What this means is that, when the council makes a poor decision, God punishes those who were at the centre of such decision. This mainly comes in the form of severe illness (even death) or a curse to the members of the families of those who promoted such a decision in council. This curse is mainly referred to in Samoa as mala aunu "ua, which literally means a village curse. The Samoans believe that God would hear the villagers' pain and suffering and therefore punishes those in the council responsible for such decision. While this may souud odd, the matai in Samoa are fully aware of such belief and are very cautious when making decisions in council