Elekana was the first person to introduce

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

to the Pacific islanders in what is now called

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

. He was born in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

in the 19th century, although the dates of his birth and death are unknown.

History

Christianity came to Tuvalu in 1861 when Elekana, a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

of a Congregational church in

Manihiki 250px, Map of Manihiki Atoll Manihiki is an atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands known informally as the "Island of Pearls". It is located in the Northern Cook Island chain, approximately north of the capital island of Rarotonga, ma ...

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

, became caught in a storm and drifted for 8 weeks in a canoe before landing at

Nukulaelae Nukulaelae is an atoll that is part of the nation of Tuvalu, and it has a population of 300 (2017 census). The largest settlement is Pepesala on Fangaua islet with a population of 300 people (2017 Census). It has the form of an oval and consists of ...

in the

Ellice Islands Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

on 10 May 1861. The distance between the two places is approximately . Elekana began proselytising during the four months he spent on the

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

. He travelled to

Funafuti Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of lan ...

where he also preached before returning to

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

. He then trained at the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...

(LMS)

Malua Theological College Malua is a small village on the Samoan island of Upolu. The name originates from the Samoan word "Maluapapa" which is translated 'shelter under the rock'. It is located on the northwestern coast of the island in the electoral constituency (''faip ...

in Samoa before beginning his work in establishing the

Church of Tuvalu The Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu ( Tuvaluan: ''Te Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu'', EKT), commonly the Church of Tuvalu, is a Christian Church which is the state church of Tuvalu, although this status merely entitles it to "the privilege ...

. The "miraculous" drift voyage of Elekana was featured in the publications of the LMS. Elekana, Ioane and Matatia, graduates of Malua Theological College, were appointed by the LMS to work in the Ellice Islands. Elekana and the other teachers started work in the Ellice Islands in 1865; travelling to the islands with the Revd. A. W. Murray of the LMS.

Monument

The "Elekana Tuvalu-Christianity Memorial 1861" is a monument that is located on Nukulaelae atoll.

Sources

* Besnier, N., ''Literacy, Emotion and Authority: Reading and Writing on a Polynesian Atoll'', (1995) Cambridge University Press ( ) * Besnier, N., ''Gossip and the Everyday Production of Politics'', University of Hawaii Press (2009) (). * Chambers, KS. & Chambers, A., ''Unity of Heart: Culture and Change in a Polynesian Atoll Society'', (2001) Prospect Hts, Illinois: Waveland Press () * Goodall, N., ''A history of the London Missionary Society 1895–1945'', London: Oxford University Press (1954). * Goldsmith, M. & Munro, D., ''The Accidental Missionary: Tales of Elekana'', Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury (1950). * Kofe, L., Chapter 15, Palangi and Pastors, ''Tuvalu: A History'' (1983) Isala, Tito and Larcy, Hugh (eds.), Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific and Government of Tuvalu. * Luker, V. & Lal, BV. (editors) ''Telling Pacific Lives: Prisms of Process'', ANU Press (2013) ().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elekana Christianity in Tuvalu History of Tuvalu Cook Island Congregationalist missionaries Christian missionaries in Tuvalu 19th-century Oceanian people Protestant missionaries in the Cook Islands