Tahitians

## Ta'ata Māꞌohi

* People of
* the Society Islands

## Country of Origin

Society Islands/Fenua Raro Mata'i ma Nia Mata'i (French Polynesia): c. 300,000

## Religion or Spirituality

Various Christian forms, majority (70-75%) being Roman Catholic.

## Related Ethnic Groups

Polynesians Austronesians

The **Tahitians**, (Tahitian: *Mā’ohi*) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of Tahiti and thirteen other Society Islands in French Polynesia. Indigenous Tahitians are one of the largest Polynesian ethnic groups, behind the Māori, Samoans and Hawaiians. Tahitians are French citizens and are represented by two elected deputies to the French National Assembly and one representative in the French Senate. Tahitians vote by universal adult suffrage in all major French elections.

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, Faa'a International Airport, is on Tahiti near Papeete. Tahiti was originally settled by Polynesians between 300 and 800 AD. They represent about 70% of the island's population, with the rest made up of Europeans, Chinese, and those of mixed heritage. The island was part of the Kingdom of Tahiti until its annexation by France in 1880, when it was proclaimed a colony of France, and the inhabitants became French citizens. French is the only official language, although the Tahitian language (*Reo Tahiti*) is widely spoken.

## Etymology (Fa'aohipara'a)

In the Tahitian language, the word *mā'ohi* means "normal", "natural", or "ordinary". There are cognate words in most Polynesian languages, all deriving from Proto-Polynesian \**ma(a)qoli*, which has the reconstructed meaning "true, real, genuine".

## History (A'amu)

### Pre-colonization (Hou Harura'a)

The first Polynesian settlers arrived in Tahiti around 400AD by way of Samoan navigators and settlers via the Cook Islands. Over the period of half a century there was much inter-island relations with trade, marriages and Polynesian expansion with the Islands of Hawaii and through to Rapanui.

The original Tahitians cleared land for cultivation on the fertile volcanic soils and built fishing canoes. The tools of the Tahitians when first discovered were made of stone, bone, shell or wood.

The Tahitians were divided into three major classes (or castes): *ari'i*, *ra'atira* and *manahune*. *Ari'i* were relatively few in number while *manahune* constituted the bulk of population and included some members who played essential roles in the society. It is estimated that by the first contact with Europeans in 1767 the population of Tahiti was no more than 40,000 while other Society Islands held probably 15,000-20,000 people.

Tahitians divided the day into the periods of daylight (*ao*) and darkness (*pō*). There was also a concept of irrational fear called *mehameha*, translated as uncanny feelings. The healers, familiar with herbal remedies, were called *ta'ata rā'au* or *ta'ata rapa'au*. In the 19th century Tahitians added the European medicine to their practice. The most famous Tahitian healer Tiurai, of *ari'i*, died aged 83 during the influenza outbreak on Tahiti in 1918.

### Four Kingdoms Period (Taime a Fa'atupu Maha)

#### Kingdom of Tahiti (Fenua a Tahiti)

Pōmare I was born at Pare, ca. 1743. He was the second son of Teu Tunuieaiteatua by his wife, Tetupaia-i-Hauiri. He initially reigned under the regency of his father. He succeeded on the death of his father as Ariʻi-rahi of Porionuʻu 23 November 1802.

In terms of European influence in the period immediately encompassing the period of Pomare I.

"The attempt at colonization by the Spaniards in 1774 was followed by the settlement of thirty persons brought in 1797 by the missionary ship *Duff*. Though befriended by Pomare I (who lived until 1805), they had many difficulties, especially from the constant wars, and at length they fled with Pomare II to Eimeo and ultimately to New South Wales. They returned in 1812 when Pomare renounced heathenism."

Pomare was the Tahitian chieftain on the friendliest terms with the British. The additional British captains arriving at Tahiti accepted his claim to hegemony. They gave him guns in trade and helped him in his battles. Captain James Cook gave him the advantage in a number of battles with rival forces during his last stay in Tahiti, circa 1777. British missionaries arrived, sent by a non-denominational Protestant group called the London Missionary Society. Pomare befriended the missionaries, and the missionaries favored both peace and Pomare, but, with the British unwilling to sent concrete aid to assist Pomare in his attempts to create order among the islands, the missionaries were unable to stop the warring.

