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Samoan Material Culture

Fruit Plants

Fruit Plants

The banana (fa'i) is planted as food not only for the ripe fruit but also for cooking. Not much care is taken in selecting good plants or taking care of the cultivation. Holes are made and the plant stuck in to take its chance.

The Samoans divide bananas into the soa'a (plantains) and fa'i. There are three kinds of soa'a, distinguished by the fruit: soa'a, smallest and longest; sulasula, intermediate in size; fa'i puta, large and short.

Of the other bananas, a large number of varieties are recognized as the following list from Leone shows:

Native Recognized As Foreign
Fa'i mamae ulu. Fa'i papalangi (Cavendish)
Fa'i mamae se Fa'i fuamanalunga
Fa'i samoa Fa'i fuamalolo
Fa'i latetele Fa'i faaleongolua
Fa'i usi Fa'i Tonga
Fa'i pu'a Fa'i Niue
Fa'i ilimanifi Fa'i misi luki
Fa'i usi se
Fa'I malama'a
Fa'i tapuaota
Fa'i pipi'o
Fa'i vavaileta
Fa'i pulu
Fa'i pata
Fa'i toemanu (wild, not eaten)
page 550

The breadfruit ('ulu, Artocarpus incisa) grows in the villages and affords shade as well as fruit. It is also grown back in the cultivations. A large number of varieties are named as in the following list by Mr. Judd (17, 2, p. 31):

Puou, round fruit, best house timber. Ea.
Ma'afala, long fruit. Fau.
Sangosango, yellowish flesh. Aveloloa, best for tafolo.
Ma'a, long fruit, yellowish flesh. Tala.
Mase. Poututono
Manu'a. Pousina.

The maopo has no divisions in the leaves, which are used as plate for foods such as fa'ausi and tafolo.

There are four seasons (fuata). The fuata starts with the flowering of the fruit and it is two months before the fruit is properly mature for eating. The approximate months of each season are: 1. Fuata mafu i ato seu (about March); 2. Fuata ta'oto (May). After the westerly winds, the trees which have been blown down, still bear in the prone position as long as a root connection with the ground is maintained. Hence the name of ta'oto (lying down) is used. 3. Fuata tu fa'amanu (August). Again after the seven winds, the leaves are blown off the trees and the fruit shows up in the stalks like birds (tu fa'amanu). 4. Fuata a le tau (October).

The coconut (niu, Cocos nucifera) seems to be planted anywhere regard less of order, distances apart, or elevation from the sea. Many seem to have been taken up on the hillsides to show that someone has had a cultivation in a seemingly inaccessible spot. Many trees have grown up close together from the fallen fruit being allowed to take care of themselves. Carelessness as to progressive planting exists and the people take up the attitude in many instances that the coconuts will take care of themselves. An increasing reluctance to use the climbing bandage has resulted in steps being cut in the trunks to afford toe holds. The trees deteriorate and when a storm lakes place, the trees snap off at one of the cut steps. Various names are applied to different kinds of coconuts but a list was not collected.

The trees are all privately owned, but no objection is raised to travellers taking drinking nuts so long as they do not abuse the privilege. Special trees set apart for copra or other purposes are marked with a sign termed a tapui to indicate that they are prohibited. Such prohibitions are also made on the trees devoted to assisting the income of the church. When the mature nuts are collected for commercial copra, they are stacked up around stakes to which they are fastened. (See Plate L, B.)

Other plants, such as the maile lau li'i for wreaths and the au'u'u for fish poison, may be planted for use.