Tahiti is the economic, cultural, and political centre of French Polynesia. The capital of French Polynesia,Papeʻete, is located on the northwest coast of Tahiti. The only international airport in the region,Faʻaʻā International Airport, is on Tahiti near Papeʻete. Tahiti was originally settled byPolynesians between 900 and 1100 CE. They represent about 70% of the island's population, with the rest made up ofEuropeans,Chinese and those of mixed heritage. The island was part of theKingdom of Tahiti until itsannexation by France in 1880, when it was proclaimed acolony of France, and the inhabitants becameFrench citizens. French is the sole official language, although theTahitian language (Reo Tahiti) is also widely spoken.
Tahiti was calledOtaheite in earlier European documents: this is a rendering of theTahitian phraseʻoTahiti, which is typically pronounced[ʔotaˈhɛiti].
Geography
Tahiti-Moʻorea map
Tahiti from space
Tahiti is the highest and largest island in French Polynesia lying close toMoʻorea island. It is located 4,400 kilometres (2,376 nautical miles) south of Hawaiʻi, 7,900 km (4,266 nmi) fromChile, 5,700 km (3,078 nmi) from Australia.[5][6]
The island is 45 km (28 mi) across at its widest point and covers an area of 1,045 km2 (403 sq mi). The highest peak isMont Orohena (Mouʻa ʻOrohena) (2,241 m (7,352 ft)).Mount Roonui, orMount Ronui (Mouʻa Rōnui), in the southeast rises to 1,332 m (4,370 ft). The island consists of two roughly round portions centered on volcanic mountains and connected by a shortisthmus of Taravao.[7]
The northwestern portion is known asTahiti Nui ("big Tahiti"), while the much smaller southeastern portion is known asTahiti Iti ("small Tahiti") orTaiʻarapū.Tahiti Nui is heavily populated along the coast, especially around the capital, Papeʻete.[8]
The interior ofTahiti Nui is almost entirely uninhabited.[8]Tahiti Iti has remained isolated, as its southeastern half (Te Pari) is accessible only to those travelling by boat or on foot. The rest of the island is encircled by a main road which cuts between the mountains and the sea.[9] Tahiti's landscape features lushrainforests and many rivers and waterfalls, including thePapenoʻo on the north side and theFautaua Falls nearPapeʻete.[10]
BothTahiti Nui andTahiti Iti are extinct and heavily erodedshield volcanoes which formed from volcanic activity associated with theSociety hotspot.[11]
Climate
November to April is the wet season, the wettest month of which is January with 340 millimetres (13 in) of rain in Papeʻete. August is the driest with 48 millimetres (1.9 in).[12]
The average temperature ranges between 21 and 31 °C (70 and 88 °F), with little seasonal variation. The lowest and highest temperatures recorded in Papeʻete are 16 and 34 °C (61 and 93 °F), respectively.[12]
The first Tahitians arrived from Western Polynesia into theSociety Islands sometime after 900 CE;[14][15] some studies have proposed slightly later dates, ∼1025–1120 CE.[16] Linguistic, biological and archaeological evidence supports a long migration from Southeast Asia via the Fijian, Samoan and Tongan Archipelagos usingoutrigger canoes that were up to twenty or thirty metres long and could transport families as well as domestic animals.[17][18]
Civilization before the arrival of the Europeans
View of Raʻiātea Mountain. Themummies of Tahitian rulers were formerly deposited on this mountain, which is considered sacred (tapu).
Before the arrival of the Europeans, the island was divided into territories, each dominated by a single clan. The most important clans were the closely related Teva i Uta (Teva of the Interior) and the Teva i Tai (Teva of the Sea)[19] whose combined territory extended from the peninsula in the south of Tahiti Nui.[20]
Clan leadership consisted of a chief (ariʻi rahi), nobles (ariʻi), and under-chiefs (ʻĪatoʻai). The ariʻi were also the religious leaders, revered for themana (spiritual power) they inherited as descendants of the gods. As symbols of their power, they wore belts of red feathers. Nonetheless, to exercise their political power, councils or general assemblies composed of the ariʻi and the ʻĪatoʻai had to be called, especially in case of war.[19]
The chief's spiritual power was also limited; each clan's practice was organized around theirmarae (stone temple) and its priests.[21][22]: 23, 26–27
The first European to arrive at Tahiti may have been Spanish explorerJuan Fernández in his expedition of 1576–1577.[23] Alternatively, Portuguese navigatorPedro Fernandes de Queirós, serving theSpanish Crown in an expedition toTerra Australis, was perhaps the first European to see Tahiti. He sighted an inhabited island on 10 February 1606.[24] However, it has been suggested that he actually saw the island ofRekareka to the southeast of Tahiti.[25] Hence, although the Spanish and Portuguese made contact with nearby islands, they may not have arrived at Tahiti.
