One Death for us all Everyone has heard of Tonga, Hawaii, Samoa and Tahiti. Tahuata is a tired island in a different time. There is a rumor that in some of the valleys of Tahuata that the spirits mingle with the living and that you can only tell a spirit from a living person because a spirit's feet don't touch the ground. Nineteen of the valleys of Tahuata used to be inhabited. Only five are inhabited today, that is, inhabited by the living.
Spirits remain in the other fourteen.
One of the spirits of Tahuata is Iotete. Iotete hasn't always been a spirit. He was mortal once. By his own admission he was a little chief. The people of the valley of Vaitahu, who were ruled by Iotete, went even further.