Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that can help answer the question.
Query: How many Kanak still live in New Caledonia?
Kanak (French spelling until 1984: Canaque) are the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific. According to the 2014 census, they make up 39.1% of the total population with around 104,000 people.[1]
New Caledonia was annexed to France in 1853, and became an overseas territory of France in 1956. An independence movement led to a failed revolt in 1967, and was restarted in 1984, pursuing total independence status from the French rule. When the 1988 Matignon agreements were signed between the representatives of France and New Caledonia to decide on holding the referendum for independence, Jean-Marie Tjibaou, the Kanak leader of the independence movement, had mooted a proposal to set up an Agency for the Development of Kanak Culture (ADCK). After Tjibaou's assassination in 1989, the French President François Mitterrand ordered that a cultural centre on the lines suggested by Tjibaou be set up in Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia; it was to be the last of Mitterrand's Grands Projets.[4] The Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre was formally established in May 1998.[5]
The earliest history of Europeans arriving on these islands is when Captain Cook of the United Kingdom landed in these islands in 1775 at a time when there were reportedly 70,000 Kanaks living in the archipelago. Cook gave the name "New Caledonia" to these islands, after Caledonia, his Scottish highlands.[2][3]
Jawe is one of the 33 Melanesian-Polynesian languages legally recognized by New Caledonia and the Kanak people but it is not one of the most widely used languages amongst the Kanak people, as French is the predominant and official language in New Caledonia.
The ' is wood sculpture that represents the spirit of Kanak culture, which resembles a small totem pole. As it represented the power of the clan Chiefs of Kanaks over their subjects, it was adopted as part of the flag of the Kanaks by the organization leading the independent movement in New Caledonia. The Grand Huts also known as ' (chef's hut) are decorated with a " as a filial, representing the ancestral spirits, symbolic of transition between the world of the dead and the world of the living.
Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian (Wallisians, Futunians, Tahitians), Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians, Ni-Vanuatu and Kanaks who work in one of the South Pacific's most industrialised cities. The city lies on a protected deepwater harbour that serves as the chief port for New Caledonia.
The Kanak Language Academy (Académie des Langues Kanak; KLA) is a local, public educational establishment in New Caledonia. Founded in 2007, with roots reaching to the Nouméa Accords of 1998, the legislative assembly endorsed the setting up of the French territory’s first indigenous Kanak languages institute. Its mission is "to establish rules of usage and to help promote and develop all Kanak languages and dialects". The KLA is expected to standardise, protect, and develop the about forty Kanak languages and dialects, as well as standardize the written form for Kanak languages.
The Kanak people, part of the Melanesian group, are indigenous to New Caledonia.[65] Their social organization is traditionally based around clans, which identify as either "land" or "sea" clans, depending on their original location and the occupation of their ancestors.[65] According to the 2009 census, the Kanak constitute 94% of the population in the Loyalty Islands Province, 74% in the North Province and 27% in the South Province.[65] The Kanak tend to be of lower socio-economic status than the Europeans and other settlers.[65]
New Caledonia was formally annexed by France in 1853, and Europeans and Polynesians, as well as other settlers, have since made the indigenous Kanaks a minority (27%, 11% and 39% respectively in the 2014 census). The territory was used as a penal colony from 1864 to 1897, and the Kanaks were "excluded from the French economy and from mining work, and ultimately confined to reservations". Between 1976 and 1988, conflicts between the French government and the independence movement saw periods of serious violence and disorder (culminating in the Ouvéa cave hostage taking in 1988), with the emerging Kanak independence movement gaining support from many Kanaks frustrated with their lower socio-economic status and lack of involvement in the economy, seen as problems caused by the French "exploitation". Though GDP per capita (nominal) is high at $38,921 and though New Caledonia is a major producer of nickel, there is significant inequality in income distribution, with many claiming that the mining revenue benefits people outside the territory and its (declining) mining communities.
