Tuvalu – "eight standing together" in the central Pacific
The name Tuvalu means 'eight standing together' in Tuvaluan, recalling that eight of the nine islands were inhabited, and it remains the clearest expression of how these communities have seen themselves. Settlement belongs to the great migrations into the Pacific that began some 3,000 years ago, and possible traces of human-made fires in the Caves of Nanumanga suggest people may have been present far longer. Before European contact, canoes travelled regularly between Tuvalu and neighbouring islands such as Samoa and Tonga. The creation story of te Pusi mo te Ali, the eel and the flounder, explains the flat atolls and the coconut palms. Today Tuvalu is a low-lying nation of three reef islands and six atolls. Share your own memories and family stories here.