Vailima, Samoa Explained

Official Name:Vailima
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Samoa
Pushpin Mapsize:300
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Samoa
Subdivision Type1:District
Subdivision Name1:Tuamasaga
Population As Of:2016
Population Total:769
Timezone:-11

Vailima is the name of a village on the island of Upolu, about four miles south of Apia, the capital of Samoa, the island nation in the Pacific Ocean. The population is 769.[1] Vailima is part of the electoral political district Tuamasaga.

Origins

The name Vailima means "water in the hand", according to an old Samoan tale. A woman gave some water (vai) in her hand (lima) to help her thirsty companion. A widely quoted misinterpretation states that the name means "five waters", as the word "lima" means both "hand" and "five" in Samoan.[2]

Connections with Robert Louis Stevenson

The village is most known as the location of the last residence of Robert Louis Stevenson, named "Villa Vailima", which is now the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum.[3] The estate has had a varied past with it functioning further as the residence for the governor of German Samoa, the administrator of the New Zealand mandatory authority and the Samoan head of state. It is now a museum in honour of Stevenson and has been substantially restored.[4]

Stevenson is buried in a tomb on Mount Vaea overlooking Vailima. He had two wishes for his burial, to be buried on the top of Mount Vaea and to be buried with his boots on as he used those boots to walk on the Samoan lands.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Census 2016 Preliminary count . Samoa Bureau of Statistics . 7 . 2 August 2021 . 16 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220316121144/https://www.sbs.gov.ws/digi/1-Preliminary%20count%20report%202016.V2.pdf . live .
  2. Theroux . Joseph . Some Misconceptions about RLS . The Journal of Pacific History . 1981 . 16 . 3 . 164–166 . 10.1080/00223348108572422 . 25168472 .
  3. Bennett . E.M. . Representations and belonging: a brief study of the social contexts of museums in Samoa and Fiji . Senior Capstone Projects . 1 January 2017 . 3 June 2023 . 26 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220226140658/https://digitalwindow.vassar.edu/senior_capstone/642/ . live .
  4. Web site: Robert Louis Stevenson Museum. 2021-05-16. Atlas Obscura. en. 2021-05-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20210516185526/https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/robert-louis-stevenson-museum. live.
  5. Web site: IN THE WAKE OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON . Tara Expeditions . 2 December 2016 . 29 August 2021 . 29 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210829062845/https://oceans.taraexpeditions.org/en/jdb/dans-le-sillage-de-robert-louis-stevenson-2/ . live .