Though Melanesian settlement is recorded on Grande Terre's Presqu'île de Foué as far back as the Lapita culture, the origin of Kanak people is unclear. Ethnographic research has shown that Polynesian seafarers have intermarried with the Kanaks over the centuries.[2][3] The Kanaks refer to the European inhabitants of New Caledonia as Caldoches.
The Kanaks were known to worship their ancestors. This worship was embodied in the sepulchre, sacred stones, and devotional hearths where they offered sacrifices.[37] Today, most Kanaks are Christians. Religion is an important aspect of Kanaks' life. Kanaks attend the Catholic Church in Nouméa. and they form nearly 50% of the population of Catholics in New Caledonia, next only to the Europeans. Also, the majority of Protestants are Kanaks.[33] However, there are a few who follow traditional beliefs.
The Loyalty Islands () are an archipelago in the Pacific. They are part of the French territory of New Caledonia, whose mainland is away. They form the Loyalty Islands Province ("province des îles Loyauté"), one of the three provinces of New Caledonia. It has 18,000 people living on almost . The native inhabitants are the Kanak people and the Tavu'avua' people.
The official name of the territory, Nouvelle-Calédonie, could be changed in the near future due to the accord, which states that "a name, a flag, an anthem, a motto, and the design of banknotes will have to be sought by all parties together, to express the Kanak identity and the future shared by all parties."[38] To date, however, there has been no consensus on a new name for the territory, although Kanak Republic is popular among 40% of the population.[39] New Caledonia has increasingly adopted its own symbols, choosing an anthem, a motto, and a new design for its banknotes.[40] In July 2010, New Caledonia adopted the Kanak flag, alongside the existing French tricolor, as dual official flags of the territory.[41] The adoption made New Caledonia one of the few countries or territories in the world with two official national flags.[41] The decision to use two flags has been a constant battleground between the two sides and led the coalition government to collapse in February 2011.[42]
Kanak languages are extremely diverse, but French serves as the official language of New Caledonia. There are 28 distinct Kanak languages, as well as many dialects, out of the 1,200 Melanesian languages spoken throughout the Pacific. They are mutually incomprehensible.[32][33] All are a part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. They all belong to the New Caledonian subgroup – except for Fagauvea, which is a Polynesian language.
The Kanak Socialist Liberation (, LKS) is a Kanak pro-independence and socialist political party in New Caledonia, led by Nidoïsh Naisseline.
After World War II, the Kanak independence movement again picked up momentum when the United Nations placed New Caledonia on its Decolonisation List of Non-Self-Governing Territories in 1946. A major progression occurred when Kanaks and French settlers in the country obtained voting rights in 1951, shortly before it became an overseas territory of France in 1956. The Kanaks were then also allowed to move out of their reserve areas. This was followed by the establishment of the Territorial Assembly in 1957, but this was short-lived; Charles de Gaulle abolished it after he became the President of France, in 1958.[13][19]
In July 2010, the Congress of New Caledonia voted in favour of a non legally binding wish ("vœux") to fly the Kanak flag alongside the French tricolor in the territory. On 17 July 2010, French Prime minister François Fillon took part in a ceremony in Nouméa where the FLNKS flag was hoisted alongside the French tricolor. The coexistence with the pro independentist flag proved constroversial, with the Neo-Caledonian deputy to the National Assembly Gaël Yanno calling it "akin to rising the Palestinian flag over the Knesset". In the capital city Noumea, the first rise of the FLNKS flag on the town hall happened without any ceremony, as the mayor refused to participate. The Neo-Caledonian delegation to the olympic game used the combined flags for the first time in 2011. According to Philippe Gomès, then President of the Government of New Caledonia, "this flag was imposed to us. Is it representative of all communities? No, it's the flag of the Kanak, the flag of independance. Is it the choice of all? No, it's the choice of a lone man who chose to play along with the independentist". Thus, the debate on finding a permanent official regional flag continued. As the adoption of the Kanak flag proved controversial. Some New Caledonians argued for a completely new flag for New Caledonia, which would incorporate designs from both the French tricolor and the Kanak flags. Such new flag would aim to promote a "common destiny" for ethnic Kanaks and ethnic French residents in New Caledonia.
