Marae Taputapuatea is a large
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 ...
complex at Opoa in
Taputapuatea
Taputapuatea is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Taputapuatea is located on the island of Raiatea, in the administrative subdivision of the Leeward Islands, themselves part of the ...
, on the south eastern coast of
Raiatea
Raiatea or Ra'iatea ( Tahitian: ''Ra‘iātea'') is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. The island is widely regarded as the "centre" of the eastern islands in ancient Polynesia and it is likely that the ...
. The site features a number of marae and other stone structures and was once considered the central temple and religious center of Eastern Polynesia. In 2017, the Taputapuatea area and the marae complex were inscribed on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage List
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...
because of its political and religious significance and its testimony to traditional eastern Polynesian culture.
Description
The marae complex is positioned at the end of a peninsula that juts into the lagoon surrounding Raiatea.
The center of the complex hold the marae itself, a rectangular courtyard paved with basalt and measuring 44 by 60 meters.
At the east end of the marae is the ahu, a basalt and coral platform used for ceremonies.
Other marae are within the marae complex, including marae Hauviri, which was used for the naming of chiefs.
History
The sacred area of Cape Matahira-i-te-ra'i is called Te Po, where the gods reside. The original marae was dedicated to
Ta'aroa
Ta'aroa is the supreme creator god in the mythology of the Society Islands of French Polynesia. While the use of the ʻOkina, ʻeta is appropriate given the pronunciation of his name, as is typically the case with Tahitian language, Tahitian words ...
(the supreme creator), although eventually the worship of
'Oro
Oro is a god in Tahiti and Society Islands mythology. The veneration of Oro, although practiced in varying intensity among the islands, was a major religion of the Society Islands in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially Tahiti, Tahaa, Moorea, ...
(the god of life and death) prevailed. According to legend, 'Oro's descendant Hiro built the marae, giving it the name Taputapuatea, 'Sacrifices from afar'. The drum Ta'imoana was used during human sacrifices. The white rock Te Papatea-o-Ru'ea on the nearby beach (currently part of marae Hauviri) was used to invest the chiefs of Ra'iatea with the red feather girdle ''maro 'ura''. The three foot high image of the god was called 'Oro-maro-'ura, 'Oro of the red feather girdle. Taputapuatea became the center of a voyaging network as the cult of 'Oro spread.
The marae may have been established as early as AD 1000, and it was expanded and rebuilt on at least two separate occasions between the 14th and 18th centuries.
The marae was a place of learning where priests and
navigators
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
from all over the
Pacific
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 continen ...
would gather to offer sacrifices to the gods and share their knowledge of the genealogical origins of the universe, and of deep-ocean navigation.
An alliance known as Ti'ahuauatea was established in the 17th and 18th centuries with the surrounding islands demarcating those to the west of Ra'iatea, Te Aotea, and those to the east, Te Aouri. This alliance included the Cook Islands, the Australs, Kapukapuakea in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, and Taputapuatea in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. New marae were established on each of these islands with a rock being taken from Taputapuatea, Raiatea, to act as a spiritual link. Priests, chiefs, and warriors from the other islands gathered on Raiatea periodically to maintain the alliance, participating in human sacrifices to 'Oro.
However, the alliance was finally broken when fighting broke out at a gathering and the two leading high priests representing the alliance were killed. The people of Ao-tea fled the island, leaving via the reef passage of Te Ava-rua rather than the sacred passage of Te Ava-mo'a, which was considered a bad omen. An attempt was made in 1995 to heal this wrongdoing.[
Around 1763, warriors from ]Bora Bora
Bora Bora ( French: ''Bora-Bora''; Tahitian: ''Pora Pora'') is an island group in the Leeward Islands. The Leeward Islands comprise the western part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, which is an overseas collectivity of the Frenc ...
attacked the island, defeating Tupaia, and ransacked the island. This included destroying the god-houses at Taputapuatea, wrecking the platform, and cutting down the sheltering trees.[ ]James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
, Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
, Daniel Solander
Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus.
Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil.
Biography
...
and Tupaia arrived aboard the ''Endeavour'' on 20 July 1769, to take possession of Raiatea, Taha'a
Taha’a (sometimes spelled as "Tahaa") is an island located among the western group, the Leeward Islands, of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The islands of Taha’a and neighboring R ...
, Huahine
Huahine is an island located among the Society Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Leeward Islands group ''(Îles sous le Vent).'' At the 2017 census it had a population of 6,075. ...
and Bora Bora
Bora Bora ( French: ''Bora-Bora''; Tahitian: ''Pora Pora'') is an island group in the Leeward Islands. The Leeward Islands comprise the western part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, which is an overseas collectivity of the Frenc ...
in the name of King George III of the United Kingdom
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until Acts of Union 1800, the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was ...
. This seemed to be the culmination of a prophecy made by the wizard priest Vaita that a new people would arrive aboard a canoe without an outrigger
An outrigger is a projecting structure on a boat, with specific meaning depending on types of vessel. Outriggers may also refer to legs on a wheeled vehicle that are folded out when it needs stabilization, for example on a crane that lifts ...
and take possession of the islands.[ In the early 19th century, missionaries arrived on the island, and the marae complex was abandoned shortly thereafter ]
Research and restoration
When Te Rangi Hīroa
Sir Peter Henry Buck (ca. October 1877 – 1 December 1951), also known as Te Rangi Hīroa or Te Rangihīroa, was a New Zealand doctor, military leader, health administrator, politician, anthropologist and museum director. He was a prominen ...
visited Taputapuatea in 1929 he was overcome by the desolate state in which he found this great marae and wrote:
I had made my pilgrimage to Taputapu-atea, but the dead could not speak to me. It was sad to the verge of tears. I felt a profound regret, a regret for — I knew not what. Was it for the beating of the temple drums or the shouting of the populace as the king was raised on high? Was it for the human sacrifices of olden times? It was for none of these individually but for something at the back of them all, some living spirit and divine courage that existed in ancient times of which Taputapu-atea was a mute symbol. It was something that we Polynesians have lost and cannot find, something that we yearn for and cannot recreate. The background in which that spirit was engendered has changed beyond recovery. The bleak wind of oblivion had swept over Opoa. Foreign weeds grew over the untended courtyard, and stones had fallen from the sacred altar of Taputapu-atea. The gods had long ago departed.
The archaeological remains of Marae Taputapuatea were restored in 1994 and work to preserve the site continues.
Association Na Papa E Va'u Raiatea is a cultural association formed by the people of Opoa acting for the preservation of the Marae Taputapuatea.[ Thanks to its work, Marae Taputapuatea is listed on the ]World Heritage List
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...
since July 9, 2017. The association is creating and reviving connections between communities of the Polynesian triangle
The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners: Hawai‘i, Easter Island (''Rapa Nui'') and New Zealand (Aotearoa). It is often used as a simple way to define Polynesia.
Outside the triangle, th ...
and throughout the Pacific region.
References
Further reading
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External links
Video of the great meeting at Taputapatea in 1995 (Flash Vidéo flv) - Institut de la Communication Audiovisuel (Audiovisual Communication Institute), in French with parts in English and Tahitian
{{Authority control
Tahiti and Society Islands mythology
Polynesian culture
Educational institutions established in the 10th century
Archaeological sites in French Polynesia
World Heritage Sites in France
World Heritage Sites in French Polynesia
Religious buildings and structures in French Polynesia