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Main article: History of Tuvalu See also: Timeline of the history of Tuvalu Pre-history The origins of the people of Tuvalu are addressed in the theories regarding migration into the Pacific that began about 3000 years ago. During pre-European-contact times there was frequent canoe voyaging between the nearer islands including Tonga and Samoa.[10] Eight of the nine islands of Tuvalu were inhabited; thus the name, Tuvalu, means "eight standing together" in Tuvaluan. Possible evidence of fire in the Caves of Nanumanga may indicate human occupation for thousands of years. Tuvaluan man in traditional costume drawn by Alfred Agate in 1841 during the United States Exploring Expedition. An important creation myth of the islands of Tuvalu is the story of the Eel and the Flounder;[11] the Flounder reminding the Tuvaluans of the flat atolls. The stories as to the ancestors of the Tuvaluans vary from island to island. On Niutao,[12] Funafuti and Vaitupu the founding ancestor is described as being from Samoa;[13][14] whereas on Nanumea the founding ancestor is described as being from Tonga.[13] Early contacts with other cultures Tuvalu was first sighted by Europeans on 16 January 1568 during the voyage of Álvaro de Mandaña from Spain who sailed past Nui and charted it as Isla de Jesús (Spanish for "Island of Jesus") because it was discovered on the day following the feast of the Holy Name. Mendaña made contact with the islanders but was unable to land.[15][16] During Mendaña's second voyage across the Pacific he passed Niulakita on 29 August 1595, which atoll he named La Solitaria.[16][17] Captain John Byron passed through the islands of Tuvalu in 1764 during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of the Dolphin (1751).[18] Byron charted the atolls as Lagoon Islands. Keith S. Chambers and Doug Munro (1980) identify Niutao as the island that Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa sailed past on 5 May 1781, thus solving what Europeans had called The Mystery of Gran Cocal.[17][19] Mourelle's map and journal named the island El Gran Cocal ('The Great Coconut Plantation'); however, the latitude and longitude was uncertain.[19] Longitude could only be reckoned crudely as accurate chronometers were unavailable until the late 18th century. The next European to visit was Arent Schuyler de Peyster, of New York, captain of the armed brigantine or privateer Rebecca, sailing under British colours,[20][21] which passed through the southern Tuvaluan waters in May 1819; de Peyster sighted Nukufetau and Funafuti, which he named Ellice's Island after an English Politician, Edward Ellice, the Member of Parliament for Coventry and the owner of the Rebecca's cargo.[19][22][23][24] In 1820 the Russian explorer Mikhail Lazarev visited Nukufetau as commander of the Mirny.[19] Louis Isidore Duperrey, captain of La Coquille, sailed past Nanumanga in May 1824 during a circumnavigation of the earth (1822–1825).[17] A Dutch expedition (the frigate Maria Reigersberg) found Nui atoll on the morning of June 14th, 1825 and named the main island (Fenua Tapu) as Nederlandsch Eiland.[25] Whalers began roving the Pacific, although visiting Tuvalu only infrequently because of the difficulties of landing on the atolls. Captain George Barrett of the Nantucket whaler Independence II has been identified as the first whaler to hunt the waters around Tuvalu.[22] In November 1821 he bartered coconuts from the people of Nukulaelae and also visited Niulakita.[17] A shore camp was established on Sakalua islet of Nukufetau, where coal was used to melt down the whale blubber.[26] A man from the Nukufetau atoll, drawn by Alfred Agate 1841. For less than a year between 1862–63, Peruvian ships, engaged in what became to be called the "blackbirding" trade, combed the smaller islands of Polynesia from Easter Island in the eastern Pacific to Tuvalu and the southern atolls of the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati), seeking recruits to fill the extreme labour shortage in Peru.[27] While some islanders were voluntary recruits the "blackbirders" were notorious for enticing islanders on to ships with tricks, such as pretending to be Christian missionaries, as well as kidnapping islanders at gun point. The Rev. A. W. Murray,[28] the earliest European missionary in Tuvalu, reported that in 1863 about 170 people were taken from Funafuti and about 250 were taken from Nukulaelae[19] as there were fewer than 100 of the 300 recorded in 1861 as living on Nukulaelae.[29][30] Christianity came to Tuvalu in 1861 when Elekana, a deacon of a Congregational church in Manihiki, Cook Islands became caught in a storm and drifted for 8 weeks before landing at Nukulaelae on 10 May 1861.[19][31][32] Elekana began proselytising Christianity. He was trained at Malua Theological College, a London Missionary Society school in Samoa, before beginning his work in establishing the Church of Tuvalu.