Katoaga

Of ancient origin and present in many Polynesian societies, the katoaga obeys a strict ritual and protocol that has changed little since the Christianization of Wallis and Futuna in the 19th century.

It begins with a Catholic mass, is followed by a meal, a kava ceremony and dances performed by the villagers, before the food brought by the inhabitants is redistributed to the dignitaries and the population, each gift being allocated according to the rank of the person for whom it is intended.

It follows a logic of gift and counter-gift comparable to that of the potlatch, where the goods offered confer prestige on the giver and oblige the recipient to give in return, without any use or monetary value.

The katoaga showcases the social order of Wallisian and Futunansociety, displaying each person's place in the hierarchy, but also constitutes a political arena, with the authority of customary chiefs measured in their ability to bring together large numbers of people to offer wealth, which is then redistributed.

This ceremony also consecrates the role of customary kings as guarantors of the smooth running of society, acting as intermediaries between the world of the living, that of the ancestors and God.

With Christianization, the term taumafa became associated with Christ's Last Supper: for anthropologist Adriano Favole, the same symbolism of the meal preceding a sacrifice is found here.

[3] For archaeologist Anne di Piazza, the katoaga played a role in the organization of agriculture in Futuna: the emergence of irrigated tarodières enabled abundant tuber production.

[12] Katoaga may be organized for a variety of occasions: a religious festival, such as the feast of the patron saint of a parish (St. Michael in Ha'afuasia, St. John the Baptist in Vailala, St. Peter Chanel in Halalo, the Sacred Heart in Tepa); a secular festival, such as the national holiday on 14 July the territorial holiday on 29 July or the enthro nement of a political figure; or a private occasion, such as a wedding, First Communion or death.

Indeed, "the katoaga is a long and elaborate redistributive rite that involves the gathering of large quantities of wealth (...) and is linked to the state of the harvest and the existence of a sufficient number of pigs".

[15] On the eve of a katoaga, the villagers are intensely busy: pigs are shot, eviscerated and cooked in buried ovens by the men, while the women make necklaces of tiaré and hibiscus flowers.

[6] In Wallis, the katoaga begins with an early-morning mass, followed by an "apéritif" (a meal offered for dignitaries), a kava ceremony, then dances and finally the distribution of food.

[13] Before leaving mass, the customary district and village chiefs place the offerings ('umu) in the central square (mala'e) right next to the church, and determine to whom they will be distributed, according to their size (the larger the pig, the higher the rank of the recipient).

[16] The master of ceremonies is responsible for announcing in turn the persons to whom the kava is to be distributed; once called, they clap their hands three times and receive a cup.

During a katoaga, the main goods offered are baskets of vegetables (yams, alocasia macrorrhizos) and fruit (bananas), on which are placed grilled pigs, which are then covered with a banig at containing a bark cloth (tapa).

[27] The value of the goods exchanged does not follow a monetary logic: while it is possible to buy banigs or pigs before a katoaga, "in no case can an equivalent sum of money replace them on the day of distribution".

[27] For anthropologist Patrick Vinton Kirch, these ceremonies of exchange of goods force the inhabitants to produce more than would suffice for their subsistence, to always have surpluses to offer.

[13] Anthropologist Paul van der Grijp explains that the production of pigs and yams for men, and banigs and tapa for women, is an activity that determines their value in the eyes of the community.

[27] Anthropologist Paul van der Grijp notes that since the introduction of salaried employment in Wallis and Futuna, there has been an "inflation of donations", which have to be ever larger.

Anthropologist Adriano Favole sees these ever-growing donations as a response to the emergence of major economic inequalities between salaried and non-salaried workers.

[27] Some traditional chiefs do not hesitate to go into debt with merchants to buy and distribute large quantities of food to their communities, to consolidate their power and maintain their rank.

[40] This modus operandi of Wallisian and Futunansocieties explains in particular the weak power of the French administration at the start of the Wallis and Futuna protectorate, which was not integrated into these ceremonial exchanges.

Nevertheless, the symbolic gains are significant: they confirm individuals' place within the society, gathered around a chief and protected by the ancestors and by God, and can increase personal prestige through the importance of one's gift.

[42] Adriano Favole points out that in Futuna, participation in the katoaga affirms "membership of a social collectivity with the rights and responsibilities – particularly those linked to work – that this entails".

[6] On the other hand, "the grandeur of a katoaga reflects the well-being and prosperity of the island, and reveals the skill and strength of the men and women of the organizing village".

[43] For Favole, katoaga constitute "cosmo-poiesis rites", "insofar as they aspire to construct (poiêin) an 'order' (cosmos) in the world of men and nature through the definition of hierarchical categories".

[3] The kava and katoaga confirm the "cosmological" character of kingship (as theorized by Marshall Sahlins): in Polynesian culture, the well-being of the population, the life of the king and the alignment of cosmic forces are linked.

[2] Adriano Favole classifies the katoaga as one of the "politics of tradition", in which custom is put on stage, without this being an essentialization of the past: these ceremonies evolve and incorporate new elements, such as money and the Christian religion.

[27] For Adriano Favole, the preparation and execution of a katoaga also responds to the search for a particular aesthetic: "the spectacle offered by the village square covered with reddened pigs illuminated by the first pale lights of the sun, baskets made of woven coconut leaves, bark cloths decorated with local inks and the banner of cloths rising near the beach [ is] considered to be of the utmost beauty" by the locals.

This search for "the beautiful and the sublime" is also reflected in the participants' clothing and finery (flower necklaces, tattoos, perfumes), and constitutes "a kind of artistic ennoblement of daily work".

[44] In this context, custom takes on a folkloric aspect around dances, and goods exchanged during katoaga are perceived as costly expenses;[44] hierarchy is often ignored by younger generations who have adopted a Western lifestyle where money and social success have taken precedence over traditional values.