Sapapali'i is a village on the north east coast of Savai'i

Savai'i

Savaii is the largest and highest island in Samoa and the Samoa Islands chain. It is also the biggest landmass in Polynesia outside Hawaii and New Zealand. The island of Savai'i is also referred to by Samoans as Salafai, a classical Samoan term used in oratory and prose...

 island in Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

. It is the village where John Williams, the first missionary to bring Christianity to Samoa landed in 1830. Sapapali'i is in the Fa'asaleleaga

Fa'asaleleaga

Fa'asaleleaga is a district of Samoa situated on the eastern side of Savai'i island. It has a population of 12,949 .The traditional capital is Safotulafai where district chiefs and orators meet at Fuifatu malae...

 political district.

Sapapali'i became the second Malietoa

Malietoa

Malietoa is a state dynasty and chiefly title in Samoa. Literally translated as "great warrior," the title's origin comes from the final words of the Tongan warriors as they were fleeing on the beach to their boats, "Malie To`a, Malie tau"....

 base in the district in 1750 when Malietoa Ti’a married a woman from the village. Their son Malietoa Fitisemanu was the father of Malietoa Vaiinupo who received Williams in 1830.

Sapapali'i is 8 km north of Salelologa

Salelologa

Salelologa is a village district at the east end of Savai'i island in Samoa. It is the main entry point into the island with the only ferry terminal on Savai'i...

 ferry terminal and township.

Archaeology

In the 1970s, Gregory Jackmond

Gregory Jackmond

Gregory Jackmond is an American who carried out extensive archaeological field work in Samoa during the 1970s.Jackmond surveyed pre-historic ruins inland from Sapapali'i and another large settlement in Palauli district where the Pulemelei Mound is situated. His work on Savai'i occurred while he was...

 carried out archaeological surveys inland from Sapapali'i. Jackmond, a Peace Corps

Peace Corps

The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...

 in Samoa, surveyed a 20 hectare area with extensive pre-historic settlements. Jackmond later carried out field work at Palauli

Palauli

Palauli is a district and village of Samoa, with a population of 8,984. It consists of two sections on the southern side of Savai'i...

 on the south east coast where the Pulemelei Mound

Pulemelei Mound

The Pulemelei mound is the largest and most ancient structure in Polynesia.It is situated in Letolo Plantation in the Palauli district, at the east end of Savai'i island in Samoa....

is situated.