going home, he hid under thick leaves. During the night the ghosts of the forest came out again to undo his work. This time, Rata got them in the midst of their trickery. They recognized Rata and acknowledged his rights to the forest. They also promised to assist Rata in building his boat. They also accompanied him when he traveled to Puna's land to avenge his parents. The story continued with Rata traveling towards Puna's land, Hiti marama. On his way toward Puna's land, he killed various sea monsters including the dreadful Matuku tangotango, Matuku-of-the-night, or the Heron-of-Darkness. He retrieved his fathers' head from Matuku's belly and made his way to Puna's kingdom. There, with the help of his god-friends from the Sacred Valley, he killed Puna and saved his mother. He took back home with him Puna's wife and daughter, Tie maofe. Tie maofe became his wife and Puna's wife was treated well.

To me, this Tahitian legend talks about what went on between the Polynesians and Melanesians. They co-existed, but they were identifiable by certain traits. The division of teams during the boar-chase game was setup along those lines. Under one Polynesian ruler, the mix of these people existed. The Heron-of-Darkness, to me, refers to the dark warriors of Melanesia. Puna was their king. Rata's father was probably killed and his head hung as a trophy on one of the Melanesian's war canoe. The mother was made a slave for the Puna house. The sea monsters that Rata fought and defeated on his way to Puna's land were war canoes. Interesting for me is the use of the word Tongahiti, in this legend, to refer to a god of a people that initially tricked Rata. In the end helped him in his war against Puna. Even though, the name is cast differently, the meaning of this parallels the Togafiti of the Samoans. I see that the story still contained the basic characters and surroundings of the Toaga.

The legend of Rata is also told in other parts of Polynesia.

"Where is this Matuku now?" asked Rata. "Look where the sun rises from out of the sea yonder," said the mother; "there in that direction he lives." (Andersen, Myths and Legends of the Polynesians, p.174)

In Aotearoa (New Zealand), the location of the evil Matuku was east of Aotearoa. The Tahiti version positioned Matuku on the west. In Samoa, however, the legend of Rata (Lata in Samoa) was very local. The Samoan version included a war between an owl and a snake in the sacred forest, where the canoe builders were challenged to choose sides. The owl (Lata) asked for help from the two men who cut down a tree in his sacred forest while the snake advised them not to interfere. The two helped Lata defeat the snake. In the Samoan legend of "Fiti Au Mua," it's said that Fiti-Au-Mua was defeated with the help of Lefanoga (the god of war symbolized by the owl). After the snake was defeated, Lata permitted the two men to finish construction of their boat. The boat after been launched took several trips in different directions. The story of Lata also mentioned the harsh treatment of the people by a character named Atonga.

22. Rarotonga

The islands of "Rarotonga" (Cook Islands) in Samoan is "Lalotoga" - a combination of the words "Lalo" (lower) and "Toga" (Tonga). Rarotonga was probably the "lesser Toaga" or "rear Toaga." At the height of the Polynesian power in the central Pacific, Rarotonga was part of the "Toaga" force that was positioned at the rear. The Maori of Aotearoa (New Zealand) believe they came from Rarotonga. "The Rarotongas call themselves Maori, and state that their ancestors came from Hawaiki, and Pirima and Manono are the native names of two islands in the Samoan group [Savaii, Apolima, & Manono]." (12)

23. Geography

Samoans once shared a culture with those on the neighboring islands. In fact, we know that Samoans interacted with places hundred of miles away - Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands (Rarotonga), Fotuna, and Giribati - a mean distance of 700 miles. That represents roughly an area of 1.5 million square nautical miles - a little less than about half the size of the United States. Power by the wind, a boat with sail was an effective way for traveling long distances in ancient times. The distances between those islands are well within the navigational abilities of the Polynesians.

24. Various names for boat in Samoa

The basic Samoan word for boat is va'a. The Samoans also have other words to discribe different types of boats. A paopao is a small canoe. The tulula is a kind of row boat. Alia and folau are boats with sails, and the taulua is a large cannoe.

The contact with Melanesians added new words to the Polynesian language. In addition to va'a for boat, for example, the Samoans also have other words for boat. These other names for boat might have come from their contacts with other people.

"Another unusual feature of the Kimberleys is the boab tree. The boab is also known as the bottle-tree, or by its African name, the baobab. These trees, with their distinctive thick trunks, are also found in Africa, including Madagascar. There are eight species: six in Madagascar, and one each in Australia (adansonia gibbosa or gregorii) and Africa (adansonia digitati). It is said that there is evidence of them in some parts of Indonesia. They can live for up to 800 years." (Keith Del La Rue, http://delarue.net/bradshaw.htm)

The "alia" and "folau" are large canoes with sails. The "tulula" is a long boat rowed by a crew. The "paopao" is a small canoe that's most likely acquired from the Melanesians. Is it possible that the word "paopao" originated from the "baobab" tree that Del La Rue mentioned above? In Samoa, the fishing pole and the bamboo plant are both called "ofe." The fishing pole was most likely named from the bamboo plant that it's made from.

