The To'aga Aitu

Legends persist that spirit ghosts, or aitu,haunt the To'aga at high noon and at night.

NPS

Aitu: Spirit Beings of Samoan Culture

Many Samoans share eerie and often terrifying experiences with aitu, or spirit beings. Beliefs in different aitu are deeply rooted and seriously respected within Samoan culture. During the National Park Service (NPS) studies to establish the park, locals on Ofu warned the planners not to wander along To'aga beach after sundown or at high noon, as the area was believed to be inhabited by aitu.

Interestingly, park researchers recently discovered a compelling excerpt from an official Public Health Department report detailing aitu encounters experienced by U.S. Navy pharmacist’s mates stationed at Ofu many years ago:

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From the Public Health Department Report (1950):
The dispensary on the island of Ofu is the only building belonging to the Public Health Department that has been visited by ghostly entities. The dispensary, erected in 1923 on the site of To'aga, Ofu, was chosen for its convenience to both Ofu islanders and residents of nearby Olosega, separated by only 100 yards of water, crossable at low tide.

However, locals protested the decision, warning that To'aga was well-known as the meeting place of the aitu (evil spirits) of the entire Manu'a Group. After the dispensary was built, the islanders refused to visit it.

One night, around 1924, a pharmacist’s mate on duty heard knocking at the door. When he opened it, no one was there. The knocking continued each night, and one evening, when he opened the door, he was confronted by the apparition of a headless man. The next day, while he was away on a call, his wife was terrorized by unseen forces who noisily tramped through the house and moved the furniture in broad daylight.

Soon after, the pharmacist’s mate and his wife, along with two nurses, traveled to Ofu. They accepted a return ride that night in the longboat of a High Chief. The group embarked on the four-mile journey to To'aga, leaving the nurses behind to follow on foot the next day. As the boat neared the haunted area, the crew witnessed a horrifying scene. On the moonlit beach, a siva (Samoan dance) was in progress, led by obscene, headless figures, including the very nurses they had just left behind on Ofu.

While the truth of this story has been disputed, the fact remains that shortly after, the dispensary was torn down and relocated to Ofu village. Even today, old women advise the island's Medical Practitioner not to pass by To'aga at high noon or after dark.

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Today, more than 75 years later, the remnant foundations of the old To'aga dispensary still stand, serving as a visible reminder of this old aitu story and the enduring respect for Samoan spiritual beliefs.

Source: Government of American Samoa. Public Health Department. 1950. History of Naval Medical Activities in Samoa. Pago Pago: pages 1-4.