A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Turner’s Savaiʻi account says that Vave came from Tonga and was associated with a bird called Manualii. Other local accounts use a pigeon or a rail. The pigeon account links an inland tree to refuge for pursued people and explains its protective standing through the memory of a deceased ruler. Vave’s manifestations therefore accompany different places and social relationships.

The rail account includes a narrated response to Tongan invasion: the formidable fighter One is killed by Tuato after Vave’s assistance is sought. A further episode has Vave repel gods who try to erect a rocky precipice between the village and the sea; they instead make the high coast in another district. A household eel account interprets the animal’s appearance among stored mats during illness as a death sign. These episodes do not prescribe one shared bird body, fighting omen or literal geological cause.

Local bird manifestationsProtective tree associationRepels precipice-building godsHousehold eel variant
01

Origins & earliest records

Turner’s missionary collection first appeared in 1884; the hosted edition identifies the 1984 University of the South Pacific reprint. The numbered local accounts record varying associations without identifying individual informants for this entry.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete Chapter IV numbered entry 43, Vave. Its separately situated versions supply these associations; reported supernatural causation and the author’s missionary judgments remain distinguished from independently verified events.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Samoa, A Hundred Years Ago and Long Before, Chapter IV, 43, Vave

    George Turner, missionary collector · 1884 original; hosted transcription identifies 1984 reprint

    Complete numbered local accounts; forms, locations and narrative functions distinguished.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary collected account in historical missionary editionTurner, Chapter IV: Gods Superior—War and General Village GodsResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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