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The Kaumaile is a wooden spear treasured by the people of Nanumea, Tuvalu. According to Nanumean myth, it was brought to the island by Tefolaha, from Samoa or Tonga, and had been used in battle, including to kill giants. The spear is central to Nanumean traditional history as their most important ancestral relic, and is featured on the letterhead of the Nanumean kaupule and the letterhead of Nanufuti, a community of Nanumeans in Funafuti.

Description

The Kaumaile is approximately 1.8 meters long (5 feet and 11 inches), heavy, and made of a dense, dark brown, fine-grained wood from an Australian pine tree. It's blade is flared and had raised welts where the handle widens to become the blade. The spear was made circa. 1070 A.D. It is considered a mea Taaua by the Nanumeans, which means it is highly valued or precious.

History

The Kaumaile is believed to have been brought to Nanumea by Tefolaha (circa 1375 AD), from either Samoa or Tonga, where he had used it valiantly in battle. Upon arriving in Nanumea, Tefolaha is said to have found it inhabited by two women, Pai and Vau. Tefolaha made an agreement with Pai and Vau that he could have Nanumea if he could guess their names and they could guess his, because in Polynesian culture to know someone's name was to have power over them. Tefolaha would climb a palm tree and use a wooden hook on a piece of twine to trick the women into shouting their names. He would guess their names correctly but they would not be able to guess his and would be forced to leave. Nanumean traditions describe the islets, Te Motu Foliki, Lafogaki, and Teaafua a Taepoa, as being formed when sand spilled from the baskets of two women, Pai and Vau, when they were forced off Nanumea. Upon Tefolaha's death, his descendants would inherit the spear, and upon their death, their descendants would, which continued for ~23 generations.

One of Tefolaha's descendants was Lapi. After a careless fisherman accidentally tossed a fish hook into the eye of Lupo, a Tongan prince, the Tongans would send a raid party, led by a giant, to Nanumea. Lapi would use the Kaumaile to slay the giant Tuulapoupou on Nanumea's southwestern reef flat. While doing this, Lapi had to call the spirit of Tefolaha for help, via saying the phrase, "Tefolaha tou hoa!" This phrase is thought to hold magical power for Nanumeans and can help one even if they so much as think it. Today, Nanumeans will pour the last of their drink on the ground (if the drink is pi or kaleve/coconut sap) and say the miraculous phrase, as a way of honoring Tefolaha. There are Nanumean holidays dedicated to Tefolaha and Lapi as well, known as Po Oh Tefolaha and Po Oh Lapi. Tefolaha's sons and daughters are today the founding ancestors of leading families and the seven chiefly lineages of Nanumea.

In the either the late 1890s or early 1900s, G. B. Smith Rewse (known to the Nanumeans as Misi Lusi), a British colonial administrator, came to know about the Kaumaile. He would then take the spear from Teuki, a descendant of Lapi, and would bring it to England. The Kaumaile was given up willingly, the Nanumeans likely hoping the officials would provide them with more information on the spear's age and where it originated. Tests were conducted, according to Nanumean elders, but they do not know which ones or any details. Regardless, they apparently proved the spear was roughly 8 centuries old at the time. The Kaumaile was lost for many years afterward. Later, in 1936 or 1937, Teuki's descendant, Manuella, who was working in the phosphate mines on Banaba, would spot the Kaumaile in a Mr. Barley's (some name a Mr. McClure instead) office. He would reclaim the spear and bring it back to Nanumea sometime during the late 1930s.

In 1974 the Kaumaile was entrusted to Seselo by his adoptive father, Manuella.

References

1. "More about the Kaumaile". nanumea.net.
2. Franz, Angelika (May 30, 2014). "Südsee-Speer: Hamburger Forscher bestimmt Holzart". Der Spiegel – via www.spiegel.de.
3. "Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Result" (PDF). GNS Science. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
4. "2D Animated Short Film "Pai & Vau" | Tales From Nanumea: Episode 1". November 13, 2008 – via YouTube.
5. Taulu Isako (1983). "Chapter 7 – Nanumea". In Laracy, Hugh (ed.). Tuvalu: A History. Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific and Government of Tuvalu. p. 49.
6. "Defeat of Tulaapoupou". YouTube. 28 February 2013.
7. [https://nanumea.net/PDF%20files%20used%20in%20NEA%20website/Kaumaile%20test%20results%20fax%20from%20Heta%20Lazrus%20(translated%20by%20Lopati).pdf "Halaga o te matua o te Kaumaile kite fakaogaga o te vaega hukehukega ko te Radiocarbon test"] nanumea.net 2007

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