1.
Taputapuatea marae
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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 structures and was once considered the central temple. The Marae was already established by 1000 AD with significant expansion after this time, most significantly a truce known as the Faatau Aroha was established with the surrounding islands dived into two alliances known as Aotea and Aouri. New marae were established on each of these islands with a rock being taken from Taputapuatea, Raiatea to act as a spiritual link and 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 sacrifices of olden times. It was for none of these individually but for something at the back of all, some living spirit. It was something that we Polynesians have lost and cannot find, something that we yearn for, 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 archeological remains of Marae Taputapuatea were restored in 1994 and work to preserve the site continues. Association Na Papa E Vau Raiatea is an association formed by the people of Opoa acting for the preservation of the Marae Taputapuatea. In Hanlon, David L. and Geoffrey Miles White, cS1 maint, Uses editors parameter Howe, K. R. ed. Navigation. Vaka Moana, Voyages of the Ancestors, video of the great meeting at Taputapatea in 1995 - Institut de la Communication Audiovisuel, in French with parts in English and Tahitian
2.
Raiatea
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Raiātea, is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. A traditional name for the island is believed to be Havaii, situated on the south east coast is the historical Taputapuātea which was established by 1000AD. The main township on Raiātea is Uturoa, the centre for the Leeward Islands. There are also colleges which serve as the main location for secondary schools for students from the regional islands of Pora Pora, Tahaa, Huahine. The proper spelling of the name in the Tahitian language is Raiātea, meaning bright sky, the extinct Ulieta bird originated from this island, along with other unknown species, there is only one drawing of it in the world which is in the Natural History Museum London. The islands of Raiātea and Tahaa are enclosed by a coral reef. Raiātea is both the largest and most populated island in the Leeward Islands, with an area of 167.7 km2. The population density is 72 inhabitants per km², the largest commune of Raiātea is Uturoa on the north side of Raiātea and has a population of nearly 10,000. The first European to record sighting Raiātea was Pedro Fernandes de Queirós in 1606, the Polynesian navigator, Tupaia, who sailed with explorer James Cook, was born in Raiātea around 1725. Omai, another man from Raiātea, travelled with European explorers to London in 1774 and also served as an interpreter to Captain Cook on his second. King Tamatoa VI was the last monarch, reigning from 1884-1888, Raiātea has a small road that runs around the entire island. Raiātea Airport is an airport in Uturoa, the island is divided into three administration communes, Uturoa Taputapuātea Tūmāraa These three communes are inside the administrative subdivision of the Leeward Islands. The island economy is agricultural with exports of vanilla, pineapple. The plant Nono is also grown, faaroa Valley is a large and important agricultural region with the rural economy and the cultivation of vanilla supported by a local research facility. Pearl farming is also an important industry while farming cattle, sheep, there is less tourism compared to the other islands in the archipelago. The local tourist infrastructure comprises boarding houses, two marinas, a four star hotel, The Hawaiki Nui and a port for visiting cruise ships, there is also a fledgling local industry in the maintenance of yachts and shipbuilding. The main source of employment is the public service and the consumer market. List of volcanoes in French Polynesia Hawaiki 48 hours live to tell and we had just left an island called Raiātea, which was about 300 miles west of Tahiti
3.
Society Islands
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The Society Islands includes a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It is, politically and legally, part of French Polynesia and they have a population of 235,295 inhabitants. They cover an area of 1,590 square kilometres. The islanders explain their origins in term of a myth, the feathered god Taaroa lay in his shell. He called out but no-one answered, so he went back into his shell, when he came out he changed his body into the multi-layered dome of the sky. Other parts of his body he transformed into Papa-fenua, the earth, other parts he made into Te Tuma, the ata, or shadow of his phallus. Taaroa said, Cast your eyes on my phallus, gaze upon it and insert it in the earth. He came down to earth at Opoa in Havaii, one of the most sacred places in the Society Islands, other gods were created, and these ran directly into the time of the people. The high chiefs or arii rahi were descendants from the gods, in their presence commoners showed respect by stripping to the waist. The high chiefs erected marae as places of worship, in the generations before Europeans arrived, a cult called Oro-maro-ura developed, the cult of the red-feathered girdle. This became a symbol of the chiefs power. Key followers of the Oro cult were the arioi, who lived separately from the common people and they wore scented flowers and adorned themselves with scents and scarlet-dyed cloth. The head of each group was heavily tattooed from ankle to thigh. Both male and female blacklegs were a group but they were forbidden to have children. Their babies were all killed at birth and they received and gave lavish presents. They had a range of artistic skills and could be priests, navigators. Only good-looking men or women could become arioi and they played a crucial role in ceremonies associated with birth, deaths and marriage. The first European explorers arrived in 1722, jacob Roggeveens Dutch West Indian Expedition was shipwrecked on Takapoto
4.
Polynesian culture
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Polynesian culture is the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. This DNA evidence is supported by linguistic and archaeological evidence, recent studies into paternal Y chromosome analysis shows that Polynesians are also genetically linked to peoples of Melanesia. In the archaeological record there are well-defined traces of this expansion which allow the path it took to be followed and dated with a degree of certainty. This culture, known as Lapita, stands out in the Melanesian archeological record, particularly characteristic of the Lapita culture is the making of pottery, including a great many vessels of varied shapes, some distinguished by fine patterns and motifs pressed into the clay. Within a mere three or four centuries between about 1300 and 900 BC, the Lapita culture spread 6000 km further to the east from the Bismarck Archipelago, until it reached as far as Samoa, in this region, the distinctive Polynesian culture developed. The early Polynesians were a seafaring people with highly developed navigation skills. They colonised previously unsettled islands by making very long voyages, in some cases against the prevailing winds. Polynesian navigators steered by the sun and the stars, and by observations of cloud reflections and bird flight patterns, were able to determine the existence. The name given to a star or constellation taken as a mark to steer by was kaweinga, the discovery of new islands and island groups was by means of entire small villages of people setting sail on great double-hulled canoes. By comparison, Viking navigators first settled Iceland around 875 AD, there have been suggestions that Polynesian voyagers reached the South American mainland. Carbon-dating of chicken bones found by Chilean archaeologists on the Arauco Peninsula in south-central Chile was thought to date from between 1321 and 1407 AD and this initial report suggested a Polynesian pre-Columbian origin. The cultivation before western exploration by many Polynesian cultures of the sweet potato, while the early Polynesians were skilled navigators, most evidence indicates that their primary exploratory motivation was to ease the demands of burgeoning populations. Polynesian mythology does not speak of explorers bent on conquest of new territories, there was no widespread inter-island group communication, nor is there much indication during this period of any interest in such communications, at least not for economic reasons. Meanwhile, on most high islands, there were, historically, warring groups inhabiting various districts, usually delimited primarily by mountain ridges, early on, however, many such islands developed a united social and political structure, usually under the leadership of a strong monarch. An example is the Marquesas Islands, which, unlike other groups in Polynesia, are not surrounded by fringing coral reefs. Every valley in the Marquesas is accessible to other valleys only via boat, the first Polynesian islands visited by European explorers were the Marquesas Islands, first discovered by Europeans when the Spanish navigator, Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira, found the islands in 1595. Because of the paucity of mineral or gemological resources, the exploration of Polynesia by European navigators, was of more than passing interest. The great navigator Captain James Cook was the first to attempt to explore as much of Polynesia as possible, in many cases, colonizing powers, usually under pressure from missionary elements, forcibly suppressed native cultural expression, including the use of the native Polynesian languages
5.
