Disputatio:Salamasina

Reges

UV, I see you've imposed the category "Reges" on this illustrious lady, perhaps in imitation of what unknown partisans have done to the English version. The concept is more problematic than you may have imagined. Historians suggest that the notion of kingship was brought to the islands by Europeans; until then, the local (unwritten) constitution recognized the rule of four large families & districts, each with its own highest title. Salamasina's accomplishment was to combine these titles in her person. (IIRC, she didn't acquire a fifth important title, that of Tui Manu'a, way off in the east in the Manu'a Islands, which remained politically remote from the rest of the archipelago). So, from the European perspective, she ruled "all of Samoa" (all that constitutionally counted), and if you're not going to call her a dictator, what's left if not to call her a queen? But the union of the titles dissolved on her death; later historical figures tried to reunite them—and a few succeeded, but, as always, their union dissolved with death. So you see at once how the dynastic element of kingship is missing. ¶ Then too, the Samoan language has developed from the word tupu 'grow, growth, increase' the new concept of 'king' or 'queen', but the word may have begun to be used in this sense only in the nineteenth century, and it almost certainly wasn't applied to Salamasina by her contemporaries, who considered her, rather, to be tafaʻifā, 'sided-in-four', 'four-sided', 'squared'. That's the peak of local honors, not something like a mere "kingship"! ¶ Several subsequent historical figures acquired three of the titles. Does that make them three-fourths of a king? And more acquired just two of the titles. Half-kings?! IacobusAmor 23:14, 5 Decembris 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, I was lead by (mis?)reading the article at en: into adding this category. I now replaced it by Categoria:Duces civitatum. Is this acceptable? (Can we consider the land and the people she ruled a civitas?) Please feel free to change or remove this category if it does not cover the concept well! --UV 23:24, 5 Decembris 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it's interesting how freely European-American concepts can be taken over by non-European-Americans. You'll hear Samoans nowadays speaking (with abandon!) of King This and Princess That. One doesn't doubt that something like that attitude has affected numerous websites purporting to give accurate histories. ¶ A European idea that may come close to matching any of the four highest Samoan titles is that of the chief of a Scottish clan. Imagine that Scotland had four such chieftainships, and that every century or two, a man of great character (and good fortune) successfully managed to claim all of them. He might seem a temporary king, but something feels wrong about thinking of him so. ¶ Categoria:Duces civitatum should be OK for now, though civitas is a bit odd for something that's technically a family, not a state. Maybe the most analogous European concept would be "mafia boss"! IacobusAmor 23:35, 5 Decembris 2008 (UTC)