25. Returning To Familiar Places

"Come now; go back by the road you came; take people to possess the Eastern groups" (Fraser, Tala: Samoan Creation Story; Appendix D)

The aftermath of the Tonga-Fiti caused many Polynesians to ventured eastward to islands they were familiar with. Some may even go as far as the American continent itself. The Hawaiian story of Wakea shows somewhat of this.

"Wakea, expelled from Moluccan home, went south and settled in Fiji, where his people remained for about thirteen generations; and when expulsion from those islands took place is due course, several streams of migration issued simultaneously, or nearly so, to the Samoan, Tongan, Tahitian, and other eastward and northward groups. When these wandering migrants eventually reached Hawaii, from the south, they found the group already occupied by Polynesians of their own race - a people who had probably reached it directly from the west some hundreds of years earlier, and who had lived there quite isolated from the rest of the world. The lack of any history regarding them seems to indicate that they had lived in peace, and during their time of isolation they had undertaken works of considerable magnitude, the relics of which long survived." (Andersen, Myths of the Polynesians, p.363)

26. Rats

The articles written about the Pacific rat (Rattus exulan) indicate a pattern of successive migration into the Pacific, instead of one. The research findings about the Pacific rat may refute the express-train theory that some think as the way people were introduced in the middle Pacific. And when this rat was first introduced to other remote islands, such as Hawaii, it was already widely present in the central Pacific from Samoa to the Cook Islands. Research done in New Zealand showed that the Pacific rat was introduced there between 800 and 1000 years ago. Therefore, its arrival could coincide with the arrival of the first New Zealanders, the Maoris. This rat later traveled eastward towards Hawaii from the center Pacific. Doesn't that conflict with Maori traditions, which say that they came from the eastern islands? A backward movement of Polynesians would reconcile those two facts.

Samoan fables depict the rat (isumu/iole) as a cunning creature that's always driven to mischief; much like the fox in American cultures. Is it possible that the "isumu," which looks very much like a tiny version of the fox, inherited that trait from the eastern visitors? Southeast Asian traditions seem to view the rat as a benign animal that contributes to their welfare.

27. Toa, Mu'A, Moa, Maui, Maoni, Maori, Moroni?

The prefix "fa'a" in the Samoan word "fa'amaoni" (faithful, probity) is "to be like," "to act like" or "the ways of." An example is the word "fa'asamoa" that means "the Samoan way." The word "fa'amaoni" literally means, "to be like Maoni," "to act like Maoni" or "the ways of Maoni." The second part of the word "fa'amaoni" can be a noun, adjective, or verb. If "maoni" refers to a person, does it suggest a reference to the dedicated military leader, Moroni, in the Book of Mormon? Polynesia is a modern name given these people by Europeans. Could Polynesia, collectively, be called Moa or Mu'a? And where would that name come from? Could it be a variant of the name of the celebrated military Nephite leader Moroni? That's something to think about. My feeling is that the military hero and leader of the Nephite army in the war preceded Hagoth's departure into the sea was probably known by a special name, such as Ike or Storming Norman, for the military leaders of our days. He was probably nicknamed "the puma" (toh), and his uniform probably included puma skin and bird feathers. The high respect of Moroni by those who left with Hagoth was such that they retained his memory in their legends and traditions.

28. Society of warriors and a new beginning

The descendents of the Toaga force were warriors. They had no interest in art or astronomy, and were less interested in the Melanesians pottery, which they imported and used for a while. Those activities taxed too much of their time to prepare and execute wars. The "umu" was much easier to prepare anywhere with few articles to carry. At the time of the Togafiti some of these same warriors from the Toaga retreated back to the eastern islands of Polynesia. There too they didn't find working on large public projects that demanded advanced understanding of masonry appealing. They were warriors, and all they knew and preferred to do was making wars. Those who made delicate pottery and masterful structures gradually died out with the specialized knowledge. Just like the Andean priest-astronomers, who gained and maintained power by asserting divine rights, the Polynesian warriors asserted their divine rights by pilfering religion. They now claim their authorities as god given, and some even goes so far as claiming to be gods.

Gods or not, their days were numbered. Similar to what was happening in the Americas, their society came to a crossroad - their fortunes ran out, and they were forced to change. How did it all end? It's possible that the outset of the Toga-Fiti caused remnants of the Toaga Force to disperse to various locations in the Pacific (13) including far out places as Southeast Asia and South America. It's possible that this dispersal could be the way the DNA haplotype B (14) was transmitted across the expense of the Pacific and surrounding areas. There are stories that are told in some parts of Southeast Asia of strangers attacking coastal communities and chasing them inland. These strangers lived mainly in the coastal areas and were expert navigators. It's conceivable that some of them may have traveled further west - beyond what's now Indonesia. I also believe that this period in the history of the middle Pacific coincided with the destruction of the Nephite nation - about 500 A.D.