[19] In 1865 the Rev. A. W. Murray of the London Missionary Society – a Protestant congregationalist missionary society – arrived as the first European missionary where he too proselytised among the inhabitants of Tuvalu. By 1878 Protestantism was well established with preachers on each island.[19] In the later 19th Century and early 20th century the ministers of what became the Church of Tuvalu (Te Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu) were predominantly Samoans, who influenced the development of the Tuvaluan language and the music of Tuvalu.[33] Trading firms and traders Trading companies became active in Tuvalu in the mid-nineteenth century; the trading companies engaged palagi traders who lived on the islands. John (also known as Jack) O'Brien was the first European to settle in Tuvalu, he became a trader on Funafuti in the 1850s. He married Salai, the daughter of the paramount chief of Funafuti.[34] Louis Becke, who later found success as a writer, was a trader on Nanumanga from April 1880 until the trading-station was destroyed later that year in a cyclone. He then became a trader on Nukufetau.[35][36] In 1892, Captain Davis of the HMS Royalist, reported on trading activities and traders on each of the islands visited.[37] Captain Davis identified the following traders in the Ellice Group: Edmund Duffy (Nanumea); Jack Buckland (Niutao); Harry Nitz (Vaitupu); John (also known as Jack) O'Brien (Funafuti); Alfred Restieaux and Emile Fenisot (Nukufetau); and Martin Kleis (Nui).[38][39] During this time, the greatest number of palagi traders lived on the atolls, acting as agents for the trading companies. Some islands would have competing traders while dryer islands might only have a single trader.[40] In the later 1890s and into first decade of the 20th century, structural changes occurred in the operation of the Pacific trading companies; they moved from a practice of having traders resident on each island to instead becoming a business operation where the supercargo (the cargo manager of a trading ship) would deal directly with the islanders when a ship visited an island. From 1900 the numbers of palagi traders in Tuvalu declined with the last of the palagi traders being Fred Whibley on Niutao and Alfred Restieaux on Nukufetau.[41] By 1909 there were no more resident palagi traders representing the trading companies,[39][40] although both Whibley and Restieaux[42] remained in the islands until their deaths. Scientific expeditions and travellers 1900, Woman on Funafuti, Tuvalu, then known as Ellice Islands Woman on Funafuti, taken by Harry Clifford Fassett (1900) The United States Exploring Expedition under Charles Wilkes visited Funafuti, Nukufetau and Vaitupu in 1841.[43] During this expedition Alfred Thomas Agate, engraver and illustrator, recorded the dress and tattoo patterns of the men of Nukufetau.[44] The New Zealand photographer Thomas Andrew visited Funafuti[45] and Nui in about 1885-86.[46][47] In 1890 Robert Louis Stevenson, his wife Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson and her son Lloyd Osbourne sailed on the Janet Nicoll, a trading steamer owned by Henderson and Macfarlane of Auckland, New Zealand, which operated between Sydney and Auckland and into the central Pacific.[48] The Janet Nicoll visited Tuvalu;[49] while Fanny records that they made landfall at Funafuti, Niutao and Nanumea, Jane Resture suggests that it was more likely they landed at Nukufetau rather than Funafuti.[50] An account of this voyage was written by Fanny Stevenson and published under the title The Cruise of the Janet Nichol,[51] together with photographs taken by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne. In 1894 Count Rudolf Festetics de Tolna, his wife Eila (née Haggin) and her daughter Blanche Haggin visited Funafuti aboard the yacht Le Tolna.[52][53] The Count spent several days photographing men and woman on Funafuti.[54] The boreholes on Funafuti, at the site now called Darwin's Drill,[55] are the result of drilling conducted by the Royal Society of London for the purpose of investigating the formation of coral reefs to determine whether traces of shallow water organisms could be found at depth in the coral of Pacific atolls. This investigation followed the work on The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs conducted by Charles Darwin in the Pacific. Drilling occurred in 1896, 1897 and 1898.[56] Professor Edgeworth David of the University of Sydney was a member of the 1896 "Funafuti Coral Reef Boring Expedition of the Royal Society", under Professor William Sollas and lead the expedition in 1897.[57] Photographers on these trips recorded people, communities, and scenes at Funafuti.