Finelasi (Protective Goddess of Futuna)
Wallisian Futunan · deity · Wallisian Futunan traditional religion; continuing · deity
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
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.