Editing History of Tuvalu (section)

==Heritage and culture==

{{see also|Tuvaluan mythology}}

===Architecture===
The traditional buildings of Tuvalu used plants and trees from the native broadleaf forest,<ref name="CHF1">{{cite book |last1= Hedley |first1= Charles |title= General account of the Atoll of Funafuti |url= http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Journals/16686/487_complete.pdf |year= 1896 |publisher= Australian Museum Memoir 3(2): 1–72 |pages= 40–41 |access-date= 28 September 2013 |archive-date= 15 October 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131015112253/http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Journals/16686/487_complete.pdf |url-status= dead }}</ref> 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]]'').<ref name="CHF1"/> Fibre is from [[coconut]]; ''ferra'', native fig (''[[Ficus]] aspem''); ''fala'', screw pine or ''[[Pandanus]]''.<ref name="CHF1"/> The buildings were constructed without nails and were lashed together with a plaited [[sennit]] rope that was handmade from dried coconut fibre.<ref name="MG">{{cite book |last1=Goldsmith |first1=Michael. |title=Transformations of the Meeting-House in Tuvalu |year=1985 |publisher=Antony Hooper and Judith Huntsman, eds., ‘Transformations of Polynesian Culture’ Polynesian Society}}</ref>

Following contact with Europeans, iron products were used including nails and corrugated roofing material. Modern buildings in Tuvalu are constructed from imported building materials, including imported timber and concrete.<ref name="MG"/>

[[File:Interior of a maneapa in Funafuti, Tuvalu.jpg|thumb|Interior of a maneapa on Funafuti, Tuvalu]]
Church and community buildings ([[Maneaba|''maneapa'']]) are usually coated 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.<ref name="TP2">{{cite web |last=Panapa |first=Tufoua |title=Ethnographic Research on Meanings and Practices of Health in Tuvalu: A Community Report |publisher=Report to the Tuvaluan Ministries of Health and Education: Ph D Candidate Centre for Development Studies – "Transnational Pacific Health through the Lens of Tuberculosis" Research Group. Department of Anthropology, The University of Auckland, N.Z. |pages=39–41 |year=2012 |url=http://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/arts/Departments/anthropology/documents-publications/Tufoua%20Ethnographic%20Research%20on%20Meanings%20and%20Practices%20of%20Health%20in%20Tuvalu%20final.pdf |access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref>

===Art of Tuvalu===
{{Main|Art of Tuvalu}}
The women of Tuvalu use [[cowrie]] and other shells in traditional [[handicrafts]].<ref name="ATP"/> The artistic traditions of Tuvalu have traditionally been expressed in the design of clothing and traditional handicrafts such as the decoration of [[mat]]s and [[Fan (machine)|fan]]s.<ref name="ATP">{{cite web |last=Tiraa-Passfield |first=Anna |title=The uses of shells in traditional Tuvaluan handicrafts |publisher=SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin No. 7 |date=September 1996 |url=http://www.spc.int/DigitalLibrary/Doc/FAME/InfoBull/TRAD/7/TRAD7_02_Tiraa.pdf |access-date=8 February 2014}}</ref> [[Crochet]] (''kolose'') is one of the art forms practised by Tuvaluan women.<ref name="UNDP1">{{cite web |work=aucklandcouncil. |title=Kolose: The art of Tuvalu crochet |date=March 2015 |url=http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/newseventsculture/Arts/artscentretheatresgalleries/Documents/kolosecatalogue.pdf |access-date=12 July 2015}}</ref><ref name="TPwa">{{cite web |last=Mallon |first=Sean |title=Wearable art: Tuvalu style |publisher=Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa) blog |date=2 October 2013 |url=http://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2013/10/02/wearable-art-tuvalu-style/ |access-date=10 April 2014}}</ref> The [[material culture]] of Tuvalu uses traditional design elements in artefacts used in everyday life such as the design of [[canoe]]s and [[fish hook]]s made from traditional materials.<ref name="K1931">{{cite book |last1= Kennedy |first1= Donald |title= The Ellice Islands Canoe |url= http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document//Memoirs_%28Additional%29/No._9%3A_Field_Notes_on_the_Culture_of_Vaitupu%2C_Ellice_Islands%2C_by_D._G._Kennedy/The_Ellice_Islands_Canoe%2C_p_71-100/p1 |year= 1931 |publisher= Journal of the Polynesian Society, Memoir no. 9 |pages= 71–100 |access-date= 10 April 2019 |archive-date= 6 October 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221006034408/https://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Memoirs_%28Additional%29/No._9%3A_Field_Notes_on_the_Culture_of_Vaitupu%2C_Ellice_Islands%2C_by_D._G._Kennedy/The_Ellice_Islands_Canoe%2C_p_71-100/p1 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name="GKTGS1">{{cite book |last1= Gerd Koch (translated by Guy Slater)|title=The Material Culture of Tuvalu|year=1981 |publisher= University of the South Pacific|location=Suva |id=ASIN B0000EE805 }}</ref>