[58] Charles Hedley, a naturalist at the Australian Museum, accompanied the 1896 expedition and during his stay on Funafuti collected invertebrate and ethnological objects. The descriptions of these were published in Memoir III of the Australian Museum Sydney between 1896 and 1900. Hedley also wrote the General Account of the Atoll of Funafuti,[59] The Ethnology of Funafuti,[60] and The Mollusca of Funafuti.[61][62] Edgar Waite was also part of the 1896 expedition and published an account of The mammals, reptiles, and fishes of Funafuti.[63] William Rainbow described the spiders and insects collected at Funafuti in The insect fauna of Funafuti.[64] Harry Clifford Fassett, captain's clerk and photographer, recorded people, communities and scenes at Funafuti in 1900 during a visit of USFC Albatross when the United States Fish Commission was investigating the formation of coral reefs on Pacific atolls.[65] Constitution and government Main articles: Parliament of Tuvalu and Politics of Tuvalu Further information: Elections and political parties in Tuvalu Constitution The Constitution of Tuvalu states that it is "the supreme law of Tuvalu" and that "all other laws shall be interpreted and applied subject to this Constitution"; it sets out the Principles of the Bill of Rights and the Protection of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.[66][67] Parliament Tuvalu is a parliamentary democracy and Commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth II serving as the country's head of state and bearing the title Queen of Tuvalu. Since the Queen does not reside in the islands, she is represented in Tuvalu by a Governor General appointed by the Queen upon the advice of the Prime Minister of Tuvalu.[68] From 1974 (the creation of the British colony of Tuvalu) until independence, the legislative body of Tuvalu was called the House of the Assembly or Fale I Fono. Following independence in October 1978 the House of the Assembly was renamed the Parliament of Tuvalu or Palamene o Tuvalu.[68] The unicameral Parliament has 15 members with elections held every four years. The members of parliament select the Prime Minister (who is the head of government) and the Speaker of Parliament. The ministers that form the Cabinet are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. There are no formal political parties and election campaigns are largely based on personal/family ties and reputations. The Tuvalu National Library and Archives holds "vital documentation on the cultural, social and political heritage of Tuvalu", including surviving records from the colonial administration, as well as Tuvalu government archives.[69] Judiciary There are eight Island Courts and Lands Courts; appeals in relation to land disputes are made to the Lands Courts Appeal Panel. Appeals from the Island Courts and the Lands Courts Appeal Panel are made to the Magistrates Court, which has jurisdiction to hear civil cases involving up to $10,000. The superior court is the High Court of Tuvalu as it has unlimited original jurisdiction to determine the Law of Tuvalu and to hear appeals from the lower courts. Sir Gordon Ward is the current Chief Justice of Tuvalu.[70] Rulings of the High Court can be appealed to the Court of Appeal of Tuvalu. From the Court of Appeal there is a right of appeal to Her Majesty in Council, i.e., the Privy Council in London.[71][72] The Law of Tuvalu comprises the Acts voted into law by the Parliament of Tuvalu and statutory instruments that become law; certain Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom (during the time Tuvalu was either a British protectorate or British colony); the common law; and customary law (particularly in relation to the ownership of land).[71][72] Defence and law enforcement Main article: Law enforcement in Tuvalu Tuvalu has no regular military forces, and spends no money on the military. Its national police force, the Tuvalu Police Service headquartered in Funafuti includes a maritime surveillance unit, customs, prisons and immigration. Police officers wear British style uniforms. The police have a Pacific-class patrol boat (HMTSS Te Mataili) provided by Australia in October 1994 under the Pacific Patrol Boat Program for use in maritime surveillance and fishery patrol and for search-and-rescue missions.[73] ("HMTSS" stands for His/Her Majesty's Tuvaluan State Ship or for His/Her Majesty's Tuvalu Surveillance Ship.) Crime in Tuvalu is not a significant social problem due to an effective criminal justice system and also due to the influence of the Falekaupule (the traditional assembly of elders of each island) and the central role of religious institutions in the Tuvaluan community. Foreign relations Main article: Foreign relations of Tuvalu Tuvalu participates in the work of Secretariat of the Pacific Community, or SPC (sometimes Pacific Community) and is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations. Tuvalu has maintained a mission at the United Nations in New York City since 2000. Tuvalu is a member of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Tuvalu maintains close relations with Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the European Union. It has diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan); the ROC maintains the only resident embassy in Tuvalu and has a large assistance programme in the islands. A major international priority for Tuvalu in the UN, at the 2002 Earth Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa and in other international fora, is promoting concern about global warming and the possible sea level rising. Tuvalu advocates ratification and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. In December 2009 the islands stalled talks on climate change at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, fearing some other developing countries were not committing fully to binding deals on a reduction in carbon emissions. Their chief negotiator stated, "Tuvalu is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change and our future rests on the outcome of this meeting."[74] Tuvalu participates in the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which is a coalition of small island and low-lying coastal countries that have concerns about their vulnerability to the adverse effects of global climate change.[75] Under the Majuro Declaration, which was signed on 5 September 2013, Tuvalu has commitment to implement power generation of 100% renewable energy (between 2013 and 2020), which is proposed to be implemented using Solar PV (95% of demand) and biodiesel (5% of demand). The feasibility of wind power generation will be considered.[76] Tuvalu participates in the operations of the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).[77] Tuvalu is party to a treaty of friendship with the United States, signed soon after independence and ratified by the US Senate in 1983, under which the United States renounced prior territorial claims to four Tuvaluan islands (Funafuti, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae and Niulakita) under the Guano Islands Act of 1856.[78] Tuvalu participates in the operations of the Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA)[79] and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).[80] The Tuvaluan government, the US government, and the governments of other Pacific islands, are parties to the South Pacific Tuna Treaty (SPTT), which entered into force in 1988.[81] Tuvalu is also a member of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement which addresses the management of tuna purse seine fishing in the tropical western Pacific. In May 2013 representatives from the United States and the Pacific Islands countries agreed to sign interim arrangement documents to extend the Multilateral Fisheries Treaty (which encompasses the South Pacific Tuna Treaty) to confirm access to the fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific for US tuna boats for 18 months.[82][83] In July 2013 Tuvalu signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the Pacific Regional Trade and Development Facility, which Facility originated in 2006, in the context of negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Pacific ACP States and the European Union. The rationale for the creation of the Facility being to improve the delivery of aid to Pacific island countries in support of the Aid-for-Trade (AfT) requirements. The Pacific ACP States are the countries in the Pacific that are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement with the European Union.[84] Local government Elders and community councils Each island has its own high-chief, or ulu-aliki, and several sub-chiefs (alikis). The community council is the Falekaupule (the traditional assembly of elders) or te sina o fenua (literally: "grey-hairs of the land"). In the past, another caste, the priests (tofuga), were also amongst the decision-makers. The ulu-aliki and aliki exercise informal authority at the local level. Ulu-aliki are always chosen based on ancestry. Under the Falekaupule Act (1997),[85] the powers and functions of the Falekaupule are now shared with the pule o kaupule (elected village presidents; one on each atoll).[86] Local government districts Map of Tuvalu. Main article: Islands of Tuvalu The Islands of Tuvalu consist of six atolls and reef islands. The smallest, Niulakita, was uninhabited until it was settled by people from Niutao in 1949. Local government districts consisting of more than one islet: Funafuti Nanumea Nui Nukufetau Nukulaelae Vaitupu Local government districts consisting of only one island: Nanumanga Niulakita Niutao Tourism See also: Funafuti Conservation Area, Public holidays in Tuvalu and Visa policy of Tuvalu Due to the country's remoteness, tourism is not significant. Visitors totalled 1,684 in 2010, 65% were on business, development officials or technical consultants, 20% were tourists (360 people), and 11% were expatriates returning to visit family.[87] The main island of Funafuti is the focus of travellers, since the only airport in Tuvalu is the Funafuti International Airport and the island has hotel facilities.