Taputapuatea marae
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How it came to be
Taputapuātea is on Ra'iātea, at the centre of the 'Polynesian Triangle', the vast stretch of the Pacific whose islands were the last part of the globe to be settled by humans. The property takes in two forested valleys, a portion of lagoon and coral reef and a strip of open ocean, and at its heart lies the marae complex, a political, ceremonial and funerary centre. Marae were places where the world of the living met the world of the ancestors and the gods.
The central marae is a courtyard paved with basalt, 44 by 60 metres, with a ceremonial platform, the ahu, at its east end. It was first dedicated to Ta'aroa, the creator, before the worship of 'Oro, god of life and death, came to prevail. The marae may have been established as early as AD 1000 and was enlarged and rebuilt at least twice between the 14th and 18th centuries. Priests and navigators from across the Pacific gathered here to share knowledge of genealogy and deep-ocean navigation.
Around 1763 warriors from Bora Bora attacked the island and wrecked the god-houses and the platform. After missionaries arrived in the early 19th century the complex was soon abandoned. Its remains were restored in 1994, and it was inscribed as a World Heritage site on 9 July 2017.
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