The American Samoa voyaging society, Aiga Tautai, is planning a traditional welcome in Manu'a for the Rarotongan voyagers who will be sailing there in a double hulled canoe for the Pacific Arts Festival.
The Secretary of Aiga Tautai, Mick McCuddin, the canoe's arrival will be a historically significant occasion because, the group from Rarotonga will be from a district in the Cook Islands with roots in Manu'a.
They are descendants of Karika, who according to Rarotongan folklore was a chief of Ta'u who sailed off to the Cook Islands to escape death for wronging another chief.
It's believed he took several family members and people from Ta'u with him and settled in a part of the islands which was given the traditional name of Teao o Toga.
