Wallis and Futuna

Polynesians settled these islands long ago — Wallis, known as ʻUvea, with strong Tongan influence and connections, and Futuna with ties toward Samoa — and each kept its own chiefly kingdom. French Marist missionaries arrived in 1837 and converted the islands within a few years; the missionary Pierre Chanel was killed on Futuna in 1841 and later canonised as the "protomartyr of Oceania". The kingdoms signed protectorate treaties with France in 1887, and the islands were administered as a dependency of New Caledonia.

In a 1959 referendum the islanders voted to become a French overseas territory, effective 1961, under an arrangement that formally recognised the three traditional kingdoms — ʻUvea on Wallis, and Sigave and Alo on Futuna — alongside the French state. The Lavelua, the king of Wallis, and the two Futunan kings retain real authority over custom, land, and daily life. The territory became an "overseas collectivity" in 2003. Its population has fallen sharply through emigration, and there are now far more Wallisians and Futunans in New Caledonia and mainland France than on the islands themselves.

Wallis and Futuna is among the most traditional and most Catholic societies in the Pacific. The kava ceremony, the chiefly hierarchy, and the katoaga — large customary feasts and gift exchanges — are central, as are fine mat and tapa making and Sunday Mass. Custom (coutume) and the Church often carry more weight in daily life than the French administration, and the kings, chiefs, and the bishop are the figures who matter.

Dance, including the soamako and eke, and choral singing are strong. Land is held under custom and cannot be bought or sold. Visitors are expected to observe protocol — asking permission, dressing modestly, and keeping Sunday quiet.

Around 11,000 people live on Wallis and Futuna combined, down from about 15,000 two decades ago, most of them on Wallis. The economy is almost entirely the French public sector, subsistence agriculture (taro, yam, breadfruit, pigs), fishing, and remittances from relatives in New Caledonia and France. There is no industry and little private-sector work, which is why so many young people leave. French social benefits and a hospital on each island are part of the framework, and the rhythm of life is slow, set by the church and by custom.

Feast food comes from the earth oven (umu): pork, taro, yam, breadfruit, and fish in coconut cream. Everyday meals are root crops, reef fish and tuna, tinned meat and rice, and French bread. The pig, pua'a, is the prestige feast food and is central to gift exchange. Kava is drunk ceremonially, and French wine and beer are imported.

Very few visitors come, and there is minimal tourism infrastructure. On Wallis, the crater lake of Lalolalo — a near-perfect circular caldera with sheer walls — is the standout, along with the Talietumu (Tonga Toto) archaeological site of a fortified Tongan settlement, the many roadside chapels and the cathedral at Mata-Utu, and the reef and motu of the lagoon.

On Futuna, the imposing Sic'ele church at Poi — the Pierre Chanel basilica, a pilgrimage site built where the missionary was killed — sits below a rugged interior and coast, with the uninhabited island of Alofi just offshore. Diving and snorkelling on the reefs, and, for those invited, the customary feasts, are the real experiences here.