===Traditional uses of material from the native broadleaf forest===
[[Charles Hedley]] (1896) identified the uses of plants and trees from the native broadleaf forest as including:<ref name="CHF1"/>
* '''Food plants''': [[Coconut]]; and ''Ferra'', native fig (''[[Ficus]] aspem'').<ref name="CHF1"/>
* '''Fibre''': Coconut; ''Ferra''; ''Fala'', Screw Pine, ''[[Pandanus]]''; ''Fau'' or ''Fo fafini'', or woman's fibre tree (''[[Hibiscus tiliaceus]]'').<ref name="CHF1"/>
* '''Timber''': ''Fau'' or ''Fo fafini''; ''Pouka'', (''[[Hernandia]] peltata''); ''Ngia'' or ''Ingia'', (''[[Pemphis]] acidula''); ''Miro'', (''[[Thespesia populnea]]''); and ''Tonga'' (''Tongo''), (''[[Rhizophora mucronata]]'').<ref name="CHF1"/>
* '''Dye''': ''Valla valla'', (''[[Premna tahitensis]]''); ''Tonga'' (''Tongo''), (''[[Rhizophora mucronata]]''); and ''Nonou'' (''Nonu''), (''[[Morinda citrifolia]]'').<ref name="CHF1"/>
* '''Scent''': ''Fetau'', (''[[Calophyllum inophyllum]]''); ''Jiali'', (''[[Gardenia taitensis]]''); and ''Boua'' (''[[Guettarda speciosa]]''); ''Valla valla'', (''[[Premna tahitensis]]''); and [[Crinum]].<ref name="CHF1"/>
* '''Medicinal''': ''Tulla tulla'', (''[[Triumfetta]] procumbens''); ''Nonou'' (''Nonu''), (''[[Morinda citrifolia]]''); ''Tausoun'', (''[[Heliotropium foertherianum]]''); ''Valla valla'', (''[[Premna tahitensis]]''); ''Talla talla gemoa'', (''[[Psilotum]] triquetrum''); ''Lou'', (''[[Cardamine]] sarmentosa''); and ''Lakoumonong'', (''[[Wedelia]] strigulosa'').<ref name="CHF1"/>

These plants and trees are still used in the [[Art of Tuvalu]] to make traditional artwork and handicraft. Tuvaluan women continue to make ''Te titi tao'', which is a traditional skirt made of dried [[pandanus]] leaves that are dyed using ''Tongo'' (''[[Rhizophora mucronata]]'') and ''Nonu'' (''[[Morinda citrifolia]]'').<ref name="AoT">{{cite web |last =Takemoto| first =Shoko |title= The Art of Tuvalu – Climate Change through the eyes of artists in Tuvalu| publisher= exposure.co |date=4 November 2015|url= https://shoko.exposure.co/the-art-of-tuvalu |access-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> The art of making a titi tao is passed down from Fafinematua (elder women) to the Tamaliki Fafine (young women) who are preparing for their first [[Fatele]].<ref name="AoT"/>

===Traditional fishing canoes (''paopao'')===
The people of Tuvalu construct traditional outrigger canoes. A 1996 survey conducted on Nanumea found some 80 canoes. In 2020 there are about 50 canoes with up to five households practicing traditional canoe building. However, the availability of mature {{Lang|sm|fetau}} trees (''[[Calophyllum inophyllum]]'') on the island is declining.<ref name="TCAP-NN97">{{cite report|first= |last= FCG ANZDEC Ltd |title = Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project: Environmental and Social Impact Assessment - Nanumaga and Nanumea |date= 7 August 2020 |publisher= The Pacific Community |pages=92 & 97|chapter= |url= https://www.adaptation-undp.org/Tuvalu-Coastal-Adaptation-Project-TCAP-ESIA-Nanumaga-Nanumea |access-date=6 February 2021}}</ref>

An outrigger canoe would be constructed by a skilled woodworker ({{Lang|sm|tofuga}} or {{Lang|sm|tufunga}}) of the family, on whose land was a suitable tree. The canoe builder would call on the assistance of the {{Lang|sm|tufunga}} of other families.<ref name="K1931"/> The ideal shape the canoe was that of the body of a [[List of mammals of Tuvalu|whale]] ({{Lang|sm|tafola}}), while some {{Lang|sm|tufunga}} shaped the canoe to reflect the body of a [[bonito]] ({{Lang|sm|atu}}). Before steel tools became available, the {{Lang|sm|tufunga}} or used shell and stone [[adze]]s, which were rapidly blunted when used. With a group of up to ten {{Lang|sm|tufunga}} building a canoe, one or two would work on the canoe, while others were engaged in sharpening the edge of one adze after another. Each morning, the {{Lang|sm|tufunga}} would conduct a religious ceremony ({{Lang|sm|lotu-a-toki}}) over the adzes before the commencement of work. When steel tools became available, two {{Lang|sm|tufunga}} would be sufficient to build a canoe.<ref name="K1931"/>

