Pu'a Tuiletufuga Hunkin

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Pu'auea Tuiletufuga Hunkin of Apia, a Samoan pese (song) composer,is remembered by many of her generation. The deceased former Member of Parliament Le'aupepe Pita of Samoa described her as a very talented woman. Pu'a (shortened form of her first name Pu'auea) created and conducted koniseti and composed Mau songs as well as other songs of her time for the Vine'ula women's group of her village of Apia. Rev. Elder Leuatea Sio, the now deceased but a well known and highly respected Samoan leader / Elder and reverend of the Pacific Islands Church in Newton, Auckland, New Zealand was also impressed by her talents and her compositions which included Vaopunimatagi and Leafaitulagi. Leuatea Sio remembered clearly how a younger brother of his by the name of Siaosi Gatoloai Peseta and another well known composer Pouono Maiava Hunkin (Pu'as nephew)of Tutuila were keen young 'apprentices' who learnt the art of composition from Pu'a. Both followed her and the Vine'ula wherever they went to perform koniseti.

A third person, the deceased Suagau McCarthy of Auckland (twin sister of Suafole) whose family is also well known in the Vaimauga district and Apia recalls how Pu'a was established in her song compositions, especially the Leafaitulagi song. Suagau and her generation were all admirers of the Vineula group and had aiga as members as well. Perhaps one of the more remarkable stories told of Pu'a's prowess and talents was that told by an old woman of Pu'a's 'āiga (family) in the village of Leonē in Apia. Loto Māta'u Tuiletufuga recounted that one of Pu'a's uncanny strengths was her ability to stand and view an important event of the moment and then verbally compose a verse or line of a song which subsequently became a song there and then. She would have other women of the Vineula group there who would sometimes assist to remember the words of some of these songs. Undoubtedly some of them would have helped to write these words down.