styles, reading, writing, and a foreign education system. As the L.M.S. and other missionary societies developed themselves in the region, the “ecumenical” climate declined while the initial objective of “non-denominational” became more doctrinaire.37
L.M.S. in Sāmoa
Rev. John Williams,38 also known as Ioane Viliamu, became the famed pālagi who first evangelized and introduced the organized religion of L.M.S. in Sāmoa. Named the “Apostle of the south seas,” Williams started his missionary work in Tahiti in 1816.39 Williams’ name became forever synonymous with Sāmoa’s conversion to Christianity; specifically, the change from pō (night) to mālamalama (light). The L.M.S. Board in London had initially removed Sāmoa from their mission grid map due to the attack of La Pérouse and his Frenchman on the village of A’asu in Tutuila Island in 1787.40 Williams felt “called” to Sāmoa and the New Hebrides, and pleaded with the L.M.S. Board, in as early as 1824, to redirect the mission field to the “untouched” islands. The incident with La Pérouse redefined the peaceful Navigator islands of the Pacific as “savage.” Although viewed as dangerous initially, the Sāmoan Islands proved to be an overwhelming “success” in the establishment of a Pacific ministry and native converts.
37 Gunson, Messenger of Grace, 330; Bosch, Transforming Mission, 332.
38 John Williams was born in the year L.M.S. was formed and grew up as an apprentice to an ironmonger. He was around ironwork most of his life and those skills were useful in building the Messenger of Peace. At the age of eighteen, he dedicated his life as a devoted Christian and in 1816, he left England for the South Seas as a missionary for the L.M.S. Moved by his devotion to the Christian mission, his motto was “For my own part I cannot content myself within the narrow limits of a single reef.” See: Horne, The Story of the L.M.S., 41-42.
39 Horne, The Story of the L.M.S., 41.
40 The La Pérouse Expedition to Upolu and Tutuila in 1787 resulted in the death of Captain Vaisseau de Langle, (second in command to La Pérouse), French crewmen, and Sāmoans. Tuiteleapaga writes that the initial contact with La Pérouse and the French sailors was peaceful, which included a special ‘ava’ ceremony which is the highest honor given to guests. During this unscheduled arrival, the village of A’asu on Tutuila was hosting guests from the village of Falelatai, Upolu. After the welcome, the Frenchmen and Sāmoans traded goods. On the ship, a Sāmoan man was caught “stealing” a leg of ham under his arm. He was disciplined by tying his right hand and hoisting him to the mast. The offender was not from A’asu, but from Falelatai and this angered the guests of Falelatai as well as some A’asu villagers. A heated battle ensued resulting in the death of Capt. De Langle, some of the crew and Sāmoans.
This incident at A’asu Bay, known as Massacre Bay was not easy for the people of A’asu. An enclosed monument was erected in 1863 in honor of the dead. See: Napolene Tuiteleleapaga. 1980. Sāmoa Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Great Neck: Todd & Honeywell, Inc., 144-148.
In 1824, while at the L.M.S. site in Rarotonga, Williams “began more seriously to think of taking a voyage” to the two island groups untouched by the L.M.S. missionaries, Sāmoa and New Hebrides. After Williams had received approval from the L.M.S. leadership in London, he planned accordingly to set out on a “dangerous” journey. However, Williams’ wife fell ill while in the field and pleaded with her husband not to go, which he wrote, “induced me to relinquish, for a time, my voyage to the ‘Navigator Islands’ or Sāmoa.”41 Months later, Mrs. Williams retracted her plea and offered her blessings to her husband. Williams then wrote, “I looked upon it as the first indication of Providence favorable to my design, and began immediately to devise the means by which I might carry it out in execution.”42 Williams faced an obstacle, because he had no ship for transportation to Sāmoa. The chiefs of Rarotonga encouraged Williams to build his own vessel to travel to Sāmoa and offered the Gospel to the islands, which was initially denied by the L.M.S. Directors. Despite limited shipbuilding knowledge, at the end of three months, Williams and the laborers from Rarotonga completed The Messenger of Peace, sixty feet in length and eighteen feet in breadth.
The sturdy missionary ship used material gathered from Rarotonga and abroad.
Missionaries en route to Rarotonga or Tahiti brought the necessary parts of the ship from London to complete this huge project. Moreover, the Messenger of Peace reflected the commitment of Williams to the cause of missions and the Great Commission. From Rarotonga, Williams sailed 170 miles and visited the next L.M.S. station at Aitutaki to test the stability of the vessel before sailing to Tahiti, the main L.M.S. station. John Williams, Charles Barff, six Tahitians, and two Aitutakians sailed for Sāmoa on 24 May 1830.43 Before reaching Sāmoa, Williams met the
41 John Williams. 2009. A Narrative of Missionary Enterprise in the South Seas. First published in 1837, London: J.
Snow, 142.
