The marae, and Taputapuātea

A marae is an open-air stone precinct, several centuries old: a paved court closed by an ahu, the altar platform. It was the political, cultural and ceremonial centre of the community. They survive everywhere: on Moorea, the Opunohu valley holds nearly 500 structures along the trail of the ancestors; on Huahine, the marae of Maeva, among them Manunu; on Tahiti, Māha’iātea at Papara, once the largest in the country and recently restored, and Arahurahu at Paea.

Taputapuātea, at PK 32 in Opoa on the east coast of Raiatea, facing the sacred pass Ava Mo’a, has been on the World Heritage List since 2017 under criteria (iii), (iv) and (vi). UNESCO sees in it a cultural landscape and seascape, the testimony of a thousand years of mā’ohi civilisation, a complex of marae dedicated to the god ’Oro and protected under Polynesian law since 1952; the property covers 2,124 hectares, with a buffer zone of 3,363 hectares. Tahiti Tourisme presents it as the birthplace of Polynesian culture, the place from which canoes set out for the other islands of the Polynesian triangle.

How to behave at a sacred site

The rules posted by Tahiti Tourisme for the marae fit in a few lines. Keep to the marked paths and do not walk on the structures. Do not climb on the stones, which are fragile and full of history. Respect the silence: it is a place of contemplation. Take your waste with you. Fires, alcohol and picnics are prohibited, pets are not allowed, nor are graffiti and tags. Adopt a respectful attitude, remembering that the site is sacred. For Taputapuātea the organisation’s page repeats the same instructions: stay on the paths, do not climb on the stones, no picnic, no animals.

The advice for a sustainable stay adds that certain sites are considered tapu, that is, forbidden, and that permission should be sought before visiting them; many marae lie on family land. The same text asks visitors not to take seashells as souvenirs and to prefer local crafts. In the Marquesas the tohua, large paved squares for dances and ceremonies, the paepae, the me’ae and the tiki deserve the same respect; at Hatiheu on Nuku Hiva, Tahiti Tourisme advises taking a villager as a guide.

The Heiva, dance and music

The Heiva i Tahiti is held every July in Papeete, on the To’atā stage; it is organised by Te Fare Tauhiti Nui, the Maison de la Culture, and Tahiti Tourisme traces it back to 1881. In 2026 it ran from 2 to 18 July, with eleven singing groups and eleven dance groups competing; tickets started at 2,900 XPF, about 24.30 EUR. During the Heiva the Arahurahu marae at Paea hosts the re-enactment of an ancient ceremony.

’Ori Tahiti nearly disappeared when the missionaries arrived; the dance was passed on in secret, from mother to daughter and father to son. Classes exist today in the schools, and the main hotels stage shows. In the costumes, woven pandanus stands for the land, shells for the ocean, the feathers of the headdresses for the birds, flowers for the joy of life. The beat comes from the to’ere, a slit drum, and the pahu, a hollowed trunk covered with shark or goat skin; the vivo is a nose flute, the pū a conch. The ’ukulele, which came from Hawaii in the nineteenth century, has become the emblematic instrument of Tahitian music.

Tattoo

The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian tatau. Legend has it that the first designs were etched into the skin of the creator god Ta’aroa, whose sons Matamata and Tū Ra’i Pō passed the art on to humans; Tahiti Tourisme dates the practice back to the first migrations from South-East Asia, around 200 BC. A tattoo told of belonging to a tribe and a territory and of social rank, and certain designs were made to protect the wearer and preserve his mana. The tools were a small bone comb, a piece of tortoiseshell and a fishbone; the ink came from the charcoal of the ti’a’iri, the candlenut tree, diluted in water or oil.

Marquesan designs, particularly complex and detailed, covered the whole body and the face; they remain the best known. Today tattoo artists are found on almost every island of French Polynesia, and tattoo fairs are held regularly. The official sources consulted give no advice on choosing an artist or on hygiene; take time to look at the work of several artists and to talk about the meaning of the motifs before deciding.

Tahitian and its greetings

French is the official language, but Tahitian is widely spoken and English is used in hotels, shops and restaurants; reo mā’ohi remains the everyday language of most residents. A few words are always appreciated. ’Ia ora na, hello, is pronounced roughly yoranna. Māuruuru means thank you, māuruuru roa thank you very much, ’aita māuruuru no thank you. ’E aha tō ’oe huru asks how you are, and the reply is maita’i, fine, or maita’i roa, very well. ’E is a definite yes, ’aita a no. Nānā serves as goodbye, maeva or manava as welcome.

In a traveller’s vocabulary you will keep meeting tāne, man or husband, vahine, woman or wife, mā’a, the meal, motu, the islet, miti, the sea, moana, the ocean, tiare, the flower, and popa’a, the white foreigner. Two things to know for pronunciation: the apostrophe marks a glottal stop, which counts as a consonant, and the vowels with a macron (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) are held longer. Words that sound almost identical can have very different meanings; Tahiti Tourisme cites te ū, milk, and te hū, which is far less polite.

Museums and places of culture

The Musée de Tahiti et des Îles, Te Fare Iamanaha, is at Punaauia, at PK 15 on the fishermen’s point of Nu’uroa, about fifteen kilometres from Papeete. It opens Wednesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 17:00, and on Tuesday from 8:00 to 16:00 for groups with a reservation; admission is 1,000 XPF, about 8.38 EUR, free under 18, the audio guide 500 XPF. In Papeete, the municipal market opens every day on the ground floor, Monday to Saturday upstairs; on Sunday it comes alive from 4 in the morning.

In the Marquesas, at Atuona on Hiva Oa, the Paul Gauguin cultural centre, with the reconstruction of his house, and the Espace Jacques Brel, which keeps his aeroplane, open Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 11:00 and 14:00 to 17:00; both men are buried in the Calvaire cemetery above the village. The whole archipelago, Te Henua Enata, has been a World Heritage site since 2024; Lipona, in the Puamau valley, holds the tiki Takai’i, 2.57 metres tall.

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Timetables, provider conditions, entry rules, weather-sensitive activities and commercial terms are rechecked for the actual trip. This article explains the planning logic; it is not a live availability promise.

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Polynesia Local editorial desk · sources cited on every entry · 20 October 2026