Rapa Nui people
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The Rapa Nui are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the Rapa Nui people currently make up 60% of Easter Islands population and have a significant portion of their population residing in mainland Chile and they speak both the traditional Rapa Nui language and the primary language of the island, Spanish. At the 2002 census there were 3,304 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of Hanga Roa on the sheltered west coast, as of 2011, Rapa Nuis main source of income derived from tourism, which focuses on the giant sculptures called Moai. Rapa Nui activists have been fighting for their right of self-determination and possession of the island, recent protests by the indigenous Rapa Nui on Easter Island against Chilean rule have led to violence against the Rapa Nui by the Chilean police. The Rapa Nui are believed to have settled Easter Island between 300 and 1200 CE, previously, the date of arrival was estimated to be around 700–800 CE, but more-recent evidence from radiocarbon dating supports an arrival date as late as 1200 CE. The Rapa Nui People have been found to be of Polynesian origin through genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA of pre-historic skeletons, scholars believe that the Rapa Nui had early contact with South America due to the introduction of sweet potato and bottle gourd plants to Easter Island. The bottle gourd was previously thought to have introduced to Polynesia in ancient times by the Polynesians themselves. However, more-recent research found no evidence of its existing historically in Fiji, Samoa, the sweet potato also has South American origin and must have been transferred to Easter Island early to have become such a staple part of the Rapa Nui pre-contact diet. It is believed that there must have contact between the Rapa Nui and South America by 1200–1300 CE. Jacob Roggeveen was the first European to record contact with the Rapa Nui. Roggeveen allegedly set sail either in search of Juan Fernandez Islands or Davids Island and he remained on the island for about a week. Felipe González de Ahedo visited the Rapa Nui in 1770 and claimed the island for Spain on a document which the islanders wrote on in rongorongo, james Cook and Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse visited the island for a few days in 1774 and 1786 respectively. The Rapa Nui currently speak Spanish and the traditional Rapanui language, the Rapanui language, also known as Pascuan, is classified as an Eastern Polynesian language and is currently written in Latin script. Rapanui is a minority language, as most Rapa Nui people speak Spanish as their first language, Spanish is the most widely spoken language on Easter Island and the primary language of education and administration. It is believed that Rapanui is currently undergoing a shift towards more Spanish sentence structure, Rongorongo, a system of glyphs discovered in the 1800s, is believed to represent an older version of the Rapanui language. However, the decipherment of rongorongo is a process and it is not yet clear whether Rongorongo is a form of writing or some other form of cultural expression. The main stories of Rapa Nui mythology are that of Hotu Matua, believed to be the first settler of Easter Island, and the Tangata manu. The Tangata manu is the mythology of the Birdman religion and cult which had creator god Makemake, more recent Rapa Nui mythology includes the story of the epic battle between the Hanau epe and the Hanau momoko. The trans-Neptunian dwarf planet Makemake is named after this creator deity, the best known aspect of the Rapa Nui culture is the moai, the 887 human figures carved from rock between 1250 and 1500 CE and transported throughout Easter Island
6.
Easter Island
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Easter Island is a Chilean island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle. Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, in 1995, UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site, with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park. However, human activity, the introduction of the Polynesian rat, by the time of European arrival in 1722, the islands population had dropped to 2, 000–3,000 from an estimated high of approximately 15,000 just a century earlier. European diseases and Peruvian slave raiding in the 1860s further reduced the Rapa Nui population, Easter Island is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. Easter Island is a territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888. Administratively, it belongs to the Valparaíso Region, and, more specifically, according to the 2012 Chilean census, the island has about 5,800 residents, of whom some 60 percent are descendants of the aboriginal Rapa Nui. Easter Island is considered part of Insular Chile, the islands official Spanish name, Isla de Pascua, also means Easter Island. However, Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl argued that Rapa was the name of Easter Island. William Churchill inquired about the phrase and was told there were three te pito o te henua, these being the three capes of the island. The phrase appears to have used in the same sense as the designation of Lands End at the tip of Cornwall. He was unable to elicit a Polynesian name for the island itself, according to Barthel, oral tradition has it that the island was first named Te pito o te kainga a Hau Maka The little piece of land of Hau Maka. However, there are two words pronounced pito in Rapa Nui, one meaning end and one navel, and the phrase can also mean the Navel of the World. This was apparently its actual meaning, French ethnologist Alphonse Pinart gave it the actual translation the Navel of the World, another name, Mata ki te rangi, means Eyes looking to the sky. Islanders are referred to in Spanish as pascuense, however it is common to refer to members of the community as Rapa Nui. Estimated dates of initial settlement of Easter Island have ranged from 300 to 1200, rectifications in radiocarbon dating have changed almost all of the previously posited early settlement dates in Polynesia. Rapa Nui is now considered to have settled in the narrower range of 700 to 1100 CE. Significant ecological impacts and major cultural investments in monumental architecture and statuary thus began soon after initial settlement, according to oral tradition, the first settlement was at Anakena. The island was most likely populated by Polynesians who navigated in canoes or catamarans from the Gambier Islands or the Marquesas Islands,3,200 km away
7.