42 Ibid., 143.
43 Umia, Teava, Moia, Boti, Tereauone, Anea, Tuatone,and and Ratu. See: Meleisea, Lagaga, 58.
Wesleyan Missionaries, Nathaniel Turner and William Cross, in Tonga and discussed the best methods to communicate the Gospel effectively. During the brief meeting in Tonga, the missionaries reached an amicable verbal agreement that the Wesleyans would continue their ministry to the Fiji Islands and Tonga, but Sāmoa will be reserved for the L.M.S. According to Williams, the separation of the denominations were not based on doctrinal differences, rather the differences in the “modes of worship” would require explanations and lead to potential divisions.44 The directors in London reached a more formal written agreement between the L.M.S. and the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society in 1836. However, Williams and Barff witnessed the close cultural and familial connections between Tonga and Sāmoa, that exposed several Sāmoans to Christianity through their Methodist kin from Tonga.45
Williams met two Sāmoan Christians in Tonga, chief Faueā and his wife Puaseisei.
Faueā served as an interpreter and cultural specialist for Williams, given his status as a Sāmoan matai. After a week in Tonga, Williams, Faueā and the missionaries sailed for Sāmoa. On the journey, Faueā encouraged Williams by predicting that the matai of Sāmoa would accept the message, but he feared that chief Tamafaigā would stop his efforts to spread the Gospel. Faueā, a close kin of the Malietoa family, sailed for Sapapalii in Savai’i, the seat of the paramount chief Malietoa Vainu’upō. As the Messenger of Peace neared the shore, Sāmoans traveled out in canoes to greet the new visitors. Faueā asked, “Where is Tamafaigā?” and the greeters responded, “Tamafaigā is dead!” Williams said that Faueā expressed so much joy that he ran
44 John Garrett. 1974. “The Conflict between the London Missionary Society and the Wesleyan Methodists in 19th Century Sāmoa.” The Journal of Pacific History 9(1): 68.
45 A Sāmoan matai named Saiva’aia embraced Christianity while in Tonga in either 1828 or 1829, prior to Williams’
arrival. He returned with Tongan converts and persuaded two villages, Tafua and Salelologa on Savai’i to accept Christianity. See: Andrew Robson. 2009. "Malietoa, Williams and Sāmoa's Embrace of Christianity." The Journal of Pacific History, 44(1): 23. Malietoa Vainu’upō confessed to Williams that he heard of the lotu. Perhaps, Malietoa is referring to interactions with Tongan Methodist converts.
toward him shouting Ua mate le Devolo, ua mate le Devolo, interpreted as “The devil is dead, the devil is dead!”46
The L.M.S. witnessed that the “successful” Sāmoan mission and the “easy embrace of Christianity” included material goods, and was not purely faith-based. Williams recorded the words of the Sāmoan Christian Faueā on his first interaction with his fellow men when the Messenger of Peace docked at Sapapali’i in Savai’i. Faueā had stated,
‘Can the religion of these wonderful papalagis be anything but wise and good?’ said our friend to his naked countrymen, who by this time had filled the deck, and who, with outstretched necks and gaping mouths, were eagerly catching the words as they fell from his lips: ‘Let us look at them, and then look at ourselves; their heads are covered, while ours are exposed to the heat of the sun and the wet of the rain; their bodies are clothed all over with beautiful cloth, while we have nothing but a bandage of leaves around our waist; they have clothes upon their very feet, while ours are like the dogs’;- and then look at their axes, their scissors, and their other property, how rich they are!’47
The L.M.S. missionaries arrived at a somewhat shocked and surprised group of Sāmoans;
the atmosphere in the islands remained intense because of the raging War of Ā’ana. Malietoa Vainu’upō avenged the death of his kin, Tamafaigā, the devolo. The battle damaged the villages and divided the families in Sāmoa. Upon arrival, the missionaries witnessed a “destructive blaze” and smoke in certain areas. Williams also recorded that Malietoa had ravaged the houses of the opposition, desolated the plantations, and chased them to the mountains.48 The arrival of Williams and his crew came at an opportune time, because even though the war was raging in the islands, the Sāmoans connected to Tonga initially heard the Gospel through their family members who had converted to the Wesleyan Christian sect. According to Williams, Malietoa Vainu’upō “professed to be highly delighted and said that he had heard of the lotu, and being desirous of instruction, was truly glad that we had come to impart it.”49 In addition to the
46 Williams, A Narrative of Missionary Enterprise, 325.
47 Ibid., 327-328.
48 Ibid., 335.
49 Ibid., 334.
exposure from their converted Tongan kin, beachcombers on the island had earlier introduced Christianity in a very informal way.50
Williams never intended to stay long during his first arrival. The objective of the short one-week stay allowed ample contact with the Sāmoans and ensured the proper treatment of the eight native missionaries before his return to Raiatea with Barff. Today, Sāmoans praise Williams and Barff as the sole contributors to the spread of the Gospel. However, it is also true that six Ma’ohi and two Aitutakian teachers remained on the island on Williams’ departure and started the Sāmoan ministry.51 After Williams’ departure, the native teachers dispersed throughout Sāmoa under the leadership and care of the different chiefs.52 Williams returned two years later in 1832 together with Rev. Aaron Buzacott and the king of Rarotonga, Makea.
