Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna is a tiny French territory in the South Pacific, in western Polynesia, between Fiji and Samoa. It is made up of two small groups of islands far apart: Wallis (Uvea) on one side, Futuna and Alofi on the other. About 11,000 people live there, a Polynesian people close to those of neighbouring Tonga and Samoa. It is one of the most traditional territories of the French Republic: life is still governed by three customary kingdoms, with their kings and hierarchies, alongside the French administration.

Wallis and Futuna are small, green, tropical volcanic islands. Wallis (Uvea), the more populous, is a low island ringed by a wide lagoon dotted with islets and closed by a coral reef; it has crater lakes and ancient remains. Futuna and neighbouring Alofi, steeper and without a lagoon, rise in forested slopes above a coast pounded by the ocean. The hot, humid tropical climate supports lush vegetation and food crops: coconut palms, taro, yams.

Settled about three thousand years ago by Polynesian navigators, these islands came under the influence of Tonga, which left large forts on Wallis. Customary kingdoms formed there (Uvea on Wallis, Sigave and Alo on Futuna), and their organisation survives today. In the 19th century, Catholic Marist missionaries, among them Saint Peter Chanel, killed on Futuna in 1841 and the first martyr of Oceania, converted the whole population. The kings placed their islands under a French protectorate in 1887 and 1888. After a referendum in 1959, Wallis and Futuna became an overseas territory in 1961, with an unusual status in which the Republic recognises the customary kingdoms.

Wallis and Futuna speak French, the official language, but above all Wallisian and Futunan, Polynesian languages that are very much alive and used every day. The territory is almost entirely Catholic, with a particularly fervent faith: the Church plays a central role, closely tied to custom and to the kingdoms. Futuna, where Saint Peter Chanel was killed, is a major place of pilgrimage in Oceania. Sung masses and religious festivals mark the rhythm of island life.

The culture of Wallis and Futuna is Polynesian and customary, one of the liveliest in the Pacific. Custom, respect for kings, chiefs and rank, shapes all of social life, with solemn ceremonies around kava, a shared ritual drink. There are group dances such as the soamako and the kailao (a war dance), songs, tapa making (beaten bark cloth) with traditional patterns, and great feasts where huge amounts of food are shared. The food relies on produce from land and sea cooked in an earth oven: taro, yam, pig, fish, coconut milk.