The next stage of European visits to the region came during the period of intenseAnglo-French rivalry that filled the twelve years between theSeven Years' War and theAmerican Revolutionary War.[26] The first of these visits, and perhaps the first European visit to Tahiti, was under the command of CaptainSamuel Wallis. While circumnavigating the globe inHMS Dolphin,[27] they sighted the island on 18 June 1767[28] and then harbored inMatavai Bay between the chiefdomPare-Arue (governed byTu (Tu-nui-e-aʻa-i-te-Atua) and his regent Tutaha) and the chiefdomHaʻapape, governed by Amo and his wife "Oberea" (Purea). The initially friendly encounter turned tense as islanders grew suspicious and sought control of the Dolphin, leading to a week of skirmishes that culminated in violence,[29][30] but to avert all-out war after a British show of force, Oberea laid down peace offerings[30] leading to cordial relations.[22]: 45–84, 104, 135
On 2 April 1768,[31] the expedition ofLouis-Antoine de Bougainville, aboardBoudeuse andEtoile on the first French circumnavigation, sighted Tahiti. On 5 April, they anchored offHitiaʻa O Te Ra and were welcomed by its chief Reti. Bougainville was also visited by Tutaha. Bougainville stayed about ten days.
By 12 April 1769 CaptainJames Cook had arrived in Tahiti's Matavai Bay on ascientific mission with astronomy, botany, and artistic details.[32][22]: 141 On 14 April Cook met Tutaha and Tepau[22]: 144 and the next day he picked the site for a fortified camp atPoint Venus forCharles Green's observatory.[22]: 147 BotanistJoseph Banks and artistSydney Parkinson, along with Cook, gathered valuable information on fauna and flora as well as on native society, language and customs, including the proper name of the island.[33] Cook also met many island chiefs.[22]: 154–155, 175, 183–185 Cook andEndeavour left Tahiti on 13 July 1769.[22]: 149, 186–202, 205 Cook estimated the population to be 200,000 including all the nearby islands in the chain.[34][22]: 308 This estimate was reduced to 35,000 by Cook's contemporary, anthropologist and Tahiti expert Douglas L. Oliver.[35]
TheViceroy of Peru,Manuel de Amat y Juniet, under order of the Spanish Crown, organized an expedition to colonize the island in 1772. He would ultimately send three expeditions aboard the shipAguila, the first two under the command of navigatorDomingo de Bonechea. Four Tahitians, Pautu, Tipitipia, Heiao, and Tetuanui, accompanied Bonechea back to Peru in early 1773 after the firstAguila expedition.[22]: 236–256, 325
Cook returned to Tahiti between 15 August and 1 September 1773. Greeted by the chiefs, Cook anchored inVaitepiha Bay before returning to Point Venus. Cook left Tahiti on 14 May 1774.[22]: 263–279, 284, 290, 301–312
Pautu and Tetuanui returned to Tahiti with Bonechea aboardAguila on 14 November 1774; Tipitipia and Heiao had died. Bonechea died on 26 January 1775 in Tahiti and was buried near the mission he had established atTautira Bay. Lt Tomas Gayangos took over command and set sail for Peru on 27 January, leaving the Fathers Geronimo Clota and Narciso Gonzalez and the sailors Maximo Rodriguez and Francisco Perez in charge of the mission. On the thirdAguila expedition, under Don Cayetano de Langara, the mission on Tahiti was abandoned on 12 November 1775, when the Fathers successfully begged to be taken back to Lima.[36][37][22]: 321, 323, 340, 351–357, 361, 381–383
During hisfinal visit in 1777 Cook first moored in Vaitepiha Bay. From there he reunited with many Tahitian clans and established British presence on the remains of the Spanish mission. On 29 September 1777 Cook sailed for Papetoʻai Bay on Moʻorea.[22]: 440–444, 447
On 26 October 1788,HMS Bounty, under the command of CaptainWilliam Bligh, landed in Tahiti with the mission of carrying Tahitianbreadfruit trees (Tahitian:ʻuru) to theCaribbean. SirJoseph Banks, the botanist fromJames Cook's first expedition, had concluded that this plant would be ideal to feed the African slaves working in the Caribbean plantations at very little cost. The crew remained in Tahiti for about five months, the time needed to transplant the seedlings of the trees. Three weeks after leaving Tahiti, on 28 April 1789, the crew mutinied on the initiative ofFletcher Christian. The mutineers seized the ship and set the captain and most of those members of the crew who remained loyal to him adrift in a ship's boat. A group of mutineers then went back to settle in Tahiti, after which the Bounty, under Christian, sailed toPitcairn Island.
