Vaitupu

Vaitupu
Atoll
Vaitupu atoll from space
Map of Vaitupu, 1931
Vaitupu Location in Tuvalu
Coordinates: 07°28′S 178°41′E / 7.467°S 178.683°E / -7.467; 178.683Coordinates: 07°28′S 178°41′E / 7.467°S 178.683°E / -7.467; 178.683
Country	Tuvalu
Area
• Total	5.6 km2 (2.2 sq mi)
Population (2012)
• Total	1,555
• Density	280/km2 (720/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	TV-VAI

Vaitupu is the largest atoll of the nation of Tuvalu. It is located at 7.48 degrees south and 178.83 degrees west. There are 1,555 people (2012 census) living on 5.6 square kilometres (2.2 square miles) with the main village being Asau.

The exact date of Vaitupu's first settlement is unknown. According to oral history, the founder of the Vaitupuan community was a Samoan by the name of Telematua, who arrived in the 16th or 17th century. However, it is possible that Tongans may have first reached the atoll during the mid-13th century. Vaitupu has maintained contacts with Tonga throughout its history, both peaceful (alliances through marriage) and hostile (visits by Tongan slave-seekers). Vaitupu was also visited by I-Kiribati, and was thus far from isolated. Vaitupu means 'the fountain of water'.

Obed Starbuck, a whaling captain, visited Vaitupu on the Loper in 1825, naming it 'Tracy Island'. The United States Exploring Expedition under Charles Wilkes visited Vaitupu in 1841.

Samoan pastors from the London Missionary Society successfully introduced Christianity in the 1860s. The pastors implemented religious regulations, outlawing many cultural practices. They also introduced the Samoan language, as their Bibles were written in Samoan. Vaitupuans became literate in Samoan rather than in their own language.

Vaitupuans celebrate Te Aso Fiafia (Happy Day) on 25 November of each year. Te Aso Fiafia commemorates 25 November 1887 which was the date on which the final instalment of a debt of $13,000 was repaid to H. M. Ruge and Company, a German trading firm that operated from Apia, Samoa. Vaitupu history is that Thomas William Williams, the Ruge agent, pretended to do his customers a favour by allowing them to obtain goods on credit. In 1883 the debt of the Vaitupuans was $13,000 and H. M. Ruge and Company had threatened to seize the entire island unless the debt was repaid. Neemia, a Vaitupuan pastor living in Samoa, returned and organised working parties to collect coconuts and prepare copra to sell to pay off the debt, with Henry Nitz, the Webber & Co agent on Vaitupu, contributing money to meet the final payment. The Vaitupuans, with the help of their friends from Funafuti, repaid the debt by the due date. Seven thousand dollars was repaid by 1886 and the balance was paid on 25 November 1887.