Mount Taupiri
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Mount Taupiri is a hill at the southern end of the Taupiri Range in the Waikato. The highest peak in the range, it rises to 288 metres above sea level and it is separated from the Hākarimata Range to the south by the Taupiri Gorge, through which the Waikato River flows from the Waikato Basin to the Lower Waikato. The Mangawara Stream joins the Waikato River at the base of the hill, mount Taupiri is a sacred mountain and burial ground for the Waikato tribe of the Māori people. Until sometime in the 19th century a large Māori village or town, Kaitotehe, stood on the land on the other side of the river. In early years it was the home of Paoa, brother of Mahuta and it became the headquarters of the Ngāti Mahuta people. Brothers Whare and Tapuae, grandsons of Mahuta and the leaders of Ngāti Mahuta, after the two brothers were killed, Tapuaes son Te Putu built Taupiri pā on the summit of a spur of Taupiri mountain, in the 1600s. When Te Putu was an old man in the 1700s, he was killed by Ngātokowaru of Ngāti Raukawa at Te Mata-o-tutonga. He was buried at the pā, which thus became tapu and was abandoned, early European travellers in the area were obliged by Māori to cross to the other side of the Waikato River to avoid the sacred area. In the early 19th century Kaitotehe was the home of Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, english explorer and artist George French Angas visited Kaitotehe in 1844 and painted a scene depicting a hui taking place in the village. Taupiri mountain is seen in the background on the side of the Waikato River. The lower peak on the far right shows signs of the terraces of Te Putus abandoned pā. To its left, in about the middle of the painting, is a still-lower bush-clad hill, the present-day burial ground is directly above State Highway 1 and the North Island Main Trunk railway line on a steep slope. Parking and access is difficult, because the road and railway lie largely on land at the foot of the slope that has been reclaimed from the river. The deceased Māori kings and queen are buried in the highest part of the cemetery, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, Māori Queen Whatumoana Paki, husband of Te Atairangikaahu Billy T. James, comedian Korokī Mahuta, Māori King Tāwhiao, Māori King
8.
Wharenui
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A wharenui is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a marae. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called whare, also called a whare rūnanga or whare whakairo, the present style of wharenui originated in the early to middle nineteenth century. The houses are carved inside and out with stylized images of the iwis ancestors. Modern meeting houses are built to regular building standards, photographs of recent ancestors may be used as well as carvings. The houses always have names, sometimes the name of an ancestor or sometimes a figure from Māori mythology. Some meeting houses are built where many Māori are present, even though it is not the location of a tribe, typically, a school or tertiary institution with many Māori students. While a meeting house is considered sacred, it is not a church or house of worship, on most marae, no food may be taken into the meeting house. The building often symbolises an ancestor of the wharenuis tribe and it also serves as an area on which to debate issues. Meeting houses are the centre of any cultural, business, or any affair which is relevant to the iwi as a whole, typically, visitors to the village would be allowed to stay in the meeting house at night. Ceremonial occasions, including wedding and funeral typically take place in the house or on the marae ātea in front of the house. Strict rules of conduct generally govern the use of the wharenui, if anyone should become irate or physically violent, they would be asked to leave the house until they can control their temper. Māori culture Māori language Longhouse This picture is the opening of Te Wheke Hall on December 30,1901, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois has an original Māori meeting house, called Ruatepupuke II as shown in this photo. The British Museum has a collection of Māori art
9.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
10.
Plimmerton
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The suburb of Plimmerton lies in the northwest part of the city of Porirua in New Zealand, adjacent to some of the citys more congenial beaches. State Highway 1 and the North Island Main Trunk railway line pass just east of the main shopping, Plimmerton has its modern origins as a late 19th Century seaside resort. It is named after John Plimmer, an English settler and entrepreneur who, through the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, helped to fund, today, around 2,100 people reside in the suburb. The area was first settled by the Māori people early in their occupation of New Zealand, ngāi Tara and then Ngāti Ira settled south of Kapiti, and a number of other tribes may have lived in the area including Muaūpoko, Ngāti Apa, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Hotu. Ngāti Toa people took control of the Porirua coast in the 1820s, in the 1840s the area where Plimmerton is situated was the home of Te Rauparaha, who had his main residence at Taupo Pa. Te Rauparaha was captured by 200 British troops and police on 23 July 1846 near the end of Motuhara Road. A tiny historic reserve contains a tree that may be descended from the one he was said to have been captured near. Over the next few years Taupo Pa was deserted and the main Ngāti Toa villages in Porirua became Takapuwahia, the area was leased for farming by European settlers over the following decades. These included William Cooper, Canington, and then Levi Tandy, james Walker farmed from Paremata to Plimmerton beginning in 1875. The settlement was known as Taupo after the pa. So Pauatahanui grew at the expense of Taupo until the line was opened in 1885. In the 1880s the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company decided to build a link from the capital, Wellington, to Longburn. Several towns, including Plimmerton, were established along the way to encourage settlements that would contribute to the lines business, John Plimmer, after whom Plimmerton was named, was a director of the company. In 1885 the first excursion train journeyed from Wellington to Plimmerton on 3 September, with the railways arrival, Plimmerton became accessible to holidaymakers, and evolved into a seaside resort. Plimmerton House, a hotel, was built alongside the railway station in 1886. Sections began to be sold in 1888 and by the late 1890s Plimmerton had become a holiday destination. In 1900 Plimmerton consisted of 30 summer cottages, two hotels and one general store. Plimmerton was originally part of Hutt County, on 1 April 1973 the still-growing area became one of the northern suburbs of Porirua
11.
Porirua
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Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It almost completely surrounds Porirua Harbour at the end of the Kapiti Coast. Pauatahanui Inlet, the inlet of the harbour, is notable for its world-class estuarine values. The population at the June 2016 was 55,200, the name Porirua has a Māori origin, it may represent a variant of pari-rua, a reference to the two arms of the Porirua Harbour. In the 19th century the name designated a district that stretched from Kaiwharawhara on the north-west shore of Wellington Harbour northwards to. The road climbing the hill from Kaiwharawhara towards Ngaio and Khandallah still bears the name Old Porirua Road, in the 19th century a small European settlement grew up, partly because of the need for a ferry across the harbour. At the time a small Māori settlement already existed, the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company opened a railway line to Porirua in 1885, linking the city with Wellington. The railway reached Longburn in 1886 to connect with the Governments lines to Taranaki, with the acquisition of the company by the government in 1908, the line to Porirua formed part of the North Island Main Trunk railway. The railway contributed much to the growth of Plimmerton and Paremata by making day-trips to the beaches from Wellington relatively easy, the line through to Porirua was electrified in 1940 following the construction of the Tawa Flat deviation. The 1880s and 1890s saw the establishment of the Porirua Lunatic Asylum on the hill south-west of the village, following the Mental Defectives Act of 1911, the Asylum became Porirua Mental Hospital. In the late 1940s state planning envisaged Porirua becoming a city of Wellington with state housing. Since then Porirua has grown to a city population approaching 51,000, major territorial additions to the city occurred in 1973 and 1988 as part of the reduction and eventual abolition of Hutt County. Substantial industrial areas, generally west of the city centre, have evolved, during the 1960s Kodak, UEB Industries and many small businesses opened at Elsdon. During the following decade, Ashley Wallpapers developed the former UEB property and after negotiations with the government. On 7 June 1976, New Zealands first McDonalds restaurant opened in Porirua, on the corner of Cobham Court, the original restaurant closed on 24 April 2009, and the store relocated to Kenepuru Drive. The area is administered by Porirua City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council, four years later the population was officially estimated at over the 20,000 threshold then necessary for Porirua to be declared a city. On 1 April 1973 large areas to the north-east were transferred to the city from Hutt County by popular vote, Mana Island was added to the city at the same time. In 1988 a further addition was the Horokiri riding of the county, containing most of the new Whitby suburb
12.
