The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-21
DON'T FAKE SAMOAN NAMES
An Expensive Luxury-Mlstake Of Two Girl
Who Yearned for 1t.

An Expensive L~uxury-MlStake Of Two Girls
Who Yearned for It.
People who visit Samoa sometimes get the
mistaken idea that there IL q glory In being
named by Samoan chiefs In their own language,
The idea IL perhaps fostered by a few conspicu-
GUS examples which are well known. mi the
reverse Of the picture has been carefully con-
cealed. for the receipt Of O Samoan name en-
tails q full set of responsibilities which are not
TO be compounded all In one transaction: It
opens a long series Of benefeences which are
likely never to stop. The prudent refuse the
/ offered name. and insist that their Samoan ac-
quaintances struggle along with some
sort OF adaptation of the English name.
Thus do they save many kegs OF beef and
other treasures. which the River Of o name re-
ligiously claims from the bearer OF It. The
Samoans are the most generous Of people, with
certain limitations. They will give away any
thing they have. and q name is the easiest gift
Of all. for they have any number left. But
when the Samoan Ia most generous he 10 most
grasplng: every gift must be repaid by another
OF greater value. and these names ara held at
the very highest valuation.
w young women. recent arrivals In AHA.
had learned that some among the white people
were known by Samoa The idea
appealed to them as one OF particular honor.
and they were not only envious Of the renamed
individuals because Of what they thought was
q Samoan glory. but they secretly INDUCED
themselves In the hope that some time they
might have Samoan names themselves. They
kept this hope OF theirs secret. as they had not
h66S1es m morn Gayt tRs sfd S0a served SSs dpf to r. attract them
t & + S SSts In f fRs sea had i% pTUSiasd tb IL aTo1t 81
with bathing suits which might have attracted
t asye1 esTtaf mi tf fSa Af Ika ~ s tSa% bad 9I r this e pun
Witnessed in the savagery OF Apia. They could
not hope TO escape attention ipossibly they did
no samoan had ever seen such q slsht before.
AS ons OF the Eirls came ipto slght lnths chan
ether az somg0 little distance: "IuEamuEal
ups she had been csalied b a j Samoan nsl p name and
S SSfha ha soaIS ap to sl9i@ / 6sfSr sbd her v iSllp Nv
into sight, and the other Samoan on the beach
called back to the hrst speaker: KiisnSa."
names had burst upon them In the sea. They
spent some time In praetlclng tho sounds ant
Hons. They were 90 proud Of their new ac-
SSa MSnt a .nas tn % t 9Sr GSIsf t n &pIh s shs 9 ,otS
him what their native names were. It's char
ANY mistake ID ssmoas that lEnoraacs Of tie
s ssHfiSsS4& p I aaSss S 3 Riis sS%H it w w1shS SSb % 3 e
oil 10 could stlepdt 10 as Chief Of GpIS Without
settling them straight.
But later. after they had told all their Samoan
Acdualntances OF the new names, they carried
the information to some. white people. From
them they learned the mistake that had been
made. Their gaudy bathing suits had ATTRACTED
patlve attentioni the hrst Samoan haa called 70
mlkamtka. as Il sounds In the common dialect
The other. remembering o show which had
a's eire,,s aG'aT & snStt NJ mnI EIr 2 seiRSnssSi TePieas re
names; they had No promptly adopted them
and bud. 80 widely informed their samoan
irlpnds that thept never BncceOdod In getting
dofiAS a6slIdl 05ehslioaa