Savai’i Island faipule (leaders) gave this tanoa fai’ava (bowl) to Major James J.O. Anderson (1939–1997), a Maryland solider who was responsible for forming relationships with the leaders of Oceanic islands occupied by United States soldiers during World War II (1939–1945). In Samoa, ‘ava, a drink made of kava root, was historically prepared and served in bowls like this for formal occasions.