Although various explorers had refused to get involved in tribal conflicts, the mutineers from theBounty offered their services as mercenaries and furnished arms to the family which became thePōmare Dynasty. The chiefTū knew how to use their presence in the harbours favoured by sailors to his advantage. As a result of his alliance with the mutineers, he succeeded in considerably increasing his supremacy over the island of Tahiti.
In about 1790, the ambitious chief Tū took the title of king and gave himself the namePōmare. Captain Bligh explains that this name was a homage to his eldest daughter Teriʻinavahoroa, who had died oftuberculosis, "an illness that made her cough (mare) a lot, especially at night (pō)". Thus he becamePōmare I, founding the Pōmare Dynasty and his lineage would be the first to unify Tahiti from 1788 to 1791. He and his descendants founded and expanded Tahitian influence to all of the lands that now constitute modern French Polynesia.
In 1791,HMS Pandora under CaptainEdward Edwards called at Tahiti and took custody of fourteen of the mutineers. Four were drowned in the sinking ofPandora on her homeward voyage, three were hanged, four were acquitted, and three were pardoned.
Landings of the whalers
In the 1790s,whalers began landing at Tahiti during their hunting expeditions in the southern hemisphere. The arrival of these whalers, who were subsequently joined by merchants coming from the penal colonies in Australia, marked the first major overturning of traditional Tahitian society. The crews introducedalcohol, arms and infectious diseases to the island. These commercial interactions with westerners had catastrophic consequences for the Tahitian population, which shrank rapidly, ravaged by diseases and other cultural factors.[38] During the first decade of the 19th century, the Tahitian population dropped from 16,000 to 8,000–9,000; the French census in 1854 counted a population just under 6,000.[39]
On 5 March 1797, representatives of theLondon Missionary Society landed atMatavai Bay (Mahina) on boardDuff, with the intention of converting the pagan native populations to Christianity. The arrival of these missionaries marked a new turning point for the island of Tahiti, having a lasting impact on the local culture.
The first years proved hard work for the missionaries, despite their association with Pōmare, the importance of whom they were aware of thanks to the reports of earlier sailors. In 1803, upon the death ofPōmare I, his son Vairaʻatoa succeeded him and took the title of Pōmare II. He allied himself more and more with the missionaries, and from 1803 they taught him reading and the Gospels. Furthermore, the missionaries encouraged his wish to conquer his opponents, so that they would only have to deal with a single political contact, enabling them to develop Christianity in a unified country.[19] The conversion of Pōmare II to Protestantism in 1812 marks moreover the point when Protestantism truly took off on the island.
In about 1810,Pōmare II married Teremoʻemoʻe daughter of the chief ofRaiatea, to ally himself with the chiefdoms of theLeeward Islands. On 12 November 1815, thanks to these alliances, Pōmare II won a decisive battle at Feʻi Pī (Punaʻauia), notably against Opuhara,[40] the chief of the powerful clan of Teva.[20] This victory allowed Pōmare II to be styledAriʻi Rahi, or the king of Tahiti. It was the first time that Tahiti had been united under the control of a single family. This marked the end of Tahitian feudalism and the military aristocracy, which were replaced by an absolute monarchy. At the same time, Protestantism quickly spread, thanks to the support of Pōmare II, and replaced the traditional beliefs. In 1816 the London Missionary Society sentJohn Williams as a missionary and teacher, and starting in 1817, the Gospels were translated intoTahitian (Reo Maohi) and taught in the religious schools. In 1818, the ministerWilliam Pascoe Crook founded the city ofPapeʻete, which became the capital of the island.