University of Auckland
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The University of Auckland is the largest university in New Zealand, located in the countrys largest city, Auckland. It is the university in the country, being ranked 81st worldwide in the 2016/17 QS World University Rankings. Established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand and it has a head count of more than 40,000 students, and more than 30,000 equivalent full-time students. The University of Auckland began as a constituent of the University of New Zealand, stewardship of the University during its establishment period was the responsibility of John Chapman Andrew. By 1901, student numbers had risen to 156, the majority of students were training towards being law clerks or teachers and were enrolled part-time. From 1905 onwards, a number of students enrolled in commerce studies. The University conducted little research until the 1930s, when there was a spike in interest in research during the Depression. In 1934, four new professors joined the college, Arthur Sewell, H. G. Forder, the combination of new talent, and academic freedom, saw Auckland University College flourish through to the 1950s. In 1950, the Elam School of Fine Arts was brought into the University of Auckland, archie Fisher, who had been appointed principal of the Elam School of Fine Arts was instrumental in having it brought in the University of Auckland. The University of New Zealand was dissolved in 1961 and the University of Auckland was empowered by the University of Auckland Act 1961. In 1966, lecturers Keith Sinclair and Bob Chapman established The University of Auckland Art Collection, the Collection is now managed by the Centre for Art Research, based at the Gus Fisher Gallery. The Stage A of the Science building is opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on 3 May, Queen Elizabeth II opened the new School of Medicine Building at Grafton on 24 March 1970. The Queen also opened the Liggins Institute in 2002, the North Shore Campus, established in 2001, was located in the suburb of Takapuna. It offered the Bachelor of Business and Information Management degree, at the end of 2006, the campus was closed and the degree relocated to the City campus. On 1 September 2004, the Auckland College of Education merged with the Universitys School of Education to form the Faculty of Education, the faculty is based at the Epsom Campus of the former college, with an additional campus in Whangarei. Professor Stuart McCutcheon became Vice-Chancellor on 1 January 2005 and he was previously the Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University of Wellington. He succeeded Dr John Hood, who was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, the University opened a new business school building in 2007, following the completion of the Information Commons. It has recently gained international accreditations for all its programmes and now completes the Triple Crown, in May 2013 the University purchased a site for new 5 hectare campus adjacent to the major business area in Newmarket
13.
Shrine
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A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other objects associated with the figure being venerated. A shrine at which offerings are made is called an altar. Shrines can be found in various settings, such as churches, temples, cemeteries, or in the home, a shrine may become a focus of a cult image. Many shrines are located buildings and in the temples designed specifically for worship, such as a church in Christianity. A shrine here is usually the centre of attention in the building, in such cases, adherents of the faith assemble within the building in order to venerate the deity at the shrine. In classical temple architecture, the shrine may be synonymous with the cella, historically, in Hinduism, Buddhism and Roman Catholicism, and also in modern faiths, such as Neopaganism, a shrine can commonly be found within the home or shop. This shrine is usually a structure or a setup of pictures and figurines dedicated to a deity that is part of the official religion. Small household shrines are common among the Chinese and people from South and Southeast Asia, whether Hindu. Usually a small lamp and small offerings are kept daily by the shrine, Buddhist household shrines must be on a shelf above the head, Chinese shrines must stand directly on the floor. Small outdoor yard shrines are found at the bottom of many gardens, following various religions, including historically. Shrines are found in most, though not all, religions, Shrines therefore attract the practice of pilgrimage. Shrines are found in many, though not all, forms of Christianity, Roman Catholicism, the largest denomination of Christianity, has many shrines, as do Orthodox Christianity and Anglicanism. For a shrine to be described as national, the approval of the Episcopal Conference is necessary, for it to be described as international, the approval of the Holy See is required. Another use of the shrine in colloquial Catholic terminology is a niche or alcove in most – especially larger – churches used by parishioners when praying privately in the church. They were also called Devotional Altars, since they could look like small Side Altars or bye-altars, Shrines were always centered on some image of Christ or a saint – for instance, a statue, painting, mural or mosaic, and may have had a reredos behind them. However, Mass would not be celebrated at them, they were used to aid or give a visual focus for prayers. Side altars, where Mass could actually be celebrated, were used in a way to shrines by parishioners
14.
Rarotonga
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Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 10,572, out of the countrys total resident population of 14,974. Captain John Dibbs, master of the colonial brig Endeavour, is credited as the European discoverer on 25 August 1823, the Cook Islands Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga. Because it is the most populous island, Cook Islanders may often be referred to as Rarotongan, Rarotonga is a very popular tourist destination with many resorts, hotels and motels. The chief town, Avarua, on the north coast, is the capital of the Cook Islands, the volcanic island of Rarotonga stands over 14,750 feet above the ocean floor. It is 32 km in circumference and has an area of 67.19 km2, at a depth of 4,000 m the volcano is nearly 50 km in diameter. Te Manga, at 658 m above sea level, is the highest peak on the island, the island is surrounded by a lagoon, which often extends more than a hundred metres to the reef, then slopes steeply to deep water. This part of the island is the most popular with tourists for swimming, snorkelling and boating, agricultural terraces, flats and swamps surround the central mountain area. Along the southeast coast off Muri Beach are four small islets within a few hundred metres of the shore. Paved and unpaved roads allow access to valleys but the interior of the island remains largely unpopulated due to forbidding terrain and lack of infrastructure. A large tract of land has set aside in the south east as the Takitumu Conservation Area to protect native birds and plants, especially the endangered kakerori. On May 30,1965, five sounding rockets were launched from Rarotonga for studying a solar eclipse, Rarotonga is divided into three main districts or vaka. Te Au O Tonga on the side of the island, Takitumu on the eastern and southern side. On the other hand, the island is divided into five Land Districts. In 2008, the three councils of Rarotonga were abolished. It passes the Te Rua Manga, the prominent needle-shaped rock visible from the air, hikes can also be taken to the Raemaru, or flat-top mountain. Other stops should include Wigmore Falls and the ancient marae, Arai te Tonga, there are many churches open for service on Sunday, with a cappella singing. The pace of life is so relaxed that at night people congregate at the sea wall that skirts the end of the runway to be jetblasted by incoming planes. Large cruise ships have to anchor off shore, Rarotonga is encircled by a main road, Ara Tapu, that traces the coast
15.
