American Samoa Expeditions Granted Name: E Mamana Ou Gataifale

E Mamana Ou Gataifale - Your waters (or shores) have power

Upcoming deep-sea expeditions in American Samoan waters have been given the name E Mamana Ou Gataifale. Together meaning “your waters have power”, the name was selected to reflect deeper relationships within the ocean. National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa Superintendent Atuatasi-Lelei Peau describes the name this way. 

“Mamana means power outside of the common, natural laws.  

The elements of our environment, our natural sources of livelihood, have lives of their own. They have a will of their own. The lands, plantations, and flora can sense it when we properly take care of them. On the other hand, it cries when abused. 

For example, when cutting a banana (aufaʻi), the person harvesting must cut the trunk properly and its leaves afterward. Fai lelei le ogafaʻi ma toe faamama. E fua lelei faʻi pe a teu lelei..  

Similarly, the waters and our fishing grounds can sense it when we abuse our water resources. As a result, the catch may decrease in volume or loss altogether.  The usual schools or fish start going missing. The elders call that 'teva' Ua teva le iʻa.  Seafood-bearing corals fail to produce for some reason.

The waters have that power over our marine resources.”

Listen to E Mamana Ou Gataifale - recorded pronunciation by Iosefa Siatu’u. 

In August and September, OET will conduct two expeditions — E Mamana Ou Gataifale I and E Mamana Ou Gataifale II — aboard E/V Nautilus to explore deep-sea habitats around American Samoa in collaboration with the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa and other partners. Both expeditions will survey a wide variety of deep-sea habitats across American Samoa, including areas within the Sanctuary’s 13,581 square miles of protected habitat, as well as outside it. The expeditions are funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute with additional funding from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the NOAA Uncrewed Systems Operations Center.

Expedition naming is part of a collaborative effort to appropriately reflect American Samoan culture and values across the expeditions. These expeditions have been developed with input from resource managers, scientists, educators, cultural practitioners, and other American Samoa ocean stakeholders, including through a March 2024 workshop convening government and agency representatives at the Tauese P.F. Sunia Ocean Center in Utulei.