Matautu is the name of different villages inSamoa. Places named Matautu are found on the two largest islands,Upolu andSavaiʻi.
OnUpolu island;
On the island ofSavaiʻi, Matautu is a large village district on the central north coast in the electoral constituency ofGaga'emauga.[1] Matautu is made up of smallerpito-nu'u villages includingFagamalo,Avao,Lelepa,Safa'i andSaleia. In more recent historySatoʻalepai has become part of Matautu. Situated inland from Lelepa areVaipouli College and Itu-o-Tane High School. Matautu share strong kinship and cultural ties as well as natural resources including water which is piped from an inland river at Vaipouli.
During the late 1800s and the colonial era of Samoa, Fagamalo, which had a wharf and anchorage, became the main government administration centre on Savai'i. The centre included a hospital, school and court houses.Tui Fiti a spirit deity inSamoan mythology resides in a sacred grovevao sa in Fagamalo.
TheReverend George Pratt (1817–1894), a missionary of theLondon Missionary Society lived in Matautu for many years. Pratt authored the first Samoan English language dictionaryA Grammar and Dictionary of the Samoan Language, with English and Samoan Vocabulary, first printed in 1862.[2]
According to oral history, Matautu is the district which takes the lead in the attack during war. Matautu is also said to have been settled byFijians[3] or people from a place called Fiti.