[[Donald Gilbert Kennedy]] described the construction of traditional outrigger canoes ([[Paopao (canoe)|''paopao'']]) and of the variations of single-outrigger canoes that had been developed on [[Vaitupu]] and [[Nanumea]].<ref name="K1931"/> [[Gerd Koch]], an anthropologist, Koch visited the atolls of [[Nanumaga]], [[Nukufetau]] and [[Niutao]], in 1960–61, and published a book on the material culture of the Ellice Islands, which also described the canoes of those islands.<ref name="GKTGS1"/>

The variations of single-outrigger canoes that had been developed on [[Vaitupu]] and [[Nanumea]] were reef-type or paddled canoe; that is, they were designed for carrying over the reef and paddled, rather than sailed. The traditional outrigger canoes from [[Nui (atoll)|Nui]] were constructed with an indirect type of outrigger attachment and the hull is double-ended, with no distinct bow and stern. These canoes were designed to be sailed over the Nui lagoon.<ref name="PcM">{{cite journal|author= McQuarrie, Peter|url= http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_85_1976/Volume_85%2C_No._4/Nui_Island_sailing_canoes%2C_by_Peter_McQuarrie%2C_p_543-548/p1?page=0&action=searchresult&target=|title= Nui Island sailing canoes|journal= Journal of the Polynesian Society|volume= 85|issue= 4|year= 1976|pages= 543–548|access-date= 10 April 2019|archive-date= 13 August 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220813162429/https://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_85_1976/Volume_85%2C_No._4/Nui_Island_sailing_canoes%2C_by_Peter_McQuarrie%2C_p_543-548/p1?page=0&action=searchresult&target=|url-status= dead}}</ref> The booms of the outrigger are longer than those found in other designs of canoes from the other islands.<ref name="K1931"/> This made the Nui canoe more stable when used with a sail than the other designs.<ref name="PcM"/>

===Dance and music===
{{Main|Music of Tuvalu}}
[[File:Dancer, Tuvalu stage, 2011 Pasifika festival.jpg|thumb|upright|A Tuvaluan dancer at Auckland's [[Pasifika Festival]].]]
The traditional music of Tuvalu consists of a number of dances, including ''[[fakaseasea]]'', ''[[fakanau]]'' and ''[[fatele]]''.<ref name="RG">{{cite book |last1=Linkels |first1=Ad |title=The Real Music of Paradise |year=2000 |publisher=Rough Guides, Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.)|isbn= 1-85828-636-0 |page=221}}</ref>

===Heritage===
The&nbsp;''aliki''&nbsp;were the leaders of traditional Tuvaluan society.<ref name="JR-aliki">{{cite web| last =Resture| first =Jane|title=Tuvalu the Traditional Social Structure| publisher= Janeresture.com|date =14 October 2022| url=https://www.janeresture.com/tuvalu-the-traditional-social-structure/| access-date=3 December 2023}}</ref> The&nbsp;''aliki''&nbsp;had the&nbsp;''tao aliki'', or assistant chiefs who were the mediators between the islanders and the&nbsp;''aliki'', who were responsible for the administration and supervision of daily activities on the island, such as arranging fishing expeditions and communal works.<ref name="JR-aliki"/> The role of the sisters and daughters of the&nbsp;''aliki''&nbsp;was to ensure that the women were engaged in activities that were traditionally done by the women, such as weaving baskets, mats, baskets, string, clothing and other materials.<ref name="JR-aliki"/> The elders of the community were male heads of each family (''sologa'').<ref name="JR-aliki"/>  Each family would have a task (''pologa'') to perform for the community, such as being a skilled&nbsp;builder of canoes or houses ({{Lang|sm|tofuga}} or {{Lang|sm|tufunga}}), or being skilled at fishing, farming, or as a warrior to defend the island.<ref name="JR-aliki"/> The skills of a family are passed on from parents to children.

An important building is the ''falekaupule'' or [[Maneaba|''maneapa'']], the traditional island [[meeting hall]],<ref name=TKII/> 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.<ref name="Bennetts"/>  ''[[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&nbsp;... composed in accordance with the Aganu of each island". ''Aganu'' means traditional customs and culture.<ref name=TKII/>

Tuvalu does not have any museums, however the creation of a [[Tuvalu National Cultural Centre and Museum]] is part of the government's strategic plan for 2018–24.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tuvalu national culture policy strategic plan, 2018–2024|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265528|access-date=15 April 2021|publisher=UNESCO}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bennoune|first=Karima|date=24 September 2019|title=Preliminary findings and observations on visit to Tuvalu by UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights|url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25035&LangID=E}}</ref>