Uvean

Uvean may refer to the people or the language of Uvea, the principal island of Wallis and Futuna, a French overseas collectivity in the South Pacific. The term is used for both the ethnolinguistic group and the language spoken there, which is often called East Uvean or Uvean.

The Uvean people are a Polynesian ethnolinguistic group forming the majority on Wallis Island. They have a traditional chiefly system, historically centered on a monarch known as the Lavelua, with a network of local chiefs. In modern governance, customary authority operates alongside French territorial institutions within Wallis and Futuna. The Uvean are predominantly Roman Catholic, a legacy of 19th-century missions, and social life tends to revolve around extended families, parishes, and local ceremonies.

The Uvean language, also referred to as East Uvean or Wallisian, is a Polynesian language in the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. It is spoken on Wallis Island and is commonly used in daily life alongside French, which serves as the administrative language. Uvean is closely related to Futunan (the language of Futuna Island) and to other Polynesian languages.

Name and classification: The term Uvean derives from Uvea, the local name for Wallis Island. The language is typically called Uvean or East Uvean; Futunan (the language of Futuna) is sometimes distinguished as West Uvean. Wallis and Futuna’s linguistic landscape reflects its cultural and historical connections within Polynesia.