As king, Pōmare I succeeded in uniting the different chiefdoms of Tahiti into a single kingdom, composed of the islands of Tahiti itself, Moʻorea, Mehetiʻa, and the Tetiʻaroa group. His service as the first king of unified Tahiti ended when he abdicated in 1791, but he remained the regent of Tahiti from 1791 until 1803. He married four times and had two sons and three daughters.

By now, islanders were passing to each other diseases that had arrived with the Europeans: diseases for which they had not developed immunity. Many islanders were dying. In 1803, Pomare died. His son, Otu, became head of the family, with the title Pomare II. Tū Tūnuiʻēʻaiteatua Pōmare II reigned 1803–1821. The missionaries remained allied with the Pomare family. Despite their pacifism, they wanted to see Pomare II successful in uniting the islanders under his rule.

#### Consolidation (Tahoêra'a)

##### Pomare II

Pōmare II, King of Tahiti (1774 – 7 December 1821) was the second king of Tahiti between 1782 and 1821. He was installed by his father Pōmare I at Tarahoi, 13 February 1791. He ruled under regency from 1782 to 1803.

Initially recognised as supreme sovereign and Ariʻi-maro-ʻura by the ruler of Huahine, he was subsequently forced to take refuge in Moʻorea 22 December 1808, but returned and defeated his enemies at the Battle of Te Feipī. He was thereafter recognized as undisputed King of Tahiti, Moʻorea and its dependencies.

Other chieftains on Tahiti became fed up with what they saw as Pomare's pretensions of power, and in 1808 they drove him from Tahiti to the nearby island of Eimeo (Moorea). These other chieftains hostile towards the missionaries, which caused the missionaries to leave Tahiti for other islands.

Pomare organized military support from his kinsmen on the islands of Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Warring resumed, with Pomare winning the decisive Battle of Te Fe’i Pī, on 12 November 1815. His victory was a victory also for the Christians. And, in victory Pomare surprised the Tahitians. He pardoned all who laid down their weapons. When defeated warriors returned from the hills, they found their homes had not been set afire and that their wives and children had not been slaughtered. The warfare culture of the islanders had been changed by the influence that the missionaries had on Pomare II.

Centralized authority among chiefs was not traditional in Tahiti, but the missionaries welcomed Pomare's new power. Distress from disease, civil war and death won for them serious attention to their teachings. They launched a campaign to teach the islanders to read, so they could read scripture. There were mass conversions in hope of the supernatural protections that Christianity offered. The missionaries told the islanders how to dress. The climate was suitable to exposing the skin to the greater cool of open air, but for the missionaries the temperature was of no consideration. Wearing full clothing for them was preferable to wearing little to none.

Another lifestyle promoted by the missionaries was manufacturing, the missionaries setting up a sugar refinery and a textile factory. In 1817, Tahiti acquired its first printing press, and, in 1819, cotton, sugar and coffee crops were planted.

Pomare II asked the missionaries for advice on laws, and the missionaries, being monarchists and wanting Pomare to be a proper monarch, advised him that the laws would have to be his, not theirs. They did make suggestions, however, and in September 1819, Pomare produced Tahiti's first written law. There was protection of life and property, observance of Sabbath, a sanctification of marriage and a judiciary to maintain the laws.

Pōmare was married to Queen Tetua-nui Taro-vahine.

He was baptised 16 May 1819 at the Royal Chapel, Papeʻete. Three London Missionary Society missionaries, Henry Bicknell, William Henry, and Charles Wilson preached at the baptism of King Pomare II.

Pomare died of drink-related causes at Motu Uta, Papeete, 7 December 1821. Pomare II died in 1824 at the age of forty-two, leaving behind an eight-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son. The son, Teriʻi-ta-ria and Pōmare III, ruled in name from 1821 to 1827 while being educated by the missionaries. He died in 1827 of an unknown disease, and the daughter, then eleven, became Queen Pōmare IV.

