Case file · Folklore / legend
Nafanua's prophecy of a new kingdom
Samoan tradition says the war goddess Nafanua foretold that a new rule would come from the heavens; when missionary John Williams landed at Sapapaliʻi in 1830, chief Malietoa Vainuʻupō accepted Christianity.
1830 CE · -13.70, -172.68 · status: legend
The account
Nafanua is linked to Falealupo in Savaiʻi, near the entrance to Pulotu, the spirit world. The prophecy became part of how Samoans explained their conversion.
The sceptical view
The prophecy is known from oral tradition recorded after the conversion it is said to predict.