Title: Pig Origin Myth

General information about the item:

• Myth
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: American Samoa
• Informant: Wilson Fitiao
• Date Collected: 24 May 2020

Informant Data: Wilson was born and raised in American Samoa where he now lives. He is a traditional tattoo artist.

Contextual Data: 

• Social Context: Wilson heard this story when he was young as a bedtime story.
• Cultural Context: Tonga is known for having the best pig dishes in the pacific islands.

Item: One day two boys in Tonga had these two maggots and decided to raise them. These maggots ended up growing four legs and started to walk around and became pigs. These two boys have families in Samoa, but the King in Tonga said they shouldn’t share these pigs. The brothers decide that they want to visit their family in Samoa and hide the pigs so they can have them. They can leave with a dead pig, but not a live one. So, they cook the biggest female pig they have and stuff it with two piglets and put it in the canoe. That’s how the pig got to Samoa.

Collector’s name: Jack Tuiolosega

Tags/keywords:

• Myth
• Pig
• Pacific Islands