Aitutaki
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Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura, Ararau and Utataki, is one of the Cook Islands, north of Rarotonga. It has a population of approximately 2,000, Aitutaki is the second most visited island of the Cook Islands. The main village is Arutanga on the west side and it has a maximum elevation of approximately 123 metres with the hill known as Maunga Pu close to its northernmost point. The land area of the atoll is 18.05 km2, the Ootu Peninsula, protruding east from the main island in a southerly direction along the eastern rim of the reef, takes up 1.75 km2 out of the main island. For the lagoon, area figures between 50 and 74 km2 are found, satellite image measurement suggests that the larger figure also includes the reef flat, which is commonly not considered part of a lagoon. The barrier reef forms the basis of Aitutaki is roughly the shape of an equilateral triangle with sides 12 kilometres in length. The southern edge of the triangle is almost totally below the surface of the ocean, and the side is composed of a string of small islands including Mangere, Akaiami. The western side of the atoll contains many of Aitutakis important features including a passage through the barrier reef allowing for anchorage close to shore at Arutanga. Towards the south of the side is a break in the barrier reef. Further to the north is the bulk of the main island and its fertile volcanic soil provide tropical fruits and vegetables. Two of Aitutakis 15 islets are also volcanic, the rest are made of coral. Aitutaki Airport is located close to the northern point. There is an area suitable to flying boats in the southeastern part of the lagoon. Aitutaki is subdivided in 8 districts, the districts are further subdivided into 19 tapere. The first known European contact was with Captain Bligh and the crew of the HMS Bounty when they discovered Aitutaki on April 11,1789, Aitutaki was the first of the Cook Islands to accept Christianity, after London Missionary Society missionary John Williams visited in 1821. The oldest church in the country, the Cook Islands Christian Church in Arutanga, was built by Papeiha and Vahapata, uniquely, these instruments did not include Aitutaki. It appears that, though the inhabitants of Aitutaki regarded themselves as British subjects, the Crowns title was uncertain, and it was the only island in the Cook Islands that was annexed rather than ceded. In 1942 New Zealand and American forces were stationed on the island and this airport, and one on the northernmost Penrhyn Island, were to be used as bases by the Allies during World War II
16.
Ariki
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An ariki, ‘ariki, aliki, ali‘i, arii, aiki or hakaiki, akariki or ‘eiki is or was a member of a hereditary chiefly or noble rank in Polynesia. Political leadership or governance in Māori society has come from two different groups of people – the ariki and the rangatira. The ariki are the persons of the highest rank and seniority, as the high-ranking first-born children of first-born children, ariki inherit their positions from their forebears. In particular, their rank from the conjunction of a number of senior descent lines from founding ancestors. Although most ariki in the past have been male, women, many positions overlap with ariki holding multiple roles, including head of an iwi, the rangatira of a hapu and the kaumatua of a whanau. Similarly, in times past, a tohunga may have also been the head of a whanau but quite often was also a rangatira, the Māori King Movement is headed by the Māori King or Queen, who bears the title Te Arikinui, literally The big Ariki. Each island in the Cook Islands was ruled by a number of ariki, Rarotonga had about five or six, and most of the other islands had about three. Each ariki ruled an ivi or ngati, beneath each ariki in the social hierarchy were a number of mataiapo and rangatira of noble rank. A chiefs control over his people was related to his mana, which not only from his birth but also from his achievements and status. An ariki who lost popularity with his people could also be seen as having a decline in mana, having a control of tapu was a powerful weapon for the ariki. For supernatural reasons, certain activities were forbidden and since the ariki had control over what was or was not forbidden, this gave him considerable power. It was the strong belief in an arikis mana and control over all things tapu that allowed them to take control of their people without the need for physical enforcement. The ariki, mataiapo and rangatira titles are passed down through the family to the present day, some of the ancient ceremonies and traditions are still being practiced in the Cook Islands. The House of Ariki is a body in the Cook Islands. It was established in 1967 shortly after self-government and it is composed of the Cook Islands high chiefs and was created to marginalize the ariki, giving them dignity but very limited power. Alii Paramount chief Arai-te-tonga, the ancient marae at Rarotonga, journal of the Polynesian Society Tribal organisation - Social rank. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
17.
Mangaia
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Mangaia is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. Geologists estimate the island is at least 18 million years old and it rises 4750 m above the ocean floor and has a land area of 51.8 km2. It has a volcanic plateau and, like many of the southern Cook Islands, it is surrounded by a high ring of cliffs of fossil coral 60 m high. The highest point is Rangi-motia,169 m above sea level, lake Tiriara is a body of fresh water in the south. The population of Mangaia comprises about 700 people, the capital is the village of Oneroa, on the west coast, containing about half the population. There are two villages, Tamarua in the south and Ivirua in the northeast. After Pangemiro secured the power, the districts and sub-districts were distributed among the Manaune and Ngati-Tane tribes. The distribution on the right was supposed to favor Ngati-Tane, in actual fact, the Manaune received a greater number of sub-districts than the Ngati-Tane. The districts are, as on other islands of the Lower Cook Islands. In the Cook Islands constitution however, the six districts are listed as Tapere, the Districts clockwise, starting in the south, with their Sub-Districts and Chiefs, are, Note, The first three Tapere in Tamarua were awarded to Ngati-Tane, and the remaining six to Manaune. The Ngati-Tane gave one and the Manaune gave two to members of other tribes, parima, the Pava, had no Tapere. Note, Three sub-districts above went to Ngati-Tane, of which Arokapiti was the leader, motuanga was Pava and held a sub-district. Note, Mamae states, Eia tuanga e ono nei, tei a Pangemiro te akaaere and this seems to mean that Pangemiro appointed the sub-district chiefs, but Arokapiti selected the District Chief. Note, The six sub-districts above were shared equally between Ngati-Tane and the Manaune, Note, In another manuscript the word Teia in the third, fourth, and fifth sub-districts is spelled Te-ii-a and is followed by the same endings. Pangemiro, the Temporal Lord, lived in Karanga, and all the sub-districts went to the Manaune, though there are only five Tapere, the Manaune say there are six with the wood. The story is that Vairoto, who belonged to Karanga, was indicated as a sacrifice to Rongo. It was evidently left to the Manaune to bring the sacrifice to the marae in Keia, thereupon Tuarau and Tumutoa of Ivirua carved a figure to represent Vairoto, and Pangemiro sent it in to the marae. The Manaune were strong enough to carry off this disobedience to the high priest, Note, Mamae gave no details and omitted the sixth sub-district of Avarari
18.
