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Samoan Material Culture

Firewood

Firewood

The general name for wood is la'au, but when used as firewood, it is fafie. The best is tofaso. Next comes toi, which burns well while green, and 'o'a. page 100Small wood was broken up with the hands assisted on occasion by the weight of the foot, while for thicker pieces, the stone adz was used.

In a contest of wit between Le Pola of Manua and one of the Malietoa of Upolu, the breaking up of firewood formed one of the points in Le Pola's victory. One morning, Malietoa's talking chief decided to supervise the cooking. There was plenty of firewood beside the cooking house, but too large to be broken with the hands. On being appealed to for an ax, Le Pola, pointing to a large outcrop of sharp rock, said that was his ax. On Malietoa expressing disbelief, Le Pola picked up a piece of firewood with both hands and beating it on the sharp points of the larval outcrop speedily reduced it to smaller pieces suitable for the fire.

The manner in which fire could be utilized in the cooking of food has exercised the mind of man in many ways with different results. The most obvious method is to expose the uncooked food to the direct heat of the burning wood, whether of flame or glowing embers, by direct contact or a space removed. This form as used by the Samoans is termed tunu. Any meat, and most vegetable foods, were so cooked if expediency demanded. The breadfruit was purposely grilled for a particular dish. Fowls were frequently so treated for preference.

For quantity and variety, better control of heat and a more economical use of firewood had to be devised. A medium that would retain heat and prevent the direct contact of the food with ashes, charcoal, and smoke was found in stone. Heated stones in the form of the earth oven became the accepted Polynesian method of cooking. For cooking liquid material that could not be sealed in leaf wrappers, the heated stones were dropped into a wooden bowl containing the food. This was done with the liquid of the coconut to make vaisalo, and with arrowroot for piasua. Breadfruit for taufolo was cooked uncovered on the heated stones, but otherwise the stones and the food were covered to retain the heat. Pottery was not made, and thus offered no alternative. Vessels of wood could not stand the direct application of heat for any length of time. The earth oven fulfilled all requirements. Necessity was satisfied, hence dissatisfaction could not stimulate further invention. Diffusion introduced nothing better until the coming of Europeans. Even with the introduction of metal vessels for heating water, the earth oven remains the principal form of cooking in Samoa.