[88] Ecotourism is a motivation of travellers to Tuvalu. The Funafuti Conservation Area consists of 33 square kilometres (12.74 square miles) of ocean, reef, lagoon, channel and six uninhabited islets. The outer atolls can be visited on the two passenger-cargo ships, Nivaga II and Manu Folau, which provide round-trip visits to the outer islands every three or four weeks. There is guesthouse accommodation on many of the outer atolls. Economy Main article: Economy of Tuvalu See also: National Bank of Tuvalu and Tuvaluan dollar From 1996 to 2002, Tuvalu was one of the best-performing Pacific Island economies and achieved an average real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 5.6% per annum. Since 2002 economic growth has slowed, with GDP growth of 1.5% in 2008. Tuvalu was exposed to rapid rises in world prices of fuel and food in 2008, with the level of inflation peaking at 13.4%.[89] The International Monetary Fund 2010 Report on Tuvalu estimates that Tuvalu experienced zero growth in its 2010 GDP, after the economy contracted by about 2% in 2009.[90] On 5 August 2012, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Tuvalu, and assessed the economy of Tuvalu: "A slow recovery is underway in Tuvalu, but there are important risks. GDP grew in 2011 for the first time since the global financial crisis, led by the private retail sector and education spending. We expect growth to rise slowly".[91] Banking services are provided by the National Bank of Tuvalu. Public sector workers make up about 65% of those formally employed. Remittances from Tuvaluans living in Australia and New Zealand, and remittances from Tuvaluan sailors employed on overseas ships are important sources of income for Tuvaluans.[92][93] Approximately 15% of adult males work as seamen on foreign-flagged merchant ships. Agriculture in Tuvalu is focused on coconut trees and growing pulaka in large pits of composted soil below the water table. Tuvaluans are otherwise involved in traditional subsistence agriculture and fishing. Tuvaluans are well known for their seafaring skills, with the Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute on Amatuku motu (island), Funafuti, providing training to approximately 120 marine cadets each year so that they have the skills necessary for employment as seafarers on merchant shipping. The Tuvalu Overseas Seamen's Union (TOSU) is the only registered trade union in Tuvalu. It represents workers on foreign ships. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates that 800 Tuvaluan men are trained, certified and active as seafarers. The ADB estimates that, at any one time, about 15% of the adult male population works abroad as seafarers.[94] Government revenues largely come from sales of fishing licenses, income from the Tuvalu Trust Fund, and from the lease of its highly fortuitous .tv Internet Top Level Domain (TLD). In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from the use of its area code for premium-rate telephone numbers and from the commercialisation of its ".tv" Internet domain name,[95] which is now managed by Verisign until 2021.[96] The ".tv" domain name generates around $2.2 million each year from royalties, which is about ten per cent of the government's total revenue.[97] Domain name income paid most of the cost of paving the streets of Funafuti and installing street lighting in mid-2002. Tuvalu also generates income from stamps by the Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau and income from the Tuvalu Ship Registry. The Tuvalu Trust Fund was established in 1987 by the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.[92] The value of the Tuvalu Trust Fund is approximately $100 million.[89][90][98] Financial support to Tuvalu is also provided by Japan, South Korea and the European Union.[99] Australia and New Zealand continue to contribute capital to the Tuvalu Trust Fund and provide other forms of development assistance.[92][93] The US government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu. In 1999 the payment from the South Pacific Tuna Treaty (SPTT) was about $9 million, with the value increasing in the following years. In May 2013 representatives from the United States and the Pacific Islands countries agreed to sign interim arrangement documents to extend the Multilateral Fisheries Treaty (which encompasses the South Pacific Tuna Treaty) for 18 months.[82][83] The United Nations designates Tuvalu as a least developed country (LDC) because of its limited potential for economic development, absence of exploitable resources and its small size and vulnerability to external economic and environmental shocks.[100] Tuvalu participates in the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries (EIF), which was established in October 1997 under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation.[101][102] In 2013 Tuvalu deferred its graduation from least developed country (LDC) status to a Developing country to 2015. Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga said that this deferral was necessary to maintain access by Tuvalu to the funds provided by the United Nations's National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), as "Once Tuvalu graduates to a developed country, it will not be considered for funding assistance for climate change adaptation programmes like NAPA, which only goes to LDCs".[103] Tuvalu had meet targets so that Tuvalu was to graduate from LDC status. Prime minister, Enele Sopoaga wants the United Nations to reconsider its criteria for graduation from LDC status as not enough weight is given to the environmental plight of small island states like Tuvalu in the application of the Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI).[104] Demographics Main article: Demographics of Tuvalu See also: Women in Tuvalu Population Distribution of Tuvalu by Age Group (2014) The country's population has more than doubled since 1980 with a growth rate of 0.702%. The population at the 2002 census was 9,561,[105] and the population at the 2012 census was 10,837 (2012 Population & Housing Census Preliminary Analytical Report).[1] The population of Tuvalu is primarily of Polynesian ethnicity with approximately 4% of the population being Micronesian.[106] The net migration rate is estimated at −7.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)[106] From 1947 to 1983 a number of Tuvaluans from Vaitupu migrated to Kioa, an island in Fiji.[107] The settlers from Tuvalu were granted Fijian citizenship in 2005. In recent years New Zealand and Australia are the primary destinations for migration or seasonal work. New Zealand has an annual quota of 75 Tuvaluans granted work permits under the Pacific Access Category, as announced in 2001.[108] The applicants register for the Pacific Access Category (PAC) ballots; the primary criteria is that the principal applicant must have a job offer from a New Zealand employer.[109] Tuvaluans also have access to seasonal employment in the horticulture and viticulture industries in New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Work Policy introduced in 2007 allowing for employment of up to 5,000 workers from Tuvalu and other Pacific islands.[110] Tuvaluans can participate in the Australian Pacific Seasonal Worker Program, which allows Pacific Islanders to obtain seasonal employment in the Australian agriculture industry, in particular cotton and cane operations; fishing industry, in particular aquaculture; and with accommodation providers in the tourism industry.[111] Life expectancy for women in Tuvalu is 66.9 years and 62.7 years for men (2011 est.).[106] The Tuvaluan language is spoken by virtually everyone, while a language very similar to Gilbertese is spoken on Nui.[112] English is also an official language but is not spoken in daily use. Parliament and official functions are conducted in Tuvaluan language. Religion Main article: Religion in Tuvalu See also: Church of Tuvalu The introduction of Christianity ended the worship of ancestral spirits and other deities,[113] along with the power of the vaka-atua (the priests of the old religions). Laumua Kofe describes the objects of worship as varying from island to island, although ancestor worship is described by Rev. D.J. Whitmee in 1870 as being common practice.[114] About 97% of Tuvaluans are members of the Ekalesia Kilisiano Tuvalu (Church of Tuvalu), a Protestant Christian church. Tuvaluans continue to respect their ancestors within the context of a strong Christian faith. The other religions practised in Tuvalu include Seventh-day Adventist (1.4%), Bahá'í (1%)[106] and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (0.4%).[115] Culture Architecture The traditional buildings of Tuvalu used plants and trees from the native broadleaf forest,[116] including timber from: Pouka, (Hernandia peltata); Ngia or Ingia bush, (Pemphis acidula); Miro, (Thespesia populnea); Tonga, (Rhizophora mucronata); Fau or Fo fafini, or woman's fibre tree (Hibiscus tiliaceus).[116] and fibre from: Coconut; Ferra, native fig (Ficus aspem); Fala, Screw Pine or Pandanus.[116] The buildings were constructed without nails and were lashed and tied together with a plaited sennit rope that was handmade from dried coconut fibre.[117] Following contact with Europeans iron products were used including nails and corrugated iron roofing material. Modern building in Tuvalu are constructed from imported building materials including imported timber and concrete.[117] The church and community buildings are painted with white paint that is known as lase, which is made by burning a large amount of dead coral with firewood. The whitish powder that is the result is mixed with water and painted on the buildings.