Pili's Net Poured Into the Sea — Samoan Proverb Tee

"Ua sa'a i le tai le 'upega o Pili."
"Pili's net has been poured out into the sea."

This alagaupu (Samoan proverb) comes from the legend of Pili, a hero of Samoan mythology credited with teaching the Samoans how to fish with nets. In the Apolima Strait, Pili once cast a net so vast it stretched from Savai'i to Upolu—the catch was so enormous that the canoes could not hold it all, and much of it had to be poured back into the sea. The saying is used as an upu fa'anoanoa, an expression of regret, spoken at the loss of some anticipated or already-secured benefit—particularly when that loss comes about through carelessness or negligence.