With its , Hiva Oa is the second largest island in the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in ...

, in

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of French ...

, an overseas territory of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

. Located at 9 45' south latitude and 139 W longitude, it is the largest island of the southern Marquesas group. Around 2,200 people reside on the island. A volcano,

Temetiu Temetiu is the South Marquesan name for the highest peak of the mountain ridge that rises above the western end of Ta'a Oa (the Bay of Traitors) in southwestern Hiva Oa. Rising to 1,213 m (3,980 ft.) above sea level, Temetiu is also the high ...

, is Hiva Oa's highest point with .

History

Colonial period

The first recorded sighting of Hiva Oa by the Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña on 21 July 1595. They charted it as ''Dominica''.

Overview

Administratively, Hiva Oa is part of the commune (municipality) of

Hiva-Oa Hiva-Oa is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune is in the administrative subdivision of the Marquesas Islands.administrative subdivision of the

. Atuona, on the coast of Hiva Oa island, is the administrative centre of the commune. Atuona was formerly the seat of government for all of the Marquesas Islands, but it has been replaced by

Taiohae Taiohae is the main town on Nuku Hiva island. The town is located on a former volcanic crater, which has partly collapsed into the ocean, creating a bay. This is the site of Fort Madison Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee Coun ...

Nuku Hiva Nuku Hiva (sometimes spelled Nukahiva or Nukuhiva) is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean. It was formerly also known as ''Île Marchand'' and ''Madison Island''. Herman ...

island. The island is famous as the final home of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

painter

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

and

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

singer

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

, both of whom are buried in Calvary Cemetery, overlooking Atuona. It is also home to the largest tiki sculptures in French Polynesia. In late pre-European times, the island was nearly evenly divided into two

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

s—

Nuku Nuku was a traditional province of the island of Hiva Oa in pre-European times. It did not function as a unified governmental unit, but rather as a confederation of local tribes during times of war with tribes from Hiva Oa's other province, Pepan ...

in the west, and Pepane in the east.

Geography

Hiva Oa is the largest and most fertile of the southern Marquesas islands and second only to

in size. Similar to all the larger Marquesas, Hiva Oa features steep cliffs abruptly rising from the ocean to a rugged interior spine of volcanic mountains, ridges, and deep, isolated valleys. Unlike most other Polynesian islands near the equator, no fringing

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...

s protect Hiva Oa from the pounding of the ocean and only a few sheltered anchorages and sandy beaches are scattered around the coast. Travel along the shoreline is by boat as most of the coastal terrain is too rugged for roads. A few dirt roads traverse the interior and link seacoast villages and settlements.

Atuona Airport Atuona Airport or Hiva Oa Airport is an airport located northeast of Atuona, on the island of Hiva Oa, in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regi ...

is located at an elevation of on a plateau near the center of the island and has an asphalt-surfaced runway long with daily flights to other Marquesas islands and

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

. The outstanding geologic characteristic of Hiva Oa is the collapsed

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...

. Semi-circular Ta'a Oa bay, also called the Bay of Traitors, is in the

crater Crater may refer to: Landforms * Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet * Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surf ...

of the volcano whose walls rise sharply above the bay. Within Ta'a Oa are Atuona Bay and adjacent Taha Uku which are the best anchorages on the island. Hiva Oa is separated from the nearby island of

Tahuata Tahuata is the smallest of the inhabited Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is located 4 km (2.5 mi.) to the south of the western end of Hiva Oa, across the Canal du Bordela ...

to its south by a wide channel called Ha'ava or the Canal de Bordelais.

Climate

Temperatures in the Marquesas are stable year around, but precipitation is highly variable. Precipitation is much greater on the north and east (windward) parts of the islands and much less on the western (leeward) parts. Droughts, sometimes lasting several years, are frequent and seem to be associated with the

El Niño El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date ...

phenomena. The highest annual rainfall recorded in Atuona is ; the lowest is . HivaOa Atuona 20061110

Geology

The island is of volcanic origin. Geologically, Hiva Oa belongs to the Marquesas Linear

Volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plat ...

Chain, which formed from a hot spot on the Pacific Plate and is moving west-northwest at a rate of 103 to 118 mm. per year. The magmatic rocks on the island are between 1.63 and 4.26 million years old, but volcanic activity has not yet been completely extinguished. Not far from the road from Atuona to Taaoa, further west, some mud pots and small solfataras can be seen.

