From Tongan Meeting House to Samoan Chapel: A Recent Tongan Origin for the Samoan Fale Āfolau

While evidence for a strong, long-standing, and direct connection between Sāmoa and Tonga before European contact is well known, this paper provides a case study of Sāmoa-Tonga interaction by indigenous agency. It shows that the Samoan fale āfolau (long house) is convincingly interpreted as an histo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of Pacific history 2008-06, Vol.43 (1), p.23-49
Main Authors: Barnes, Shawn S., Green, Roger C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archaeological surveys
Architecture
Asian history
Case studies
Christian churches
Christian missionaries
Christianity
Cultural interaction
Design
Dwellings
Excavations
Fale Tele
Historical archaeology
House
Houses
Indigenous culture
Indigenous populations
Material culture
Meeting houses
Missions
Pacific Ocean region: Social history
Polynesian studies
Religious buildings
Samoa
Social interaction
Tonga
Tonga (Polynesia)
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:While evidence for a strong, long-standing, and direct connection between Sāmoa and Tonga before European contact is well known, this paper provides a case study of Sāmoa-Tonga interaction by indigenous agency. It shows that the Samoan fale āfolau (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 āfolau is an especially contested viewpoint in present-day Sāmoa, where many consider it to be a truly indigenous design.
ISSN:0022-3344
1469-9605
DOI:10.1080/00223340802054594