Tahitians in missionary robes
In 1819, Pōmare II, encouraged by the missionaries, introduced the first Tahitian legal code, known under the name of the Pōmare Legal Code,[19] which consists of nineteen laws. The missionaries and Pōmare II thus imposed a ban on nudity (obliging them to wear clothes covering their whole body), banned dances and chants (described as immodest), tattoos, and costumes made of flowers.
In the 1820s, the entire population of Tahiti converted to Protestantism.Duperrey, who berthed in Tahiti in May 1823, attests to the change in Tahitian society in a letter dated 15 May 1823: "The missionaries of the Royal Society of London have totally changed the morals and customs of the inhabitants. Idolatry no longer exists among them, and they generally profess the Christian religion. The women no longer come aboard the vessel, and even when we meet them on land they are extremely reserved. (...) The bloody wars that these people used to carry out and human sacrifices have no longer taken place since 1816."[41]
When, on 7 December 1821, Pōmare II died, his son Pōmare III was only eighteen months old. His uncle and the religious people therefore supported the regency, until 2 May 1824, the date on which the missionaries conducted his coronation, a ceremony unprecedented in Tahiti. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Pōmare, local chiefs won back some of their power and took the hereditary title ofTavana (from the English word "governor"). The missionaries also took advantage of the situation to change the way in which powers were arranged, and to make the Tahitian monarchy closer to the English model of a constitutional monarchy. They therefore created the Tahitian Legislative Assembly, which first sat on 23 February 1824.
In 1827, the youngPōmare III suddenly died, and it was his half-sister, ʻAimata, aged thirteen, who took the title ofPōmare IV. TheBirmingham-born missionaryGeorge Pritchard, who was the acting British consul, became her main adviser and tried to interest her in the affairs of the kingdom but the authority of the Queen, who was certainly less charismatic than her father, was challenged by the chiefs, who had won back an important part of their prerogatives since the death of Pōmare II. The power of the Pōmare had become more symbolic than real; time and time again Queen Pōmare, Protestant and anglophile, sought in vain the protection of England.[19]
In November 1835Charles Darwin visited Tahiti aboardHMSBeagle on its circumnavigation, captained byRobert FitzRoy. He was impressed by what he perceived to be the positive influence the missionaries had had on the sobriety and moral character of the population. Darwin praised the scenery, but was not flattering towards Tahiti's Queen Pōmare IV. Captain Fitzroy negotiated payment of compensation for an attack on an English ship by Tahitians, which had taken place in 1833.[42]
In Sept. 1839, the island was visited by theUnited States Exploring Expedition.[43] One of its members,Alfred Thomas Agate, produced a number of sketches of Tahitian life, some of which were later published in the United States.
French protectorate and the end of the Pōmare kingdom
Queen Pomare and her family on the verandah of Mr.Pritchard's house, during the French Invasion of Tahiti[44]
In 1836, the Queen's advisor Pritchard had two French Catholic priests expelled,François Caret andHonoré Laval. As a result, in 1838 France sent AdmiralAbel Aubert du Petit-Thouars to obtain reparations. Once his mission had been completed, Admiral Du Petit-Thouars sailed towards theMarquesas Islands, which he annexed in 1842. Also in 1842, a European crisis involving Morocco[citation needed] escalated between France and Great Britain, souring their relations. In August 1842, Admiral Du Petit-Thouars returned and landed in Tahiti. He then made friends with Tahitian chiefs who were hostile to the Pōmare family and favourable to a French protectorate. He had them sign a request for protection in the absence of their Queen, before then approaching her and obliging her to ratify the terms of the treaty of protectorate. The treaty had not even been ratified by France itself whenJacques-Antoine Moerenhout was named royal commissaire alongside Queen Pōmare.
Within the framework of this treaty, France recognised the sovereignty of the Tahitian state. The Queen was responsible for internal affairs, while France would deal with foreign relations and assure the defence of Tahiti, as well as maintain order on the island. Once the treaty had been signed there began a struggle for influence between the English Protestants and the Catholic representatives of France. During the first years of the Protectorate, the Protestants managed to retain a considerable hold over Tahitian society, thanks to their knowledge of the country and its language.George Pritchard had been away at the time. He returned however to work towards indoctrinating the locals against theRoman Catholic French.
