Falaleu is a village in

Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (), is a French island territorial collectivity, collectivity in the Oceania, South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga t ...

. It is one of 7 villages located in the

Hahake District Hahake ( Uvean for "East") is one of the 5 districts of Wallis and Futuna, located in Wallis Island, in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Chiefdom of Uvea. Geography Located in the middle of the island, Hahake borders with the districts of Hih ...

on the east coast of

Wallis Island Wallis () is a Polynesian atoll/island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity (''collectivité d'outre-mer'', or ''COM'') of Wallis and Futuna. It lies north of Tonga, northeast of Fiji, east-northeast of the Hoorn ...

. Its population according to the 2023 census was 550 people.

Location

Falaleu is on the south border of the village Mata-Utu, and on the east coast of the island. Administratively, it falls within Hahake district, one of three districts on Wallis. There are a total of 7 villages within the Hahake district, and 21 villages on Wallis overall.

Governance

Falaleu is home to Fale Fonu, the traditional residence of the Fotu'atamai, the customary minister of health, justice and land disputes in the Kingdom of

Uvea The uvea (; derived from meaning "grape"), also called the uveal layer, uveal coat, uveal tract, vascular tunic or vascular layer, is the pigmented middle layer of the three concentric layers that make up an eye, precisely between the inne ...

. The island of Wallis is ruled by a King, known as

Lavelua The King of Uvea (titled as ''Lavelua'') is the ruler of the polity of Uvea (Wallis and Futuna), Uvea, the chiefdom (''Royaume coutumier'', ) located on Wallis (island), Wallis Island. Uvea encompasses the whole island and the surrounding is ...

, appointed within a Royal Family. The King is supported by a Prime Minister. The island is further divided into three districts, of which Falaleu is in Hahake. Each district is headed by a Chief and each of the 21 villages are led by village chiefs.

Culture

Every year, during the

Feast of the Assumption The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was ra ...

(August 15), which corresponds to the festival of the district of Hahake, the inhabitants of Falaleu bring many products to Mata-Utu that they have made and collected: crafts, fishing, agriculture. This ceremony is called to'okava. Women present their achievements, such as weaving and '' tapa cloths''.

Etymology

In the

Tongan language Tongan (English pronunciation: ; ') is an Austronesian language of the Polynesian branch native to the island nation of Tonga. It has around 187,000 speakers. It uses the word order verb–subject–object and uses Latin script. Related lang ...

''fala'' means "

pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with about 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. The genus is classified ...

" (a fruit) and ''leu'' means "ripe". Falaleu therefore refers to "ripe pandanus".

Population

According to the 2018 census, the village had a population of 572 people. However, by 2023, this figure had dropped to 550.

References

{{Villages in Wallis and Futuna Populated places in Wallis and Futuna