On his return to Savaiʻi in 1832, Williams and his crew first stopped at the eastern islands of Manu’a. Surprised, Williams noticed that the Gospel had reached the Manu’a islands within the two years since his departure. When the missionaries neared the shores of Manu’a, Sāmoan men paddled canoes toward them. Sāmoans expressed excitement and hoped for more missionaries. Williams realized that the conversion of Manu’a happened not as a result of the L.M.S., but rather by the natives of Ravavai.53 Lost at sea for three months, converted Ravavai men had drifted approximately 2,000 miles toward Manu’a.
Williams was delighted by the spread of the Good News in Sāmoa. When Williams arrived at the waters of Tutuila, a chief met the missionaries with great excitement. According to Williams’ account, the chief asked, “Where is our teacher?” Williams stated, “I was truly
50 Beachcombers shared the Gospel to people of the Pacific and “made no conscious attempt to change island life,”
but “explained many aspects of the incoming civilization.” See: Caroline Ralston. 1978. Grass Huts and Warehouses: Pacific Beach Communities of the Nineteenth Century. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaiʻi, 42.
51 Lange, Island Ministers, 79-80.
52 Umia to Palauli, Teava to Manono, Moia to Falelātai, Boti to Mulifanua, Tereauone to Sale’imoa, Anea to Apia, Tuatone to Pago Pago and Ratu to Leone. See: Meleisea, Lagaga, 58.
53 Ravavai is located in French Polynesia.
grieved at being compelled to tell him that I had no missionary. On hearing this, he was affected almost to tears, and would scarcely believe me; for he imagined that the vessel was full of missionaries and that I could easily supply the demand.”54
Once Williams reached the western islands, Matetau of Manono was provided with a Rarotongan missionary named Teava. Ever since 1830, Malietoa Vainu’upō had become a committed Christian. Vainu’upō, renamed Tavita or David, promised protection to the native teachers left under his care. After three weeks in Sāmoa, Williams received more requests for missionaries to teach Christianity to the natives. The requests overwhelmed Williams, and he wrote, “But I am only one, and there are eight islands in the group, and the people are so numerous that the work is too great for any individual.”55 Malietoa gave Williams his mana and blessings to return with more servants of God. Malietoa stated, “go, go with speed; obtain all the Missionaries you can, and come again as soon as possible.”56 One may argue that Malietoa’s
“conversion” meant an opportunity for him to gain material wealth from the West. Sāmoans today view the interactions between Malietoa and Williams as the beginning of Sāmoa’s in-depth commitment to practice the new religion, as opposed to the old. Not long after this contact, Sāmoans, including Malietoa, desecrated families and village gods and turned to the new Ātua (God). A polytheistic Sāmoa gradually became monotheistic, with the matai at the lead.
The presence of the L.M.S. in Sāmoa introduced a new moral compass that led to a more peaceful society. To successfully achieve his goals, Williams strategically forged relationships with the paramount chiefs to effectively spread the Gospel. The committed impact of the L.M.S.
slowly changed the way people lived and believed. To successfully Christianize the islands, Sāmoans needed to avoid “war, revenge, adultery, theft, lying, cheating, their obscene dances,
54 Williams, A Narrative of Missionary Enterprise, 416.
55 Ibid., 430.
56 Ibid.
and many of their pastimes.”57 Although viewed as surface changes, the “true commitment” to the Gospel for Sāmoans happened as a result of their leadership responsibilities in Sāmoa and abroad in the mission field.
