Posted by Shane on July 02, 2008 at 23:17:54:
I heard some family members talking about a recent murder in Samoa. You might have read about it somewhere, about that young guy who was beaten up by a bunch of other young guys, something about gambling.
From over hearing this conversation I learnt more about this case. The guy who died was from my Father's family's area of Vaivase, and this guy once wanted to go out with my younger sister when she was living in Samoa a while back, and the boys who murdered this guy were "tama mai Maagiagi". Apparently this guy was walking home from work through a cemetary that divides Maagiagi (I think) and Vaivase. This cemetary is where guys from the general area hang out and drink. The guy stopped his trip and made the mistake of socializing with these Maagiagi boys.
What got my interest about this story, was my past experience of living in that area during a trip back to Samoa long ago, and our boys' attitude towards the boys from Maagiagi. The local boys would always speak of the guys from Maagiagi like they were some dark and deadly force. If we saw a dark figure standing down at the end of our long road we would shout out "Pe se tama mai Maagiagi!" then we'd all start running and laughing, afraid and thrilled at the same time. Even if we didn't see anyone but imagined some danger lurking in the scrub, people would warn of the tama mai Maagiagi.
I think Maagiagi is the traditional local village of that area, which is part of urban Apia, everyone else is originally from other areas.
My older sister was once married to a man from Maagiagi (he will always be my brother in-law), and it seems to me that the Primal Samoan machismo is very strong with them (my nephews follow after their father). The earthy primitiveness we cast on those boys from Maagiagi were not just in our imaginations.
The guy who recently got beaten to death in the graveyard, should of heeded the old Vaivase Tai myth of the dangerous, primal Maagiagi boys.
The End.