Ahu Tongariki
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Ahu Tongariki is the largest ahu on Easter Island. Its moai were toppled during the civil wars and in the twentieth century the ahu was swept inland by a tsunami. It has since restored and has fifteen moai including an 86 tonne moai that was the heaviest ever erected on the island. Ahu Tongariki is one kilometer from Rano Raraku and Poike in the Hotu-iti area of Rapa Nui National Park, all the moai here face sunset during Summer Solstice. Ahu Tongariki was the centre and capital of the Hotu Iti. Its moai were toppled during the civil wars. In 1960, a tsunami caused by an earthquake off the coast of Chile swept the Ahu Tongariki inland and this ahu is on the south coast of Rapa Nui, close to two previous volcanoes, Rano Raraku and Poike. Poike is one of the three extinct volcanoes that form Rapa Nui, which last erupted between 230,000 and 705,000 years ago. Rano Raraku is a crater formed of consolidated volcanic ash or tuff. Indeed, nearly half of the moai are still buried in the slopes of the Rano Raraku, the large, flat plain below Rano Raraku provided easy access to the tuff
19.
Ahu Akivi
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Ahu Akivi is a particular sacred place in Rapa Nui in the Valparaíso Region of Chile, looking out towards the Pacific Ocean. The site has seven moai, all of equal shape and size, the site is located inland, rather than along the coast. Moai statues were considered by the people of Rapa Nui as their ancestors or Tupuna that were believed to be the reincarnation of important kings or leaders of their clans. The Moais were erected to protect and bring posperity to their clan, a particular feature of the seven identical moai statues is that they exactly face sunset during the Spring Equinox and have their backs to the sunrise during the Autumn Equinox. Such an astronomically precise feature is only at this location on the island. Ahu Akivi, aligned in an east–west direction, is located on the flank of the slope of Maunga Terevaka at Rapauni. It is 2.3 kilometres inland in the non coastal zone and is at an elevation of 140 metres, Ahu Vai Teka is at a distance of 706.8 metres from Ahu Kavi which is considered as part of the Ahu Akivi-Ahu Kavi complex. From Hanga Roa, a road leads to the site via the volcanic cone of Terevaka. The coast road is via Playa Anakena, on this road there are many moi statues lying scattered and un restored. Further on, the site of Ahu Akivi is reached, the site is located to the Northeast of Hanga Roa, the capital city of Easter Island, about 10 kilometres to its north. The Rano Raraku quarry from where the statues were made is at least 15 kilometres away, Ahu Akivi is part of the Ahu Akivi-Vai Teka complex which was built up by the Rapa Nui people in two phases. In the first phase, during the 16th century a central platform was created on a leveled surface. It had wings projecting to the north and the south directions, an approach ramp was also part of this platform which led to the ceremonial plaza stretching 25 metres towards the west of the central platform. A cremation ground existed behind the central platform, a cave in which people used to reside was also used as tomb during historic times. The other Ahu in the complex is the Ahu Vai Teka, there is no statue now, though one is believed to have existed initially. Both the ahus were believed to have been aligned astronomically with respect to the Sun, both are located in the territory of the Miru, the highest ranking clan and the western confederacy, and both were contemporary. It is also conjectured that the seven statues were placed at Ahu Akivi at least 150 years before the first Europeans found the island when the clan was functional at that time and it is also evident that their culture existed for 250–300 years with economic prosperity with political stability. In 1955, Thor Heyerdahl was the first to discover and take pictures of the moai statues, mulloys work on the Akivi-Vaiteka Complex was supported by the Fulbright Foundation and by grants from the University of Wyoming, the University of Chile and the International Fund for Monuments
20.
Polynesian Triangle
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The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners, Hawaiʻi, Easter Island and New Zealand. It is often used as a way to define Polynesia. The largest Polynesian peoples are the Māori, Native Hawaiians, Tongans, Samoans, the native languages of this vast triangle are Polynesian languages, which are classified by linguists as part of the Oceanic subgroup of Malayo-Polynesian. They ultimately derive from the language spoken in Southeast Asia 5,000 years ago. There are also numerous Polynesian Outlier islands outside the triangle in neighboring Melanesia and Micronesia, polynesians also share similar cultural traditions, arts, religion, and sciences. Anthropologists believe that all modern Polynesian cultures descend from a single protoculture established in the South Pacific by migrant Malayo-Polynesian people, there is also some evidence of Polynesian visits to some of the subantarctic islands to the south of New Zealand, which are outside Polynesia proper. Ancient Hawaiʻi Polynesian Leaders Group Polynesian Cultural Center Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum
21.