Rev. Charles Barff and Rev. Charles Buzacott both arrived to Sāmoa in 1834 with literature and published material written in the Sāmoan vernacular. The distributed pamphlets and literature started a wave of literacy in the islands. A year later, Rev. George Pratt arrived in Sāmoa and wrote the first Sāmoan dictionary, which was used as a learning tool by the new missionaries to the islands. The L.M.S. missionaries produced effective publications, focused on Christian ideologies, and propagated a strong biblical message. Missionaries set up “Day Schools” in the villages to teach reading and writing. While the L.M.S. slowly established themselves in Sāmoa, Williams made his way back to London, recorded his experiences in the South Pacific, and entitled his bestseller A Narrative of Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands.58 At a stop in Sydney, a ship captain shared the story of the rise of Christianity in Sāmoa with Williams. According to the captain, rather than muskets and powders, Sāmoans and the Rarotonga desired “missionaries, books, pens, ink, slates, and paper” and generally, the
“missionaries were loved by the people.”59 Literacy helped Sāmoans read the Bible, record family genealogies, communicate through letters, and spread the Gospel to various other missionary sites. The successful conversion of Sāmoans proved to be a powerful testament to the work of the L.M.S. in the Sāmoan mission field. According to the Missionary Chronicle of 1840,
57 Ibid., 432.
58 The money gathered from the proceeds of the book allowed the L.M.S. to purchase a new vessel, the Camden, which would return to the Pacific with more missionaries dedicated to the cause. Williams would return to Sāmoa in 1838, having witnessed the quick spread of this message and the success of his L.M.S. missionaries and native teachers.
59 James A. Huie. 1842. History of Christian Missions: From the Reformation to the Present Time. Edinburgh:
Oliver & Boyd, 340.
At the time, 1838, there were in Upolu twenty thousand natives who professed Christianity; on Savai’i, between twelve and thirteen thousand; on Manono, one thousand; and in Tutuila, six thousand: altogether, nearly forty thousand, within the short space of eight years after the visit of the first Christian missionaries to the islands.60
The area once labeled “savage islands” became an excellent example of “success” for the London Missionary Society. Baptisms and catechisms took place throughout Sāmoa; as a result, both the young and the old received and accepted the Gospel.
Perhaps the initial acceptance of Williams and the Gospel was connected more with Sāmoan myths and legends as opposed to the actual message. According to Sāmoan legend, the war goddess Nāfanua prophesied that a “government from the heavens” would fall upon Sāmoa.
The Matai of Sāmoa believed that the arrival of the Messenger of Peace was that government from the Lagi or Heavens as prophesied. An incestuous relationship between an aitu who ruled pulotu (underworld) and his sister’s daughter, Tilafaigā, an aitu herself, gave birth to Nafanua.
At a certain stage of her pregnancy, Tilafaigā aborted the baby and buried the ‘alualu toto’ or clot of blood. From the ground was born Nāfanua, translated as “Hidden in Earth.” Sāmoans feared the warrior goddess Nāfanua and her supernatural abilities and strength. After Nafanua had conquered the entire island of Savai’i and assisted the Ā’ana district on Upolu against its rivals, the goddess received the paramount titles of the Sāmoa: Tui-Ātua, Tui-Ā’ana, Gatoaitele, and Tamasoali’i. Rather than holding the titles for herself, Nafanua transferred the four pāpā titles to heradopted daughter, Salamāsina, the first tafaifā or paramount chief of Sāmoa. Nafanua conquered Sāmoa and distributed its sections to the allied chiefs. A great matai named Malietoa Fitisemanu arrived too late, but still asked for his share of the government or malō. Being apologetic, Nāfanua stated, “Ua e susū mai Mālietoa ‘ua te’a atu Ao o malō, ‘ae fa’atali ia i le
60 Ellis, The History of the London Missionary Society, 374.
lagi se Ao o lou malō.”61 Nāfanua assured Malietoa that she had dispersed the “head” of the governments among the different chiefs, hence only the “tail end” existed. The warrior goddess encouraged Malietoa to await a new “head” government from the heavens. The Nāfanua prophecy, also called the valo’aga a Nāfanua, was fulfilled a generation later when John Williams arrived to Malietoa Fitisemanu’s son, Malietoa Vainu’upō, with the Messenger of Peace. Sāmoans believed that the arrival of Williams was a fulfillment of the prophecy.
Consequently, the L.M.S. influenced every aspect of Sāmoan life, including its government and village affairs.62 In his book, Narrative of Missionary Enterprise in the South Seas, Williams made no reference to Nafanua or any discussion of the prophesy. The question remains whether this discussion happened years later, or if the Sāmoans had immediately made the connection the moment John Williams arrived at the shores of Sapapali’i. Based on the lack of evidence found in Williams’ book, the connection between Nafanua and the arrival of John Williams may have
Consequently, the L.M.S. influenced every aspect of Sāmoan life, including its government and village affairs.62 In his book, Narrative of Missionary Enterprise in the South Seas, Williams made no reference to Nafanua or any discussion of the prophesy. The question remains whether this discussion happened years later, or if the Sāmoans had immediately made the connection the moment John Williams arrived at the shores of Sapapali’i. Based on the lack of evidence found in Williams’ book, the connection between Nafanua and the arrival of John Williams may have