Walker Evans once aptly noted that Flaherty was closer to Sherwood Anderson's generation than to Ernest Hemingway's: "He certainly had one foot in an age of innocence." And the contradiction of Flaherty's romantic view of Natural Man being conveyed with the most up-to-date equipment--sixteen tons of it shipped to the Samoan island of
Savaii (courtesy of Paramount Pictures, which was hoping for "another Nanook"), including a 35-mm projector and a lab for developing film stock--was already evident in Nanook, as was the filmmaker's penchant for cosmetic fictionalizing.
One occasion for this was when Palauli district travelled from
Savaii to Upolu to make their talomua presentation during the Mau period.
It is within the Falealupo rain forest on the remote Samoan island of
Savaii, the largest island in Polynesia outside of Hawaii and New Zealand, that native healer Epenesa Mauigoa introduced Paul Cox to the mamala tree (Homolanthus nutans).
PAUL COX sat in a thatched hut on the Samoan island of
Savaii and listened patiently as traditional healer Epenesa Mauigoa described dozens of different herbal remedies.
Boatbuilders in some Pacific islands such as
Savaii in Samoa or Kabara in Fiji, where there were abundant trees with suitable trunks, enjoyed a well-deserved reputation for centuries and their wares were appreciated even in far-distant islands.
Observations were also made on the nearby islands of Ofu, American Samoa and
Savaii, Western Samoa.
The landscape so fascinated photographer Thomas Andrew that he produced an entire album of albumen and platinum prints entitled Scenes from
Savaii. Lakes with mirrorlike reflections of palm trees typified his idea of "paradise." Andrew also is known for dignified studio portraits made from 1892 to 1906.
Located on the island of
Savaii, 2,800 miles south of Hawaii, the village couldn't find the money, so Chief Fuiono Senio and the elders reluctantly sold logging rights to 30,000 acres of tropical hardwoods for $2.50 per acre.