New Caledonia languages are divided into several groups. The Northern language group is tonal and includes 12 languages: Caac, Cemuhî, Fwâi, Jawe, Kumak, Nemi, Paicî, Pije, Pwaamei, Pwapwa, Yalayu, and Yuaga.[34] Approximately 60,000 residents of New Caledonia speak at least one of the Kanak languages. Most of these languages are only in spoken form. There is no one unified language among the Kanaks; however, the largest group of Kanaks speak Drehu.
The indigenous population or Kanak people were excluded from the French economy and from mining work, and ultimately confined to reservations.[17] This sparked a violent reaction in 1878, when High Chief Atal of La Foa managed to unite many of the central tribes and launched a guerrilla war that killed 200 Frenchmen and 1,000 Kanaks.[18] A second guerrilla war took place in 1917, with Catholic missionaries like Maurice Leenhardt functioning as witnesses to the events of this war. Leenhardt would pen a number of ethnographic works on the Kanak of New Caledonia. Noel of Tiamou led the 1917 rebellion, which resulted in a number of orphaned children, one of whom was taken into the care of Protestant missionary Alphonse Rouel. This child, Wenceslas Thi, would become the father of Jean-Marie Tjibaou[19] (1936–1989).
For 25 years, the party system in New Caledonia was dominated by the anti-independence The Rally–UMP.[28] This dominance ended with the emergence of a new party, Avenir Ensemble, also opposed to independence, but considered more open to dialogue with the Kanak movement,[28] which is part of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, a coalition of several pro-independence groups.[28]
Kanak necklace, in flying fox hair cords Sperm whale tooth, New Caledonia, nineteenth century Kanak canteen Kanak Mace Headgear Tidi Carved wooden door jamb Male statuette wearing a penis sheath statement
The name "l'Avenir Ensemble" reflects the party's desire to unite New Caledonians of all ethnic groups (White Europeans, Melanesian Kanaks, Polynesian immigrants, etc.) into a shared future, rejecting the ethnic oppositions of the hitherto dominant parties of New Caledonia (White anti-independence parties vs. Kanak pro-independence parties). "L'Avenir Ensemble" believes in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural future for New Caledonia.
Susanna Ounei was born in 1945 in Ouvéa in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia.
Her official birthdate was 15 August 1945, although later in life she found that this date may have been incorrect.
She grew up in Poindimié on the east coast of New Caledonia.
Under French colonial rule the Kanak population fell from about 70,000 in the pre-colonial era to about 26,000 in the 1980s.
The Kanaks were segregated from whites and were subject to many restrictions and impositions.
Ounei wrote that "We grew up seeing how our parents were humiliated."
Serious Kanak resistance began to develop in the 1960s and 1970s.
In response, the French government encouraged massive migration to New Caledonia to reduce the Kanaks to a powerless minority.
The forty native languages of New Caledonia form two branches of the Southern Oceanic languages, part of the Austronesian family; West Uvean is Polynesian. Their speakers are known as Kanaks. The most important are: Drehu, Nengone, Paicî, Ajië, and Xârâcùù. The other languages are spoken by a few hundred to couple thousand people and are endangered. Many Kanaks do not know their native languages very well because of the wide usage of French.
The Agency for the Development of Kanak Culture (Agence de développement de la culture kanak, ADCK), on New Caledonia is an administrative agency, established in 1989, to preserve and promote Kanak and Pacific Islands culture, art and heritage. It was formed on the first anniversary of the signature Matignon-Oudinot Agreements to recognise and promote the values of Kanak culture.