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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 organised migrations to the Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand and other parts of East Polynesia started at Raiatea. A traditional name for the island is Havai'i, homeland of the Māori people. Situated on the southeast coast is the historical Taputapuatea marae, which was established by 1000 CE. The site was the political and religious center of eastern Polynesia for several centuries, and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017 for its historical significance. The main township on Raiatea is Uturoa, the administrative centre for the Leeward Islands (French ''Îles Sous-le-vent''). There are also colleges which serve as the main educational location for secondary schools for students from the regional islands of Bora Bor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uturoa
Uturoa is a Communes of France, commune located in Raiatea, the largest island of the Leeward Islands (Society Islands), Îles Sous le Vent (Leeward Islands) in French Polynesia. It is situated in between the Administrative divisions of French Polynesia, administrative subdivision of Leeward Islands (Society Islands), Leeward Islands and the main port of the island of Raiatea. According to the 2017 census, Uturoa has a population of 3,778 individuals.Répartition de la population en Polynésie française en 2017 Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française The commune spans approximately 120 miles (193.121 km) northwest of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. History The first settlers of Uturoa were early Poly ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taputapuatea Marae
Marae Taputapuatea is a large marae complex at Opoa in Taputapuatea, on the south eastern coast of Raiatea. 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 World Heritage List 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 go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tahaa
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 Raiatea to the immediate south are enclosed by the same coral reef, and they may once have been a single island. At the 2017 census it had a population of 5,234.Répartition de la population en Polynésie française en 2017 Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française The island has an area of . is the highest mountain on the island standing at above sea level. It is also kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raiatea Starling
The Raiatea starling, formerly known as the bay thrush, bay starling, or the mysterious bird of Ulieta, is an extinct bird species of uncertain taxonomic relationships that once lived on the island of Raiatea (formerly known as Ulietea, hence the specific epithet ''ulietensis''), the second largest of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. Taxonomy The species is known only from a 1774 watercolour painting of the lost type specimen, contemporary descriptions, and a few brief field notes. The artist was Georg Forster, who accompanied his father Johann Reinhold Forster as naturalists on James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific in HMS ''Resolution'', which visited Raiatea in May and June 1774. The painting, now held by the British Natural History Museum, is annotated "Raiatea, female, June 1, 1774", and depicts the specimen obtained by the Forsters which entered the collection of Sir Joseph Banks and later disappeared.Greenway (1967). The specimen was also described as the "bay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Raiatea to the immediate south are enclosed by the same coral reef, and they may once have been a single island. At the 2017 census it had a population of 5,234.Répartition de la population en Polynésie française en 2017 Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française The island has an area of . is the highest mountain on the island standing at above sea level. It is also kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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.Répartition de la population en Polynésie française en 2017 Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française History Human presence on Huahine dates back to ancient times, as evidenced by the numerous on the island. Archaeologists estimate that the ancient Tahitian Ma'ohi people colonized Huahine from at least the 9th century AD. Huahine is home to one of the largest concen ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leeward Islands (Society Islands)
The Leeward Islands (french: Îles Sous-le-vent; ty, Fenua Raro Mata’i, literally "Islands Under-the-Wind") are the western part of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the South Pacific. They lie south of the Line Islands (part of Kiribati), east of the Cooks and north of the Austral Islands (also part of French Polynesia). Their area is 395 km2 and their population is over 33,000. The westernmost Leeward Islands comprise a three atoll group: Manuae (also known as Scilly Atoll); Motu One atoll (also known as Bellinghausen), the most northerly of the Leeward Islands; and Maupihaa atoll (also known as Mopelia) to the southeast. The Leeward Islands that lie more to the east are a mainly high island cluster: Maupiti (Tahitian name: Maurua); Tupai atoll; Bora Bora (Tahitian name: Vava'u), which is the best known of the Leeward Islands in the western world because of its World War II-era United States naval base and its tourism ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tupaia (navigator)
Tupaia (also spelled Tupaea or Tupia; 1725 – December 20, 1770) was a Tahitian Polynesian navigator and ''arioi'' (a kind of priest), originally from the island of Ra'iatea in the Pacific Islands group known to Europeans as the Society Islands. His remarkable navigational skills and Pacific geographical knowledge were to be utilised by Lt. James Cook, R.N. when he took him aboard HMS ''Endeavour'' as guide on its voyage of exploration to ''Terra Australis Incognita''. Tupaia travelled with Cook to New Zealand, acting as the expedition's interpreter to the Polynesian Māori, and Australia. He died in December 1770 from a shipborne illness contracted when ''Endeavour'' was docked in Batavia for repairs ahead of its return journey to England. Early life Tupaia was born at Ha'amanino Harbour on Ra'iatea around 1725 and became a leading ''ariori'' priest for the Taputapuatea marae. Tupaia was trained in the ''fare-'ai-ra'a-'upu'', or schools of learning, about the origin of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marae Taputapuatea
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 also means cleared and free of weeds or trees. generally consist of an area of cleared land roughly rectangular (the itself), bordered with stones or wooden posts (called ' in Tahitian and Cook Islands Māori) perhaps with ' (terraces) which were traditionally used for ceremonial purposes; and in some cases, a central stone ' or ''a'u''. In the Rapa Nui culture of Easter Island, the term ' has become a synonym for the whole marae complex. In some modern Polynesian societies, notably that of the Māori of New Zealand, the marae is still a vital part of everyday life. In tropical Polynesia, most marae were destroyed or abandoned with the arrival of Christianity in the 19th century, and some have become an attraction for tourists or archaeol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Voyage Of James Cook
The first voyage of James Cook was a combined Royal Navy and Royal Society expedition to the south Pacific Ocean aboard HMS ''Endeavour'', from 1768 to 1771. It was the first of three Pacific voyages of which James Cook was the commander. The aims of this first expedition were to observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun (3–4 June that year), and to seek evidence of the postulated ''Terra Australis Incognita'' or "undiscovered southern land". The voyage was commissioned by King George III and commanded by Lieutenant Cook, a junior naval officer with good skills in cartography and mathematics. Departing from Plymouth Dockyard in August 1768, the expedition crossed the Atlantic, rounded Cape Horn and reached Tahiti in time to observe the transit of Venus. Cook then set sail into the largely uncharted ocean to the south, stopping at the Pacific islands of Huahine, Borabora and Raiatea to claim them for Great Britain. In October 1769 the expedition reached New Zealand, be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Australia. Divided into two parts, ''Tahiti Nui'' (bigger, northwestern part) and ''Tahiti Iti'' (smaller, southeastern part), the island was formed from volcanic activity; it is high and mountainous with surrounding coral reefs. Its population was 189,517 in 2017, making it by far the most populous island in French Polynesia and accounting for 68.7% of its total population. Tahiti is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity and an overseas country of the French Republic. The capital of French Polynesia, Papeete, is located on the northwest coast of Tahiti. The only international airport in the region, Faaā International Airport, is on Tahiti near Papeete. Tahiti was originally settled by Pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Society Islands
The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. Geographically, they form part of Polynesia. The archipelago is believed to have been named by Captain James Cook during his first voyage in 1769, supposedly in honour of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands; however, Cook wrote in his journal that he called the islands ''Society'' "as they lay contiguous to one another." History Dating colonization The first Polynesians are understood to have arrived on these islands around 1000AD. Oral history origin The islanders explain their origins in term of a orally transmitted story. The feathered god Ta'aroa lay in his shell. He called out but no-one answered, so he went back into his shell, where he stayed for aeons. When he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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