Moai
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Moai /ˈmoʊ. aɪ/, or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island in eastern Polynesia between 1250 and 1500 A. D. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, almost all moai have overly large heads three-eighths the size of the whole statue. The moai are chiefly the living faces of deified ancestors, the statues still gazed inland across their clan lands when Europeans first visited the island in 1722, but all of them had fallen by the latter part of the 19th century. The production and transportation of the more than 900 statues are considered remarkable creative, the moai toppled after European contact when islander traditions radically changed. The moai are monolithic statues, their minimalist style related to forms found throughout Polynesia, Moai are carved in relatively flat planes, the faces bearing proud but enigmatic expressions. The human figures would be outlined in the wall first. The over-large heads have heavy brows and elongated noses with a distinctive fish-hook-shaped curl of the nostrils, the lips protrude in a thin pout. Like the nose, the ears are elongated and oblong in form, the jaw lines stand out against the truncated neck. The torsos are heavy, and, sometimes, the clavicles are subtly outlined in stone, generally, the anatomical features of the backs are not detailed, but sometimes bear a ring and girdle motif on the buttocks and lower back. Except for one kneeling moai, the statues do not have clearly visible legs, though moai are whole-body statues, they are erroneously referred to as Easter Island heads in some popular literature. Some of the heads at Rano Raraku have been excavated and their bodies seen, the average height of the moai is about 4 m, with the average width at the base around 1.6 m. These massive creations usually weigh in at around 12.5 tonnes each, all but 53 of the more than 900 moai known to date were carved from tuff from Rano Raraku, where 394 moai and incomplete moai are still visible today. There are also 13 moai carved from basalt,22 from trachyte and 17 from fragile red scoria, at the end of carving, the builders would rub the statue with pumice. Easter Island statues are known for their large, broad noses and strong chins, along with rectangle-shaped ears and their bodies are normally squatting, with their arms resting in different positions and are without legs. The major of the ahu are found along the coast and face inland towards the community, there are some inland ahu such as Ahu Akivi. These moai face the community but given the size of the island. The discovery was made by collecting and reassembling broken fragments of coral that were found at the various sites. Subsequently, previously uncategorized finds in the Easter Island museum were re-examined and recategorized as eye fragments, many archaeologists suggest that statues were thus symbols of authority and power, both religious and political
22.
Mo'orea
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Moorea is a high island in French Polynesia, one of the Windward Islands, part of the Society Islands,17 kilometres northwest of Tahiti. The true spelling of Moorea is Moorea, which means lizard in Tahitian, Moo = lizard. An older name for the island is Aimeho, sometimes spelled Aimeo or Eimeo, early Western colonists and voyagers also referred to Moorea as York Island. Several ferries go to the Vaiare wharf in Moorea daily from Papeete, the Vaiare wharf is in the Vaiare bay. One of them is the Aremiti 5, the largest one is the Aremiti Ferry and the other one is the Terevau ferry. The ferries have to pass through Mooreas coral pass, then toward Papeete across the ocean, the Vaiare bay is in the east part of Moorea. Mooreas Temae Airport has connections to the airport in Papeete. If the islanders want to make a flight, they would take Air Tahiti to get to the Faaā International Airport on Tahiti. The Moorea airport is located north of the Vaiare bay, there is one road that goes around the island. Along the road are kilometre markers from 1 to 35, the first one is near the airport. The 35th one is in Haapiti, there are also white signs that tell the driver which commune they entered. Other signs have the name with a red slash through it. The island was formed as a volcano 1.5 to 2.5 million years ago and it is theorized that the current bays were formerly river basins that filled during the Holocene searise. Moorea is about 10 miles in width from the west to the east, there are two small, nearly symmetrical bays on the north shore. The one to the west is called Ōpūnohu Bay which isnt very populated, the main surrounding communes of the bay are Pihaena in the east and Papetōai to the west. The one to the east is Cooks Bay, also called Pao Pao Bay since the largest commune of Moorea is at the bottom of the bay, the other communes are Pihaena to the west and busy Maharepa to the east. The highest point is Mount Tohiea, near the center of Moorea and it dominates the vista from the two bays and can be seen from Tahiti. There are also hiking trails in the mountains, the Vaiare Bay is another small inlet, smaller than the two main bays, on the east shore
23.
Bora Bora
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Bora Bora is a 29.3 km2 island in the Leeward group in the western part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island, located about 230 kilometres northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon, in the centre of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu, the highest point at 727 metres. Bora Bora is an international tourist destination, famous for its aqua-centric luxury resorts. The major settlement, Vaitape, is on the side of the main island. Produce of the island is limited to what can be obtained from the sea and the plentiful coconut trees. According to a 2008 census, Bora Bora has a permanent population of 8,880, in ancient times the island was called Pora pora mai te pora, meaning created by the gods in the local Tahitian dialect. This was often abbreviated Pora Pora meaning simply first born, because of ambiguities in the phonemes of the Tahitian language, this could also be pronounced Bola Bola or Bora Bora. When explorer Jacob Roggeveen first landed on the island, he, the island was inhabited by Polynesian settlers around the 4th century C. E. The first European sighting was made by Jakob Roggeveen in 1722, james Cook sighted the island in 1770 and landed that same year. The London Missionary Society arrived in 1820 and founded a Protestant church in 1890, Bora Bora was an independent kingdom until 1888 when its last queen Teriimaevarua III was forced to abdicate by the French who annexed the island as a colony. In World War II the United States chose Bora Bora as a South Pacific military supply base, and an oil depot, airstrip, seaplane base, and defensive fortifications were constructed. Known as Operation Bobcat, it maintained a force of nine ships,20,000 tons of equipment. Seven artillery guns were set up at points around the island to protect it against potential military attack. However, the island saw no combat as the American presence on Bora Bora went uncontested over the course of the war, the base was officially closed on June 2,1946. The atoll of Tupai has no permanent population apart from about 50 workers in the coconut plantations. The surrounding islets include, Motu Tapu, Motu Ahuna, Tevairoa, Motu Tane, Motu Mute, Motu Tufari, Motu Tehotu, Motu Pitiaau, Sofitel Motu, Motu Toopua, and Toopuaiti. The island is part of the commune of Bora-Bora, itself in the administrative subdivision of the Leeward Islands. President of French Polynesia Édouard Fritch is the current mayor of Bora Bora in addition to being the President, today the islands economy is driven almost solely by tourism
24.
Huahine
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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, the island has a population of about 6,300. Huahine measures 16 km in length, with a width of 13 km. It is made up of two main islands surrounded by a coral reef with several islets, or motu. Huahine Nui lies to the north and Huahine Iti to the south, the two islands are separated by a few hundred yards of water and joined by a sandspit at low tide. A small bridge was built to connect Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti, in the northwest of Huahine Nui lies a 375 hectares brackish lake known as Lac Fauna Nui. This lake is all that remains of the ancient atoll lagoon, air transportation is available via Huahine airport, located on the northern shore of Huahine Nui. Administratively Huahine is a part of the administrative subdivision of the Leeward Islands. Huahine consists of the associated communes, Faie Fare Fitii Haapu Maeva Maroe Parea Tefarerii The administrative centre of the commune is the settlement of Fare. One of the attractions on Huahine is a bridge that crosses over a stream with 0.9 m -1.8 m long freshwater eels. These eels are deemed sacred by the locals, by local mythology, while viewing these slithering creatures, tourists can buy a can of mackerel and feed the eels. The Faahia archaeological site in the north of the island has revealed remains of several species of extinct birds exterminated by the earliest Polynesian colonists of the island. List of monarchs of Huahine Tahiti Tourism Board website Tourism portal on Huahine Free travel guide - Bilingual french english - 2016-2017
25.
