More so than most other Polynesian languages, the Samoan language is highly stratified. The common spoken form of Samoan used among friends and peers, for example, would be inappropriate for public speaking at both traditional and non-traditional gatherings. At these kinds of events, Gagana Fa‘aaloalo (Respect Language) and Gagana Fa‘afailauga (Chiefly Language/Oratory) are used. Both of these speech registers interweave into the language references to Samoan history, genealogies, and, more recently, the Christian bible. The first book in this series, ‘o si manu a ali‘i, was written primarily to provide linguistic background for these registers. This second book, ‘O Faia Fa‘atumua o Samoa mai Tala o le Vavau, provides the core knowledge necessary to understand the high level of interplay in Samoan oratory between language and history.
