Exploration of the Samoan Creation story

The Samoan Creation story was a very interesting myth about the creation and colonization of their islands. In the beginning the Samoans believed that there were only the heavens and the waters that covered the earth. The God Tagaloa looked down from the sky and wanted to create a place on Earth where he could stand. Tagaloa then made a resting place on earth by creating a rock called Manu’atele. He divided the rock Manu’atele to other places in the sea so that he could have more stepping stones. Tagaloa sent a sacred vine to spread over the rocks. The leaves from the vines fell off and became worm-like creatures. Tagaloa saw that the vines had birthed worms with no legs, arms, or breath of life. Tagaloa came back down and gave these worms legs, arms, and a beating heart; from this the worm became man. The most interesting thing I learned from this was the way Samoans pass down their history. In the past Samoans mostly only used oral language. Because of this most of their family history and stories were told through spoken communication. This storytelling tradition led to the creation of their myths.