Stone House

The so-called stone house (fale-ma'a) known as Le Fale-o-le-Fee (the House of the Octopus) is situated some miles inland of Apia, Upolu, up the Vaisingango stream. Various Samoan myths refer to it, and many writers have mentioned it. It has come to be regarded by some as a relic of bygone megalithic culture which predated the existing Samoan culture.

Stair (34, p. 241) visited the site in 1845. He stated that the house had originally been 48 feet in length by 4.5 in breadth. He held that it had been built in the usual round or elliptical shape but that slabs of basalt had been substituted for the wooden posts usually placed to support the eaves. He found twelve or thirteen of the stone posts still standing. They were about 4 feet out of the ground. He described a center slab of stone that supported the roof as having fallen to the ground. In the next paragraph he says that the center slabs appear to have been originally 12 or 13 feet in length, 15 or 18 inches in width, and 7 or 8 inches thick. The ends had been inserted in the ground and he imagined that "when placed upright, another slab had been laid horizontally upon them, from which other slabs or posts were raised to support the roof. Several of our party had seen these center slabs standing not long before and could thus testify to their appearance. It was said that lately some young fellows, hunting wild pigs, had passed the spot, and amused themselves by pelting the slabs and throwing them down…. One portion of the floor of the house had been covered with a pavement of neatly placed slabs of stone; but these had begun to be displaced." Stair goes on to state that the material was obtained from the side of a basaltic precipice close at hand. He offers the theory that the slabs were split off by the natives kindling a fire on the solid bed rock in the direction in which they wished the fracture to run and then dashing cold water over the heated surface. Their "work, as far as the rending of the rock is concerned, is accomplished." He then accounts for the moving of the blocks by means of rollers or small skids.

Pritchard (24, pp. 119-121) who wrote in 1866 gave the dimensions of the house as 40 feet by 50 feet. There were 18 standing pillars forming the ellipse. They were 3 feet high, 9 inches thick one way, and 6 inches the other. "Each pillar has a notch or shoulder on the inner side for supporting the roof." Other side pillars were lying on the ground "in such positions as to show that the whole of the side pillars were once in their places in the build ing." One center pillar, 5 feet high, 12 inches thick one way and 9 inches the other, was standing. A second center pillar lay on the ground and measured 7 feet in length, exclusive of the broken pieces still lying in the same line page 325"which would increase the length to 13 feet. A block of stone, 6 feet long and 6 inches square lay on the ground near the center evidently intended to rest on top of the center pillars and there to form the upper angle of the roof…. The rafters lie scattered about, some inside amongst the ruins, others at the base of the hill whence they were cut, showing the house was never completed. They are in lengths of 12 and 6 feet, and are 4 inches square. Allowing for the outward curve given by Samoan builders to the rafters of houses after this model, and for the relative heights of the center and side posts, two of the 12 feet and one of the 6 feet lengths would be required to span the arch from the wall plate to the ridge pole, that is, to form one complete after."

I visited Le Fale-o-le-Fee on February 18, 1928. After a little trouble, the guide located the site on a triangular flat formed by a side stream called Le Vai-o-le-Fee on the east, the main Vaisingango stream on the west, and a steep hill side across the base on the south. The site was covered with under-scrub. One large tree grew on the site; another encroached on the southwesterly circumference. A large rotted trunk had also fallen over the site. The dimensions could be readily distinguished by the stone flooring which had a clearly defined circumference. The ground plan as measured with a chain tape was 50 feet by 45 feet.

Side pillars. A number of side pillars stood around the circumference. They were not counted as it became evident that some of them had been recently propped up. Not one of them had been sunk into the ground firmly in the manner one would associate with permanent fixtures. They had been placed standing on end and other pieces of rock laid against them on the ground to keep them upright. Some were leaning over in a slanting position and one was leant against another to prop it up. The dimensions of those measured are given below.

The pillars consisted of basaltic prisms and columns which followed a natural cleavage. Most were four sided but some were three sided where the wider surface was curved. Only an occasional one was rectangular. In the others, the angles between the surfaces formed two acute angles and two obtuse angles. The height of the side pillars ranged from 2 feet, 2 inches to 3 feet, 4 inches. None of them was worked by man. Though some had broken off at an angle at the upper end there was absolutely no sign of the page 326notches or shoulders described by Pritchard (24, p. 119). The pillars standing were about 5 feet apart.

Center pillars. The place was so overgrown and interfered with in parts by the roots and stem of a growing tree that it was impossible in the time available to clear the ground sufficiently to make a thorough examination of the floor of the site. The largest piece of stone found near the center, was 4 feet 5 inches in length and was lying on the ground. This was evidently Stair's center pillar 15 or 18 inches wide and 7 or 8 inches thick which he estimated to have been originally 12 or 13 feet in length. It would also correspond to Pritchard's center pillar standing 5 feet high, 12 inches thick one way and 9 inches the other. The second pillar 7 feet in length with broken pieces reaching to 13 feet had evidently been overgrown.

Rafters. Nowhere could anything be seen of the 12 feet and 6 feet lengths which formed Pritchard's rafters, though numerous short pieces lay scattered about.

The quarry. A perpendicular basaltic cliff formed part of the hill at the back of the house. The exposed base of the cliff was a few yards up the hill. Some detached pillars stood out at a slight angle from the cliff face, others had fallen to its base and were scattered in short lengths over the sloping ground below. Other pieces were lying on the ground between the base of the hill and the house site. The material had fallen from the base of the cliff by natural causes and had been transported to the house site. The floor of the house in addition to being covered with short lengths of basalt had been filled in with waterworn stones from neighboring streams.