What is "vaimalo"

Vaimalō, is a village in the western district of Vavaʻu in Tonga. Vaimalō was named by one of the most revered and beloved chiefs in Vava'u's history the great Finau Fisi. The village became the sole estate of his only child and son Naufahu Mapilitoa. In 1781 right off the coast of Longomapu, it was Finau Fisi in his double hulled war canoe the Talito'a who met the Spaniard explorer Don Francisco Antonio Mourelle the first European to discover Vava'u. With his supplies depleted and sailing the last three days without water it was by luck Don Francisco Antonio Mourelle and his crew found the inlet passage to the middle of the main island. In his journal Don Francisco Antonio Mourelle wrote of the great size of the 10 double hulled war canoes that encircled his ship as they anchored off the coast of Longomapu. The first thing the captain asked for when Finau Fisi met him was water, upon understanding his request Finau Fisi not only gave the explorer and his crew water but replenished their food supplies, took care and stayed with them the 2 weeks they spent in Vava'u. Don Francisco Antonio Mourelle being grateful for the initial water given to him by Finau Fisi kept thanking him in Spanish; "Gracias aqua, gracias aqua" (thank you water, thank you water), hence the Tongan translation and the name of the village "Vai - Water", "Malō - Thank you". Before the passage of the Vavaʻu Land Acts (V.L.A) of 1849 and 1914 that effectively placed Vaimalō under government control, the whole of Vaimalō belonged only to Naufahu Mapilitoa and his family. Vaimalō's current general population is made up mainly of Naufahu Mapilitoaʻs immediate descendants, relatives, and friends from Niue, Fiji, Samoa, and Solomon Islands.