The Splinters Pardon — Samoan Proverb Tee

Ulu mo 'e'eu.
"To enter and to remove."

This alagaupu (Samoan proverb) comes from an old bit of home remedy: when a splinter of wood or a fishbone works its way into the skin, the sufferer won't let anyone else touch it — they insist on working it out themselves. The phrase is carried into everyday speech as a request for pardon and a granting of it: "Ia ulu ma 'e'eu" ("I ask your forgiveness for having offended you"), answered with "O lenei le ulu ma 'e'eu" ("I accept your apology"). More broadly it's used as counsel to forbear one another in love—whatever wound one causes, one should also be the one to draw it out and make it right.