In 1843, the Queen's Protestant advisor, Pritchard, persuaded her to display the Tahitian flag in place of the flag of the Protectorate.[45] By way of reprisal, Admiral Dupetit-Thouars announced the annexation of the Kingdom of Pōmare on 6 November 1843 and set up the governorArmand Joseph Bruat there as the chief of the new colony. He threw Pritchard into prison, and later sent him back to Britain. The annexation caused the Queen to be exiled to the Leeward Islands, and after a period of troubles, a real Franco-Tahitian war began in March 1844. News of Tahiti reached Europe in early 1844. The FrenchstatesmanFrançois Guizot, supported by KingLouis-Philippe of France, had denounced annexation of the island.
The war ended in December 1846 in favour of the French. The Queen returned from exile in 1847 and agreed to sign a new covenant, considerably reducing her powers, while increasing those of the commissaire. Thus, the French reigned over the Kingdom of Tahiti. In 1863, they put an end to the British influence and replaced the British Protestant Missions with the Société des missions évangéliques de Paris (Society of Evangelical Missions of Paris).
Later 19th century
During the same period about a thousand Chinese, mainlyCantonese, were recruited at the request of a plantation owner in Tahiti, William Stewart, to work on the great cotton plantation at Atimaono. When the enterprise resulted in bankruptcy in 1873, some Chinese workers returned to their country, but a large number stayed in Tahiti and mixed with the population.
In 1866 the district councils were formed, elected, which were given the powers of the traditional hereditary chiefs. In the context of the republican assimilation, these councils tried their best to protect the traditional way of life of the local people, which was threatened by European influence.[citation needed]
Tahitian children, c.1906
In 1877, Queen Pōmare died after ruling for fifty years. Her son, Pōmare V, then succeeded her on the throne. The new king seemed little concerned with the affairs of the kingdom, and when in 1880 the governor Henri Isidore Chessé, supported by the Tahitian chiefs, pushed him to abdicate in favour of France, he accepted. On 29 June 1880, he ceded Tahiti to France along with the islands that were its dependencies. He was given the titular position of Officer of the Orders of theLegion of Honour andAgricultural Merit of France. Having become a colony, Tahiti thus lost all sovereignty. Tahiti was nevertheless a special colony, since all the subjects of the Kingdom of Pōmare would be given French citizenship.[46] On 14 July 1881, among cries of "Vive la République!" the crowds celebrated the fact that Polynesia now belonged to France; this was the first celebration of the Tiurai (national and popular festival). In 1890, Papeʻete became a commune of the Republic of France.
The French painterPaul Gauguin lived on Tahiti in the 1890s and painted many Tahitian subjects.Papeari has a small Gauguin museum.
In 1891Matthew Turner, an American shipbuilder from San Francisco who had been seeking a fast passage between the city and Tahiti, builtPapeete, a two-mastedschooner that made the trip in seventeen days.[47]
Twentieth century to present
In 1903, the Établissements Français d'Océanie (French Establishments in Oceania) were created, which collected together Tahiti, the otherSociety Islands, theAustral Islands, the Marquesas Islands and theTuamotu Archipelago.
A one-francWorld War II banknote (1943), printed inPapeʻete, depicting the outline of Tahiti on reverse
In 1946, Tahiti and the whole of French Polynesia became anoverseas territory (Territoire d'outre-mer). Tahitians were grantedFrench citizenship, a right that had been campaigned for by nationalist leaderPouvanaʻa a Oopa for many years.[49]
Between 1966 and 1996 the French Government conducted 193 surface and underwater nuclear bomb tests at the atolls ofMoruroa andFangataufa. The last test was conducted on 27 January 1996.[50]
On 17 July 1974, the French did anuclear test overMururoa Atoll, codenamedCentaure [fr], but the atomic cloud and fallout did not take the direction planned. 42 hours later, the cloud reached Tahiti and the surrounding islands.[51] As many as 111,000 people were affected.[52] Reports showed that some people on Tahiti were exposed to 500 times the maximum allowed level for plutonium.[53]
In 2003, French Polynesia's status was changed to that of anoverseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer), and in 2004 it was declared anoverseas country (pays d'outre-mer orPOM).