[118] Art of Tuvalu Main article: Art of Tuvalu A Tuvaluan dancer at Auckland's Pasifika Festival The artistic traditions of Tuvalu have traditionally been expressed in the design of clothing and traditional handicrafts such as the decoration of mats and fans.[119] The material culture of Tuvalu uses traditional design elements in artefacts used in every-day life such as the design of canoes and fish hooks made from traditional materials. The design of women's skirts (titi), tops (teuga saka), headbands, armbands, and wristbands, which continue to be used in performances of the traditional dance songs of Tuvalu, represents contemporary Tuvaluan art and design.[120] Dance and music Main article: Music of Tuvalu The traditional music of Tuvalu consists of a number of dances, including fatele, fakanau and fakaseasea.[121] The fatele, in its modern form, is performed at community events and to celebrate leaders and other prominent individuals, such as the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in September 2012.[122][123][124] The Tuvaluan style can be described "as a musical microcosm of Polynesia, where contemporary and older styles co-exist".[121] Cuisine Main article: Cuisine of Tuvalu The cuisine of Tuvalu is based on the staple of coconut and the many species of fish found in the ocean and lagoons of the atolls. Desserts made on the islands include coconut and coconut milk, instead of the animal milk. The traditional foods eaten in Tuvalu are pulaka, taro, bananas, breadfruit and coconut.[125] Tuvaluans eat seafood, including coconut crab, fish from the lagoon and ocean. A traditional food source is seabirds (taketake or Black Noddy and akiaki or White Tern), with pork being eaten mostly at fateles (or parties with dancing to celebrate events).[86] Pulaka is the main source for carbohydrates. Seafood provides protein. Bananas and breadfruit are supplemental crops. Coconut is used for its juice, to make other beverages and to improve the taste of some dishes.[86] A 1560-square-metre pond was built in 1996 on Vaitupu to sustain aquaculture in Tuvalu.[126] Flying fish are caught as a source of food and as an exciting activity, using a boat, a butterfly net and a spotlight to attract the flying fish.[86] Heritage Canoe carving on Nanumea See also: Agriculture in Tuvalu The traditional community system still survives to a large extent on Tuvalu. Each family has its own task, or salanga, to perform for the community, such as fishing, house building or defence. The skills of a family are passed on from parents to children. The women of Tuvalu use cowrie and other shells in traditional handicrafts.[119] Most islands have their own fusi, community owned shops similar to convenience stores, where canned foods and bags of rice can be purchased. Goods are cheaper and fusis give better prices for their own produce.[86] Another important building is the falekaupule or maneapa the traditional island meeting hall,[127] where important matters are discussed and which is also used for wedding celebrations and community activities such as a fatele involving music, singing and dancing.[86] Falekaupule is also used as the name of the council of elders – the traditional decision making body on each island. Under the Falekaupule Act, Falekaupule means "traditional assembly in each island...composed in accordance with the Aganu of each island". Aganu means traditional customs and culture.[127] Languages Main article: Tuvaluan language The Tuvaluan language and English are the national languages of Tuvalu. The Kiribati language is also spoken on the island of Nui.[128] Tuvaluan is of the Ellicean group of Polynesian languages, distantly related to all other Polynesian languages such as Hawaiian, Māori, Tahitian, Samoan and Tongan. It is most closely related to the languages spoken on the Polynesian outliers in Micronesia and northern and central Melanesia. The language has borrowed from the Samoan language, as a consequence of Christian missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries being predominantly Samoan.[33][112] There are about 13,000 Tuvaluan speakers worldwide.[129][130] The Tuvalu Media Corporation publishes Sikuleo o Tuvalu – Tuvalu Echo (previously: Tuvalu Echoes), a fortnightly newspaper and a news website.[131] Sport and leisure Tuvalu national football team (2011) A traditional sport played in Tuvalu is kilikiti, which is similar to cricket.[132] A popular sport specific to Tuvalu is Ano, which is played with two round balls of 12 cm (5 in) diameter.[86] Ano is a localised version of volleyball, in which the two hard balls made from pandanus leaves are volleyed at great speed with the team members trying to stop the Ano hitting the ground.[133] Traditional sports in the late 19th century were foot racing, lance throwing, quarterstaff fencing and wrestling, although the Christian missionaries disapproved of these activities.