'Oro
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Oro is a god of the Polynesian pantheon. The veneration of Oro, although practiced in varying intensity among the islands, was a cult of the Society Islands in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially Tahiti. On Tahiti Oro was the deity and the god of war. The secret society of Arioi was closely linked because of its rites, on the Marquesas Islands, Oro bore the name Mahui. These main gods were also venerated on the other Polynesian islands, the colonists who settled as part of the Polynesian expansion spread their religion amongst the various islands. Over the centuries the continual movement and developments of the original society groups brought about local differences and adaptations of the cult within the Polynesian Triangle. On the island of Raiatea the priests elevated the god Taaroa from the role of sea god - already an important function in a maritime society - to the god responsible for creating the world. A possible explanation for this is that the ariki, the chiefs and members of the highest noble ranks on Raiatea. A further development of this cult was the veneration of Oro, according to tradition, Taputapuatea is the mythical birthplace of Oro. The cult of Taaroa also spread to the Cook Islands, the Tuamotu Archipelago, large islands, such as New Zealand and Hawaii, remained unaffected by the cult and its developments and Taaroa retains his original function there as god of the sea. Similarly, on many of the islands of the south Pacific Oro did not have the same superior function as on Tahiti. Due to the influence of Taputapuatea - one can characterize it as a type of central pilgrimage site - Oro gained more political power. On the neighboring island of Tahiti the veneration of Oro grew in importance during the late proto-historical or early historical period and this development was substantially driven by the influential secret society of Arioi, who were of great religious and political importance. From within their ranks came the upper echelons of the nobility, the Arioi could trace the foundation of their order back to the god Oro himself. On Tahiti Oro was the god of war, who in times of peace became the god of the fine arts, not only pigs but also humans were sacrificed to him. During his third voyage in 1777 James Cook was witness to such a human sacrifice, the prisoner was held securely on a platform whilst a priest smashed his skull with a holy mace. According to legend Oro lived with his sisters Teouri and Oaaoa on Mount Pahia on the island of Bora Bora and he asked his sisters for help in finding a suitable wife and descended to earth on a rainbow in the guise of a warrior. His search of the islands at first proved futile, which also saddened his sisters
26.
Tautira
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Tautira is a Polynesian beach village, valley, and point on the south-east coast of the island of Tahiti in the Pacific. It is part of the commune Taiarapu-Est, with a population of 2338, it is located 49 kilometres southeast of the Tahitian capital of Papeete on the coast of Tautira Bay, at the end of what is the largest valley of the Taiarapu Peninsula. Domingo de Bonechea visited the area in 1772 and attempted to spread Christianity here, Robert Louis Stevenson referred to the village as “The Garden of the World”, staying here to recover from illness in 1886. The village contains a Catholic church, Tautira is where Catholic missionaries first landed which eventually led to the takeover of Tahiti by the French people, and which also ended Protestants hold on Tahiti. Earlier, in 1772, Domingo de Bonechea, the Spanish captain landed at Aguilla near the Aiurua River and he had left two missionaries to try convert the indigenous people to Christianity, in 1772. However, when he returned from Peru in 1775 he found that the two missionaries he had left behind on Tahiti failed to convert the natives, and eventually they preferred to return to Peru. However, de Bonechea died on Tahiti during this campaign and he is buried in the Catholic Church in Tautira, James Cook had landed at Tautira Bay during his voyage. The chiefs of Tautira were reportedly replaced by the chiefs of Teahupoo after conflict. In 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and childrens books, the local chief, Ori O Ori, befriended him and kept him in his house, and they had even exchanged names as “Rui” and “Terii-Tera”. It was during his stay here that Stevenson wrote to his friends calling Tautira as “The Garden of the World”, in 1915, Tautira was described as being the second town of the island. It is located at a distance of 49 kilometres from Papeete, the coastal stretch of the mountainous road extends from Taravoa to Tautira via Pueu. This stretch of the coast also receives the highest rainfall, an 18 kilometres stretch of highway links Tautira with Taravao. The Tautira River runs nearby, and there is a beach at the mouth of the Vaitepiha River nearby as well, Tautira is the largest valley of the Taiarapu Peninsula, resembling Papenoo in that its innermost areas consist of the principal crater-basin. The valley runs outward in a direction a little to the west of north, the boundaries of the Tautira Valley are high and well marked. Aionifaa Valley lies between Tautira and Aiurua, Tautira Point is a tongue of low wooded land about 600 yards wide, extending northward.75 miles from the general line of the coast and from the foot of the mountains. It is formed by the deposits from the Vaitepiha River, one of the largest streams in Tahiti, the barrier reef fronts the coast from Aiurua Pass to Tautira Point at 3,000 feet and less from the shore. It encloses channels and basins of deep water, between Vaionifa and Tautira, there is a smaller gap about 1,200 feet wide in which there is only 9 feet of water. From 19 to 37 fathoms there is mud almost everywhere, at the northern end the soundings decrease gradually to 16 and 8 fathoms
27.
Paea
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Paea is a commune in the suburbs of Papeete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Paea is located on the island of Tahiti, in the subdivision of the Windward Islands. Tahitis west coast freeway runs through Paea and ends in Teahupoo down south, going northbound would take drivers toward Papeete. The area of Paea was first settled by travelers from Asia, captain James Cook had arrived later on. Paea was part of the Kingdom of Tahiti until France claimed the islands of French Polynesia, the Faaa International Airport was built in 1962 and opened later on. The now defunct Air Moorea crashed while it was flying to Moorea, close to where the crash site is a rock with all the names of the people. Moorea is north of Paea and is seen as a gray mound sticking out of the Pacific Ocean, mount Orohena is a major mountain nearby 7,330 feet tall
28.
Pirae
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Pirae is a commune in the suburbs of Papeete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Pirae is located on the island of Tahiti, in the subdivision of the Windward Islands. It borders Papeete in the west and Arue in the east, the Stade Pater Te Hono Nui is a stadium located in the commune. France portal Stade Pater Te Hono Nui