Flag of French PolynesiaPolitical map of Oceania, showingEEZ borders
Tahiti is part of French Polynesia. French Polynesia is a semi-autonomous territory of France with its ownassembly, president, budget and laws. France's influence is limited to subsidies, education, and security.
Tahitians are French citizens with complete civil and political rights. French is the official language, but Tahitian and French are both in use. However there was a time during the 1960s and 1970s when children were forbidden to speak Tahitian in schools. Tahitian is now taught in schools; it is sometimes even a requirement for employment.
During a press conference on 26 June 2006 during the second France-Oceania Summit, French PresidentJacques Chirac said he did not think the majority of Tahitians wanted independence. He would keep an open door to a possiblereferendum in the future.
In a surprise result,Oscar Temaru's pro-independence progressive coalition,Union for Democracy, formed a government with a one-seat majority in the 57-seat parliament, defeating the conservative party,Tāhōʻeraʻa Huiraʻatira, led byGaston Flosse. On 8 October 2004, Flosse succeeded in passing a censure motion against the government, provoking a crisis.[54] Flosse was removed from office in 2004 but was subsequently re-elected in 2008 after a period of political instability. His main rival Oscar Temaru served as the President of French Polynesia during multiple terms: 2004-2005, 2006-2008, and 2009-2013. He led the left-wing pro-independence party, Union for Democracy (UPLD). Temaru focused on greater autonomy for French Polynesia and calls for independence.[55]
The indigenous Tahitians are of Polynesian ancestry and make up 70% of the population alongside Europeans, East Asians (mostlyChinese), and people of mixed heritage, sometimes referred to asDemis.
The places of birth of the 189,517 residents of the island of Tahiti at the 2017 census were the following:[56]
75.4% were born in Tahiti (up from 71.5% at the 2007 census)
1.1% in other foreign countries (down from 1.5% in 2007)
Most people frommetropolitan France live in Papeʻete and its suburbs, notablyPunaʻauia, where they made up 16.8% of the population at the 2017 census, andArue, where they made up 15.9%; these percentages do not include their children born in French Polynesia.[56]
The administrative centre of the commune is the settlement of Mataiea.
Economy
Tourism is a significant industry, generating 17% of GDP before the COVID-19 pandemic.[66]
Southern suburbs of Papeʻete (commune ofPunaʻauia)
The main trading partners are Metropolitan France for about 40% of imports and about 25% of exports. The other main trading partners are China, the US, South Korea, and New Zealand.[67]
Tahitian pearl (Black pearl) farming is also a substantial source of revenues, most of the pearls being exported to Japan, Europe and the United States. Tahiti also exportsvanilla, fruits, flowers,monoi, fish,copra oil, andnoni. Tahiti is also home to a single winery, whose vineyards are located on theRangiroa atoll.[68]
Unemployment affects about 15% of the active population, especially women and unqualified young people.[69]
Tahiti's currency, theFrench Pacific Franc (CFP, also known as XPF), is pegged to theeuro at 1 CFP=EUR .0084 (1 EUR=119.48 CFP, approx. 113 CFP to theUnited States dollar in November 2024). Hotels and financial institutions offer exchange services.
Sales tax in Tahiti is calledTaxe sur la valeur ajoutée (TVA orvalue added tax (VAT) in English). VAT in 2009 was 10% on tourist services, and 6% on hotels, small boarding houses, food and beverages. VAT on the purchase of goods and products is 16%.
Energy and electricity
French Polynesia imports its petroleum and has no local refinery or production capabilities. Daily consumption of imported oil products was 7,430 barrels in 2012 and 6,100 barrels per day in 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration.[70][71] The utility EDT operates hydroelectric plants, solar plants, and a 10 MWh battery to reduce oil demand.[72]
As is mentioned in records of Captain Cook's visits, breadfruit is a staple crop. One main way of preparing it is documented inJoseph Banks' diaries: after it is very ripe, breadfruit can beburied in leaf-lined pits with weights placed on top of it, to allow it to ferment into a sour paste known asmahie.[73][74]
Art
Tahitian cultures included an oral tradition that involved the mythology of gods, such asʻOro and beliefs, as well as ancient traditions such as tattooing and navigation. The annual Heivā I Tahiti Festival in July is a celebration of traditional culture, dance, music and sports including a long-distance race between the islands of French Polynesia, in modernoutrigger canoes (vaʻa).