Flora

Like Nuku Hiva, Hiva Oa, as the second largest

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

in the archipelago, has a relatively high

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

for the South Pacific islands. A total of 205 native plants - 24 of them endemic - and 178 exotic species have been identified. Among the richest and most widespread native species on the island are ferns with a high number of endemic species. They cover large areas of the inaccessible, humid and shady incises of the

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

. Among the idiocorophytes (ancient autochthonous species) are probably the coconut palm and the screw tree, which are widespread in the lowlands.J. Florence und D. Lorence: ''Introduction to the Flora and Vegetation of the Marquesas Islands.'' in: Allertonia Journal, Vol. 7 February 1997, Hrsg.: Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai (HI), S. 226–237 Anthropochorophytes, such as breadfruit trees and Tahitian chestnut (Inocarpus edulis), already introduced by

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

n settlers, predominate in the lowland and midland regions. A threat to native plant communities could be bamboo, which is not native to the island and has already formed extensive groves in some places. In the higher, more inaccessible areas of the island, the natural

habitats In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

remain almost unchanged. The north, shaded from wind and rain by the mountains, is largely arid.

Fauna

The

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...

of the Marquesas Islands is limited to land and sea birds,

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pa ...

s, reptiles,

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

and spiders. The Marquesas warbler (''Acrocephalus mendanae mendanae'') is endemic to Hiva Oa and the neighboring island of

. There are no animals that are dangerous to humans. The nono fly, a type of black fly which occurs in the interior, is extremely unpleasant.

Population

In 2012, the population of Hiva Oa was 2,190, of which 1,845 lived in the commune of Acounda and 345 in the village of Puama'u. The inhabitants speak the southern

Marquesan language Marquesan is a collection of East-Central Polynesian dialects, of the Marquesic group, spoken in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. They are usually classified into two groups, North Marquesan and South Marquesan, roughly along geograph ...

, related to other Polynesian languages, and

Religion

The majority of the island's population professes

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

as a result of the activity of both Catholic missionaries and various Protestant groups. The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

controls 6 religious buildings on the

, including the Church of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

(''Église de l'Immaculée Conception'') in Atuona (the island's capital), the Church of Saint Anne (''Église de Sainte-Anne'') in Hanaiapa, the Church of

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (french: Notre-Dame de Lourdes) is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, ...

(''Église de Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes'') in Hanapaaoa, the Church of

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

(''Église de Saint-Joseph'') in Nahoe, the Church of the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

(''Église du Sacré-Cœur'') in Puamau, and the Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (''Église de Notre-Dame du Sacré-Cœur'') in Taaoaoa. According to the mythology of the ancient local religion, the

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

created the Marquesas as their

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...

. Therefore, all the islands have names related to the construction of a house: Hiva Oa means long

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

Economy

Subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no ...

, a combination of fishing, pig and chicken farming, and the cultivation of staple crops such as breadfruit, coconut, yam, taro, sweet potatoes and bananas, remains the basis of the island's economy. Part of the

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from co ...

is grown for export. Tourism has so far existed only to a small extent, but is economically important, as otherwise there are few jobs on the island. The currency is the

CFP franc The CFP franc (French: , called the ''franc'' in everyday use) is the currency used in the French overseas collectivities (, or COM) of French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna. The initials ''CFP'' originally stood for ('Frenc ...

, which is pegged to the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

Infrastructure

The settlements are only partially connected by paved

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

s. As the existing ones are also steep and winding, the preferred means of

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

between the villages is still by

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on i ...

. The west and the mountainous interior of the island are largely undeveloped. The

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

, with a 1,250 m paved runway (

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

code: NTMN,

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tarif ...

code: HIX), is located on the Tepuna

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

, northeast of Atuona, and is connected to the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

by a winding road. Atuona has a fairly modern

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

, with a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...

, a medical and dental office, a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

(with satellite phone), a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

(with ATM), a national Gendarmerie station, a

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

, schools with preschool (école maternelle et primaire) and a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

(Collège Sainte Anne), as well as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and a Protestant church. For tourist needs, there is a hotel and small private pensions, as well as restaurants and bars. Larger

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

s can also enter Atuona Bay. However, they are usually anchored and passengers are disembarked. Regular supply ships to/from Tahiti dock at the harbor pier.

