page_title: Manuʻa Islands
section_title: The Tui Manu'a
hierarchical_section_title: Manuʻa Islands / History / The Tui Manu'a
caption_attribution_description: Tui Manu'a Elisala the last sovereign of Manu'a Islands in American Samoa
context_page_description: The Manuʻa Islands, or the Manuʻa tele, in the Samoan Islands, consists of three main islands: Taʻū, Ofu and Olosega. The latter two are now connected by a bridge over the shallow 137-meter-wide Āsaga Strait. The islands are located some 110 kilometers east of Tutuila and are a part of American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States; their area is 56 square kilometers with a population of 1,400. Taʻu is the biggest island with its 44 km², and harbors the highest point of the Manuʻa at 931 meters. Politically, the islands form the Manuʻa District, one of the three administrative divisions of American Samoa.
  For centuries, Manu'a was the political centre for the region prior to the rise of the Tu'i Tonga maritime empire and the shift in power from the east to the western islands of Samoa.
context_section_description: The sovereign of Manuʻa was called the Tui Manuʻa, the progenitor of many of Samoa's high titles and the only part of Samoa that was not subjected to Tongan rule, owing to its sacred status to both cultures. The last Tui Manuʻa was Tuimanuʻa Elisara (or Tui Manuʻa Elisala) of the early 20th century. Tuimanuʻa Elisara died on July 2, 1909. The title Tui Manuʻa technically still exists although there is no titleholder; Tuimanuʻa Elisara desired before his death that the title die with him. It was the U.S. government position at the time that his title changed to District Governor upon the hoisting of the U.S. flag at Taʻū on June 5, 1900 (Office of the Governor. 2004). However, titles and holdings were not obliterated when the islands became a U.S. territory, and the title and estates of Tuimanuʻa remain under the custody of the Anoalo clan (male side of the Tuimanuʻa line).
  These are the known Tui Manu'a: 41 successive generations of title holders spanning over 2,000 years. Note: these aren't all the title holders.
  01) Tui Manu’a Satiailemoa
  02) Tui Manu’a Tele or Fitiaumua
  03) Tui Manu’a Maugaotele
  04) Tui Manu’a Tae O Tagaloa or Folasa
  05) Tui Manu’a Fa’aeanu’u or Fa’atutupunu’u
  06) Tui Manu’a Saoioiomanu
  07) Tui Manu’a Saopu’u
  08)  Tui Manu’a Saoloa
  09) Tui Manu’a Tu’ufesoa
  10) Tui Manu’a Letupua
  11) Tui Manu’a Saofolau
  12) Tui Manu’a Saoluaga
  13) Tui Manu’a Lelologatele
  14) Tui Manu’a Alia Matua
  15) Tui Manu’a Alia Tama
  16) Tui Manu’a Ti’aligo
  17) Tui Manu’a Fa’aeanu’u II
  18) Tui Manu’a Puipuipo
  19) Tui Manu’a Siliaivao
  20) Tui Manu’a Manufili
  21) Tui Manu’a Fa’atoalia Manu-O-Le-Fale-Tolu
  22) Tui Manu’a Segisegi
  23) Tui Manu’a Siliave
  24) Tui Manu’a Pomelea
  25) Tui Manu’a Lite or Tui Aitu
  26) Tui Manu’a Toalepa’i
  27) Tui Manu’a Seuea
  28) Tui Manu’a Salofi
  29) Tui Manu’a Levaomana or Lemamana
  30) Tui Manu’a Taliutafa Pule
  31) Tui Manu’a Ta’alolomanu Moaatoa
  32) Tui Manu’a Tupalo
  33) Tui Manu’a Seiuli
  34) Tui Manu’a U’uolelaoa
  35) Tui Manu’a Fagaese
  36) Tui Manu’a Tauveve
  37) Tui Manu’a Tauilima
  38) Tui Manu’a Alalamua
  39) Tui Manu’a Makerita
  40) Tui Manu’a Elisala – Officially the last Tui Manu’a who died in 1909
  
  41) Tui Manu’a Kilisi Taliutafa – Revived the Tui Manu’a title in 1924 but never fully took office.
caption: Tuimanuʻa Elisara
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