Sigave (Kingdom)

Royaume coutumier de Sigave
Kingdom of Sigave
Official language	de jure : French de facto : Futunic
Capital	Leava
Form of government	Kingdom in the French overseas territory of Wallis and Futuna
Head of state	King by Sigave Eufenio Takala
Head of government	Prime Minister of Sigave Visesio Atufele
surface	21 km²
population	1272 (2018)
Population density	61 inhabitants per km²
currency	CFP Franc
National anthem	Marseillaise
Time zone	UTC + 12
License Plate	F.
ISO 3166	WF-SG
Internet TLD	.wf
Telephone code	+681
Map of the kingdoms of Alo and Sigave

Sigave (also Singave or Sigavé ) is a kingdom in the French overseas territory of Wallis and Futuna on the Horn Islands . It comprises the western third of Futuna and has been recognized by the Republic of France as a traditional kingdom since 1961 , thus forming the subordinate administrative unit of Wallis and Futuna alongside the kingdoms of Uvea and Alo .

area

Mount Puke is a border point between Alo and Sigave.

The kingdom is located in the western third of Futuna and is sparsely populated. In the interior of the country there is mainly forest , while the coast is the only inhabited part. To the east, Sigave borders the Kingdom of Alo.

In the northern center of Futuna is Mont Puke , which is a border point between Sigave and Alo. It is the highest point of the island and the kingdom of Sigave.

history

discovery

In May 1616, Futuna was discovered by the Dutch navigators Jacob Le Maire and Willem Cornelisz Schouten . The French navigator Louis Antoine de Bougainville rediscovered the island group in 1768 and gave it the name Futuna (the lost child of the Pacific). From August 10, 1839 to 1841, Sigave was occupied by Alo.

Development as part of France

In 1887, many Polynesian kings signed a protectorate treaty with France. So did the King of Sigave. In 1961, after a referendum, Sigave became part of the new French overseas territory of Wallis and Futuna, along with Uvea and Alo.

After King Visesio Moeliku's abdication , Sigave no longer had a king until 2016. On March 5, 2016, Eufenio Takala from the Keletaona clan was named the new king. He is currently the reigning King of Sigave.

population

In 2018 there were 1272 people in Sigave. As in the entire overseas territory, the population is declining, mainly due to emigration to New Caledonia . In 2003 there were still 1,880 people living in Sigave. The largest village is the capital Leava.

97.3% of the population are Polynesians , the rest is predominantly of European ( French ) origin. The vast majority of the population professes the Roman Catholic faith . The kingdom is part of the Diocese of Wallis and Futuna .

politics

The traditional head of state is the King of Sigave , Eufenio Takala . The king is assisted by five ministers appointed by the village chiefs. You can depose the king. This makes the kingdom relatively unstable and, with a few exceptions, the kings have only stayed in office for two to three years in recent years. The king also has a ceremony chief and a police chief. Political influence is limited. The kingdom has mostly traditional and representative functions.

Administrative division

Sigave is divided into six villages. An intermediate level in the form of districts only exists in uvea. In theory, the entire Kingdom of Sigave is a district.

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

Village	Population (2013-07-22)	Coordinates
Fiua	302	14 ° 15 ′ 11.0 ″  S , 178 ° 10 ′ 49.0 ″  W.
Leava	368	14 ° 17 ′ 49.8 ″  S , 178 ° 09 ′ 27.5 ″  W.
Nuku	257	14 ° 17 ′ 26.8 ″  S , 178 ° 09 ′ 57.8 ″  W.
Tavai	177	14 ° 14 ′ 54.0 ″  S , 178 ° 09 ′ 43.0 ″  W.
Toloke	194	14 ° 14 ′ 32.0 ″  S , 178 ° 10 ′ 36.0 ″  W.
Vaisei	159	14 ° 16 '17.3 "  S , 178 ° 10' 20.9"  W.

Infrastructure

Sigave does not have an airport . The closest airport is the small Futuna Pointe Vele airport in Alo bei Vele . The Kingdom is on the RT 1 to the road network connected Futunas. RT 1 is the ring road of the island of Futuna. Leava has the only slightly larger port on the island of Futuna, which is also used for Alo.

economy

The economy in all of Wallis and Futuna is weak and characterized by subsistence farming. The central administration of Wallis and Futuna manages development funds from France.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Populations légales des îles Wallis et Futuna en 2013. Populations des circonscriptions. Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE), November 21, 2013, accessed on December 10, 2017 (French). 
2. ↑ Ben Cahoon: Wallis and Futuna. Retrieved March 30, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Recensement de la population 2018. (PDF; 336 kB) In: statistique.wf. Service Territorial de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (STSEE), 2018, archived from the original on November 29, 2018 ; accessed on November 29, 2018 (French). 
4. ↑ Patrick Ferrante: Futuna: un nouveau roi pour Sigave. In: wallis et futuna 1ère. France Télévisions , March 3, 2016, accessed December 10, 2017 (French). 
5. ↑ Futuna: la chefferie de Sigave enfin au complet! Bientôt un roi? Retrieved August 22, 2017 . 
6. ↑ Populations légales des îles Wallis et Futuna en 2013. Populations des villages. Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE), November 21, 2013, accessed on December 10, 2017 (French).