Tourism

Places of interest

The

of Puamau is 45 km from Atuona (a two and a half hour drive up a steep and winding road). On the outskirts of the village is a large ceremonial platform, said to be the burial place of Queen Vahine Titoiani. There are large stone tikis carved on two corners of the platform. Paul Gauguin Gravesite

In the Puamau valley, about two kilometers from the coast, is Ipona (formerly: Oipona), the largest and most important historical site in the Marquesas. The valley once belonged to the influential Naiki

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

, which also controlled the Atuona region. After the Naiki captured and consumed the chief of the neighboring tribe, Tio'o, the clans of the Hanapaaoa

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

took revenge and wiped out the Naiki. The victors erected a tapu on Ipona and installed tikis. After the introduction of

, this place of worship fell into disuse. The

Marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

Takii, now well restored and consisting of three overlapping terraces, stands at the foot of a steep cliff and includes 8 stone statues and cyclopean heads. The largest is Tiki Takai'i, the guardian spirit of the valley, at 2.43 meters. However, the most interesting artwork is the Maki'i Taua Pepe figure, unique in the entire South Seas region, which, according to Karl von den Steinen, physician and ethnologist, depicts a priestess or goddess giving birth. According to Thor Heyerdahl, who visited Hiva Oa in 1937, the

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

does not resemble a woman giving

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

, but "more like an animal swimming," and he compared it to two sculptures of the "alligator god" from the St. Augustine culture. v.d. Steinen's interpretation of a

woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

in labor is contradicted by the fact that the base emerged from the navel region and not from the loins. He learned from his informants that the statue had long been lying on its back in a thicket and had only "recently" been erected. Another notable site is in the Vustin River

. Also notable is the Taaoa Valley, west of Atuona, which is filled with huge

banyan A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

trees, coconut palms, twenty-meter tall Barringtonia asiatica, many breadfruit trees, mango trees and Tahitian chestnuts. Among the dense undergrowth, it is difficult to distinguish most of the house and ceremonial platforms spread over an area of 3 ha, as little has been excavated and hardly anything has been restored. The Taaoa valley belonged to the sphere of influence of the powerful Tiu tribe, which plays a central role in the traditional

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

s of Hiva Oa. The buildings erected were correspondingly numerous and representative. In the center is a tohua, the largest of the Marquesas. A large tiki stands in the plaza and a stone head on one of the ceremonial platforms. Taro cultivation terraces have been found in the vicinity of the settlement. Ralph Linton explored this site as part of his expedition to the

Marquesas The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in t ...

, 1920/21, organized by the

Bishop Museum The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the la ...

The Eiaone Valley, west of Puamau, is known for its unique and particularly expressive semi-relief petroglyphs. However, most of them are covered by dense vegetation. There are other petroglyphs, stone images and platforms in the Tahauku and Punae (Punai) valleys east of Atuona. The Atuona cultural center dedicated to the painter

displays only copies of his paintings, but documents his life in the South Seas. His house, which was right next door, has been reconstructed. In the process a disused well was found where the later inhabitants had disposed of the painter's personal belongings, including a comb and

toothbrush A toothbrush is an oral hygiene tool used to clean the teeth, gums, and tongue. It consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles, atop of which toothpaste can be applied, mounted on a handle which facilitates the cleaning of hard-to-reach a ...

, jugs of wine, empty absinthe bottles, a morphine syringe, and tiger balm. There are also some Jacques Brel memorabilia in Atuona. In 2003 a hangar was built especially for his Beechcraft D 50 Twin-Bonanza under the name "Jojo", which has been restored in the meantime. Photos and documents from Brel's stay in the South Seas over several years are also on display here. A monument to Jacques Brel has been erected on a lookout point on the airport road. In the Calvaire

Cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

(Cimetière Calvaire), located above Atuona, are the graves of Gauguin and Brel. It is sometimes doubted that this is Gauguin's actual grave; it is said that he was buried unmarked and somewhere in the jungle. The cemetery is a much-visited lookout point, offering views of Taaoa

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

References

External links

Gauguin Cultural Center in Atuona
{{Authority control Islands of the Marquesas Islands Jacques Brel Paul Gauguin