TheMusée de Tahiti et des Îles (Museum of Tahiti and the Islands) is in Punaʻauia. It is anethnographic museum that was founded in 1974 to conserve and restore Polynesian artefacts and cultural practices.
Tahitians wearing thepareo wrap-around garment and practising a ʻupaʻupa danceTraditional Tahitian "Ute" or song performed by Tefanake, Reia, and Moratai, recorded in 1950
One of the most widely recognised images of the islands is the world-famous Tahitian dance. Theʻōteʻa (sometimes written asotea) is a traditional dance from Tahiti, where the dancers, standing in several rows, execute figures. This dance, easily recognised by its fast hip-shaking and grass skirts, is often confused with the Hawaiʻianhula, a generally slower, more graceful dance which focuses more on the hands and storytelling than the hips.
The ʻōteʻa is one of the few Tahitian men's dances that existed in pre-European times. On the other hand, thehura (Tahitian vernacular forhula), a dance for women, has disappeared, and the couples' danceʻupaʻupa is likewise gone but may have re-emerged as thetamure. Nowadays, the ʻōteʻa can be danced by men (ʻōteʻa tāne), by women (ʻōteʻa vahine), or by both genders (ʻōteʻa ʻāmui, "united ʻō"). This dance is accompanied by instruments only, particularly drums; no singing is involved. The drum can be one of the types of the tōʻere, a laying log of wood with a longitudinal slit, which is struck by one or two sticks. Or it can be thepahu, the ancient Tahitian standing drum covered with a shark skin and struck by the hands or with sticks. The rhythm from the tōʻere is fast; from thepahu it is slower. A smaller drum, thefaʻatete, can also be used.
The dancers make gestures that re-enact daily occupations of life. For the men the themes can include warfare or sailing, and they may use spears or paddles during such dances.
For women the themes are closer to home or from nature: combing their hair or the flight of a butterfly, for example. More elaborate themes can be chosen, for example, one where the dancers end up portraying a map of Tahiti, highlighting important places. In a proper ʻōteʻa the whole dance should be one story on a single theme.
The group dance calledʻaparima is often performed with the dancers dressed inpareo and maro. There are two types of ʻaparima: theʻaparimahīmene (sung handdance) and theʻaparima vāvā (silent handdance), the latter of which is accompanied by instruments without any singing.
W. Woolett engraving afterWilliam Hodges of atoupapow, or funeralbier, and Chief Mourner, from Cook's 2nd voyage to TahitiTahitian Parae, or Chief Mourner costume, on display in theBishop Museum
The Tahitians believed in the afterlife, a paradise called Rohutu-noʻanoʻa. When a Tahitian died, the corpse was wrapped inbarkcloth and placed on a funeral bier,fare tupapa ʻu, which was a raised canoe awning on posts surrounded by bamboo. Food for the gods was placed nearby to prevent them from eating the body, which would condemn the spirit to the underworld. Mourners would slash themselves with shark's teeth and smear the blood on barkcloth placed nearby. Most importantly, the Chief Mourner donned theparae, an elaborate costume that included aniridescent mask made of four polished pearl shell discs. One disk was black, signifying Po, the spirit world, while one was white, signifying Ao, the world of people. A crown of red feathers signified ʻOro. A curved wooden board,pautu, below the mask contained five polished pearl shells, which signified Hina, the moon goddess. Hanging below were more shells in rows,ahu-parau, representing thePleiades, believed to be the eyes of former chiefs. Finally, a ceremonial garment,tiputa, covered the body and was decorated with an apron of polished coconut shells,ahu-ʻaipu.[22]: 151–152, 177–179, 308
Sport
The Tahitian national sport isVaʻa. In English, this paddle sport is also known asoutrigger canoe. The Tahitians consistently achieve record-breaking and top times as world champions in this sport.
TheTahiti Cup is the islands' premier footballknockout tournament and has been played for since 1938. The winner of the Tahiti Cup goes on to play the winner of the Tahiti Division Fédérale in theTahiti Coupe des Champions.
In 2010, Tahiti was chosen as the host of the2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, which was held in September 2013.The national team reached the semifinals. They achieved even more success in subsequent editions, the2015 and2017, where they reached the final on both occasions.
