Sauniatu, Samoa

Isolated high in the mountains and nestled in a lush tropical valley is Sauniatu.  We winded up a narrow road and when the road ended it truly looked like we had reached Shangri-la.  It was beautiful!

These two young girls were sitting in the little fale behind the sign and I asked if I could take their picture.  They were very shy, but after a little coaxing (on my part),  and a lot of giggling (on their part), they agreed.

Samoa's system of government is interesting.  Although there is a central government, most of the power rests with the village chiefs called Matai.  Each village chief makes the rules for his own village.  We also learned that if someone were to break the law, it would be the village that would take care of the situation, punish or impose a penalty.  We learned some of the rules of Sauniatu by reading this sign posted as you enter the village.

A group of fales built to honor a Mormon leader, (who later became the worldwide leader and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints),  who visited  Sauniatu and left a blessing on the village many years ago.