Usually there is a Mass before customary celebrations attended by the king and top church dignitaries, but the Catholic church said it will not join the traditional events this year.

Two rival sets of royal families have each installed a king.

The territory's public broadcaster said this meant that on Sunday, both kings would have separate ceremonies in separate venues but without a church presence.

Some Chiefs have chosen Tominiko Halagahu to be king or Lavelua but this has caused anger from other traditionally royal families who claim it is their job to choose.

Dozens of people are said to be occupying the royal palace building.

Wallis and Futuna have a history of prolonged disputes over who should take the throne.

Long-serving monarch Tomasi Kulimoetoke ruled as Lavelua from 1959 until his death in 2007 at the age of 88.

Two years before his death, rival clans tried to remove him, which led to an armed rebellion by his supporters.

A French negotiator went to the island, but the eventual result was that Tomasi Kulimoetoke stayed on as king.

Apart from the fact that he made his subjects dismount their bicycles as they passed the palace, there was anger over the sanctuary he gave to his grandson Tomasi Tuugahala who had been found guilty of killing a pedestrian while driving when drunk.

Rather than hand him over, the king sheltered him for four months until pressure from protesters and France became too great.

The grandson was finally transported to New Caledonia to serve his 18-month jail sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

Before that, in 2002, the king had caused anger by closing the country's only newspaper after it berated him for giving refuge to his friend Make Pilioko who had been found guilty of embezzling public funds.

Since the death of Tomasi Kulimoetoke there has been considerable upheaval.

Kapeliele Faupala was crowned in 2008, but in 2014 he was removed by powerful families because of his political intervention - namely sacking two prime ministers, according to local reports.

The position has been vacant since.

Uvea is on the island of Wallis, Sigave, on the western part of the island of Futuna, and Alo, on the island of Alofi and on the eastern part of the island of Futuna.

In recent months, the two other kingdoms of Sigave and Alo both chose new kings, according to Radio New Zealand

The royal title is not hereditary.
Source

• thenational.scot
• radionz.co.nz
• bbc.com
• Image: static3.spulsecdn.net

After seven years vacancy Sigave, one of the two kingdoms of Futuna, has a new ruler.

The enthronement of the new Sigave customary sovereign (king) took place without incident on March 5 in Leava, capital of Futuna.

The title of Keletaona was bestowed on Eufenio Takala at a ceremony in the Fale Fono of Leava, the village he comes from.

The ceremony took place after several weeks of conflict among the traditional chiefs.

After the Kava ​​ceremony, during the Sunday Mass, at the Church of Sau Sau, the parish priest, Lafaele Lie, anointed the new king calling him "to unity, peace and respect."

Eufenio Takala took the place reserved for the customary sovereign.

Takala made ​​a gesture of reconciliation by shaking hands with two traditional leaders, the Tuisavaka Sakafu and Eneliko Keketaona.

Since the last quarter of 2015, clashes have regularly occurred in the vicinity of the church building.

In recent weeks there have been scuffles between the families after church services, which prompted police to intervene.

The last king recognized by all, Visesio Moeliku, was inducted in 2004 and reigned until 2009, when he resigned.

The territory of Wallis and Futuna, to the north of Fiji, has three separate kingdoms that rule alongside the French republic.

Read original report in French

Sources

• la1ere.francetvinfo.fr
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: la1ere.francetvinfo.fr