Tahiti has also been represented at the World Championship ofPétanque. They are the pre-eminent country in the Oceania region for Pétanque, undoubtedly due to their strong connections to France.
As part of the2024 Summer Olympics, Tahiti hosted the surfing competition. It was the only sport to be held outside ofmetropolitan France, asParis, located 15,716 kilometres (9,765 mi) away, hosts the international competition.[76] The Men's Shortboard gold medal was won by TahitianKauli Vaast.[77]
Film
Tahiti is depicted in the biography ofPaul Gauguin in the 2017 French filmGauguin: Voyage to Tahiti portraying his life during his years on Tahiti.[78]
A more recent movie is the 2022 thriller film,Pacifiction, related to French nuclear testing in the area.[citation needed]
Education
Tahiti is home to theUniversity of French Polynesia (Université de la Polynésie Française). It is a growing university, with 3,200 students and 62 researchers. Courses are available in topics such as law, commerce, science, and literature. There are also high schools, including the CatholicCollège La Mennais located in Papeʻete.
Faʻaʻā International Airport is located 5 km (3.1 mi) from Papeʻete in the commune of Faʻaʻā and is the onlyinternational airport in French Polynesia. Because of limited level terrain, rather than levelling large stretches of sloping agricultural land, the airport is built primarily on reclaimed land on the coral reef just off-shore.
Flights within French Polynesia and toNew Caledonia are available fromAircalin andAir Tahiti; Air Tahiti has their headquarters at the airport.
Ferry
The Moʻorea Ferry operates from Papeʻete and takes about 45 minutes to travel toMoʻorea. Other ferries are the Aremiti 5 and the Aremiti 7 and these two ferries sail to Moʻorea in about half an hour. There are also several ferries that transport people and goods throughout the islands. The Bora Bora cruiseline sails toBora Bora about once a week. The main hub for these ferries is the Papeʻete Wharf.
Roads
Tahiti has a freeway that runs across its west coast, starting inArue and continuing across the Papeʻete urban area. From there, it continues along the west coast of Tahiti Nui through smaller villages and turns east toward Taravao where Tahiti Nui meets Tahiti Iti. The freeway transitions into a thin paved road atTeahupoʻo.
^Scheffel, Richard L.; Wernet, Susan J., eds. (1980).Natural Wonders of the World. United States of America: Reader's Digest Association, Inc. p. 145.ISBN0-89577-087-3.
^In 1769, for instance,James Cook mentions a great traditional ship (vaʻa) in Tahiti that was 33 m (108 ft) long and could be propelled by sail or paddles.Laneyrie-Dagen, p. 148
^abcdeBernard Gille, Antoine Leca (2009)Histoire des institutions de l'Océanie française: Polynésie, Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis et Futuna, L'Harmattan,ISBN978-2-296-09234-1
^Anne Salmond quotes John Orsmond, an early missionary, as stating, "Marae were the sanctity and glory of the land, they were the pride of the people of these islands." This was especially true for the ancestral and national marae associated with the royal line. "It was the basis of royalty; It awakened the gods; It fixed the red feather girdle of the high chiefs."
^José Toribio Medina,El Piloto Juan Fernandez, descubridor de las islas que llevan su nombre, y Juan Jufré, armador de la espedición que hizo en busca de otras en los Mares del Sur Santiago de Chile, 1918, reprinted by Gabriela Mistral, 1974, pp. 169
^James Burney (1803)A Chronological History of the Voyages or Discoveries in the South Sea or Pacific Ocean, Vol. 5, London, p. 222
^Geo. Collingridge (1903)."Who Discovered Tahiti?".Journal of the Polynesian Society.12 (3):184–186.Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved4 July 2010.
^Cameron-Ash, M. (2018).Lying for the Admiralty: Captain Cook's Endeavour Voyage. Rosenberg. pp. 44–53.ISBN9780648043966.
^Douglas Oliver (1974).Ancient Tahitian Society. University Press of Hawaii. p. 3.ISBN0-8248-0267-5.
^Wesley-Smith, Terence, Gerard Finin, and Tarcisius Kabutaulaka. "An Interview with Oscar Temaru."The Contemporary Pacific 25.2 (2013): 300-307.onlineArchived 3 November 2018 at theWayback Machine
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