Family History in New Caledonia

In New Caledonia they are called Flèches Faîtières, they go by other names in other Melanesian communities. Sometimes they are called tikis, although that is more Polynesian and sometime referred to as totem poles. I wanted to photograph them because of my interest in Pacific Northwest Totem Poles.

Flèches (spire in French) Faîtières are a feature of Kanak art and culture. Kanak are the Indigenous Melanesian people of New Caldonia. The poles are often placed on the top of a “great hut” of a clan chief. They tell the history of the clan, commemorate some of the great leaders of the clan and often feature stylized animals that are the totems of that clan. They can possess great “Mana” or spiritual force and serve as a connection between the dead and the living. They symbolize the power of the chief and provide protection. They can also be used in men’s meeting houses and to mark boundaries. When the chief dies the poles are taken down but are kept by the family. They are often carved from Houp wood from the Montrouziera Caulifora, a flowering tree only found in New Caledonia. Sometimes they are inlaid with shells.

The Flèches Faîtières have taken on a meaning beyond clan history. They have become a symbol of the power of indigenous chiefs and of New Caledonian sovereignty or as some local people put it “Cultural Identity over Colonial Power.” It was adopted as a symbol of the independence movement (see later post) in 1984. It was originally an emblem of mourning for the loss of sovereignty but has now been adopted as a national symbol and flies equally with the French Tricolor to signal the new “multicultural” identity of New Caledonia and the Kanak role in it. In July 2010, the French Prime Minister raised the new flag as co-equal flag with the French Tri Color over the French High Commission office in Nouméa.

Some modern poles have representations of all the regions of New Caledonia on a single pole to show national unity. There is a collection of poles in Place des Cocotiers (Coconut

Square) in Nouméa. The square itself is a delight, and I will post more from the square in a later post, but here is a gallery of Flèches Faîtières taken at the square and adjacent museum grounds.