A Handsome Mans Work — Samoan Proverb Tee

O faiva 'aulelei.
"Only a handsome man can do a thing well."

This alagaupu (Samoan proverb) comes from a story about the tulafale (talking chief) Nafo'i of Matautu, Savai'i. When young men preparing food for his guests failed to properly press out the penu (coconut shavings), Nafo'i stepped into the cookhouse himself and did the job thoroughly and well. Watching him, the others remarked that only a handsome, capable man like Nafo'i could carry out a task so competently. Used as an upu vivi'i (words of praise) for someone who executes work with real skill and pride, it's also turned ironically on a shirker who talks a big game about his own abilities but avoids the labor itself.