[134] The sports now played by Tuvaluans include kilikiti, Ano, football, volleyball,[135] rugby union[136] and Futsal are also played in the country as recreational activities. Weightlifting is a popular sport in Tuvalu. At the 2013 Pacific Mini Games, Tuau Lapua Lapua won Tuvalu's first ever gold medal in major sporting competition in the men's 62 kilogram snatch. (He also won bronze in the clean and jerk, and obtained the silver medal overall for the combined event.)[137] Tuvalu participates in the Oceanian Futsal Championship. Tuvalu has sports organisations for badminton, basketball, football, rugby union, tennis, table tennis, volleyball and weightlifting. A major sporting event is the "Independence Day Sports Festival" held annually on 1 October. The most important sports event within the country is arguably the Tuvalu Games, which are held yearly since 2008. Football in Tuvalu is played at club and national team level. The Tuvalu national football team trains at the Tuvalu Sports Ground in Funafuti and competes in the Pacific Games and South Pacific Games. The Tuvalu National Football Association is an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and is seeking membership in FIFA.[138][139] Tuvalu first participated in the Pacific Games in 1978 and in the Commonwealth Games in 1998, when a weightlifter attended the games held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[140] Two table tennis players attended the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England;[140] Tuvalu entered competitors in shooting, table tennis and weightlifting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia;[140] and three athletes participated in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, entering the discus, shot put and weightlifting events.[140] Tuvaluan athletes also participated in the men's and women's 100-metre sprints at the 2009 World Athletic Championships and 2011 World Athletic Championships. At the 2011 Pacific Games held in New Caledonia, Tuvaluan weightlifters won two silver medals and one bronze medal.[141] Okilani Tinilau represented Tuvalu at the 2013 World Championships in the men's 100-metre sprint. The Tuvalu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (TASNOC) was recognised as a National Olympic Committee in July 2007.[142] Tuvalu entered the Olympic Games for the first time at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China, with a weightlifter and two athletes in the men's and women's 100-metre sprints. A team with athletes in the same events represented Tuvalu at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[143] See also: Tuvaluan records in athletics, Tuvalu at the Commonwealth Games and Tuvalu at the Olympics Tuvalu (Listeni/tuːˈvɑːluː/ too-vah-loo or /ˈtuːvəluː/ too-və-loo), formerly known as the Ellice Islands,[2] is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. It comprises three reef islands and six true atolls spread out between the latitude of 5° to 10° south and longitude of 176° to 180°, west of the International Date Line.[3] Tuvalu's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers an oceanic area of approximately 900,000 km2.[4] Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. Its population of 10,837[1] makes it the third-least populous sovereign state in the world, with only the Vatican City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. In terms of physical land size, at just 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City at 0.44 km2 (0.17 sq mi), Monaco at 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi), and Nauru at 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi). The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians. In 1568 Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to sail through the archipelago, sighting the island of Nui during his expedition in search of Terra Australis. In 1819 the island of Funafuti was named Ellice's Island; the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay (1812–1876).[5] The islands came under Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, when each of the Ellice Islands was declared a British protectorate by Captain Gibson R.N., of HMS Curacoa, between 9 and 16 October 1892.[6] The Ellice Islands were administered as British protectorate by a Resident Commissioner from 1892 to 1916 as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), and later as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony from 1916 to 1974. A referendum was held in December 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration.[7] As a consequence of the referendum, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony ceased to exist on 1 January 1976 and the separate British colonies of Kiribati and Tuvalu came into existence.[8][9] Tuvalu became fully independent within the Commonwealth on 1 October 1978. On 17 September 2000 Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations. See also: Outline of Tuvalu |
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