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The final feast

The final feast (fa'aumatanga) takes place on the completion of the woodwork of the second rounded end section. The payment for the construction is collected in fine mats, bark cloth, and in these days, money. Pigs and other food are cooked in quantity. The house family, villagers and visiting builders collect as before. The pile of mats is placed in front of the taufale and his talking chief. The oven in which the food is cooked is termed umu sa tele. The food (suavai) from the umu sa tele is presented with the usual ceremonial. Fine mats are presented and in ceremonial language the following reasons for the presentation are enumerated: lima la vevea (the hands that were cut in the work); mata pa'ia (the eyes that were injured by chips); tafalenga (the labor done in the house); tavaonga (the work done in the forest—vao); o fanau o tufunga ua fafasi e fanau o taufale (the children of the builders who were beaten by the children of the owner); salanga o le tulutulu (the cutting of the thatch at the eaves).

The above language is ceremonial, which deals in superlatives. The more superlatives used, the greater the respect publicly shown to the builders. They did no work in the forest except look for suitable timber and indicate it to the workers. The cutting of eaves, though mentioned cannot be done until the house family complete the thatching. One or more builders return for this purpose. On that day they are fed by the taufale. The food is distributed among the groups by the builders' talking chief. The visiting builders must be carefully attended to in order that each gets adequate and equal shares of the food. The fine mats and cloth are taken away by the builders to their own lodging house, and there divided among themselves.