Abstract:
While evidence for a strong, long-standing, and direct connection between Samoa and Tonga before European contact is well known, this paper provides a case study of Samoa–Tonga interaction by indigenous agency. It shows that the Samoan fale afolau (long house) is convincingly interpreted as an historic introduction from Tonga, with Samoan modification, which served as an early Christian chapel design. A Tongan origin for the fale afolau is an especially contested viewpoint in present-day S amoa, where many consider it to be a truly indigenous design.
