Finelasi (Protective Goddess of Futuna)

Finelasi is the protective goddess of the island of Futuna, one of the children of the ancestral couple Mago and Tafaleata and thus sister to the war-god Fakavelikele. Tradition places her dwelling on the 522-metre summit of Mount Puke, the island's highest point, which lends a sacred dimension to its ascent. On the neighbouring island of Wallis ('Uvea) she is known under the name Kakahu, and she remains a well-remembered figure of popular devotion into the modern period, illustrating the shared religious inheritance of the two Polynesian outliers.

Parentage

• Mago (Ancestral Father of the Alo Lineage)
• Tafaleata (Ancestral Mother of the Alo Lineage)

Domains

• tutelary protection
• sacred mountain

Powers

• to guard and protect the island of Futuna
• to reside upon the summit of Mount Puke

Relations

• sibling: Malafulafu (Protector God of Nature)

Sources

• Guiot, Hélène. 'Gestion traditionnelle des espaces forestiers à Futuna (Polynésie occidentale): Contenu idéel et pratiques associées.' Journal de la Société des Océanistes 110 (2000): 61-75.
• Abbal, Odon. 'Les mythes de Wallis et Futuna.' Nîmes: Académie de Nîmes (academia.edu working paper).
• Burrows, Edwin G. Ethnology of Futuna. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 138. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1936.