##### Pomare III

Pōmare III was the king of Tahiti between 1821 and 1827. He was the second son of Pōmare II.

He was born at Papaʻoa, ʻArue, 25 June 1820 as Teri'i-ta-ria, and was baptised on 10 September 1820. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his father. He was crowned at Papaʻoa, ʻArue, 21 April 1824.

Pomare III's education took place at the South Sea Academy, Papetoai, Moʻorea. He reigned under a council of Regency until his death 8 January 1827. During his reign, the Kingdom's first flag was adopted.

He was succeeded by his sister, ʻAimata Pōmare IV Vahine-o-Punuateraʻitua, who reigned 1827–1877.

##### Pōmare IV

Pōmare IV, Queen of Tahiti (28 February 1813 – 17 September 1877), more properly ʻAimata Pōmare IV Vahine-o-Punuateraʻitua (otherwise known as ʻAimata {meaning: eye-eater, after an old custom of the ruler to eat the eye of the defeated foe} or simply as Pōmare IV), was the queen of Tahiti between 1827 and 1877.

She was the daughter of Pōmare II. She succeeded as ruler of Tahiti after the death of her brother Pōmare III when she was only 14 years old.

She succeeded in reuniting Raʻiatea and Porapora (Borabora) with the kingdom of Tahiti. She hosted numerous Britons, including a Charles Darwin.

#### Pitcairn Islanders (Ta'ata Aihuara'au)

By 1829, of those who had arrived at Pitcairn on HMS *Bounty* in 1790, only seven remained, but with their offspring they numbered 86. The supply of timber on Pitcairn was decreasing and the availability of water was erratic.

Since the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Pitcairn islanders had been discovered by and had friendly contact with the Royal Navy and British authorities. In 1830, Tahiti's Queen Pomare IV invited the Pitcairners to return to Tahiti, and in March 1831, a British ship transported them there. The Tahitians welcomed the Pitcairners and offered them land. But having been isolated and not having developed any immunity to the diseases now on Tahiti, the Pitcairners suffered from disease in alarming number. Fourteen of them died. The Tahitians took up a collection for the surviving Pitcairners, and for $500 a whaling captain took them back to Pitcairn.

#### French Protectorate (Farāni Aihuara'au)

In 1842, a European crisis involving Morocco escalated between France and Great Britain when Admiral Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars, acting independently of the French government, convinced Tahiti's Queen Pomare IV to accept a French protectorate. George Pritchard, a Birmingham-born missionary and acting British Consul, had been away at the time. However he returned to work towards influencing the locals against the influence of the Roman Catholic French. In November 1843, Dupetit-Thouars (again on his own initiative) landed sailors on the island, annexing it to France. He then threw Pritchard into prison, subsequently sending him back to Britain.

During this time, Thouars managed to convince Pomare IV to sign to putting her country under the protection of France, although he was not empowered to do so, nor was he ever sanctioned in this regard. News of Tahiti reached Europe in early 1844. The French statesman François Guizot, supported by King Louis-Philippe of France, had denounced annexation of the island, and the treaty was never ratified by France.

However, the French did have an interest in the region, and the treaty was enforced from its signing by various factions. The Franco-Tahitian War between the Tahitians and French went from 1843 to 1847. Pomare IV ruled under French administration from 1843 until 1877.

While the Dynasty retained their title for some time, they lost outright control of their country.

##### Death of Pomare IV (Pohe a Pomare IV)

Pomare IV died from natural causes in 1877. She is buried in the Royal Mausoleum, Papaʻoa, ʻArue. She was succeeded by Pōmare V, who reigned 1877–1880.

#### Pomare V and forced abdication (Te Hopea)

Pōmare V, King of Tahiti (3 November 1839 – 12 June 1891) was the last king of Tahiti, reigning from 1877 until his forced abdication in 1880. He was the son of Queen Pōmare IV. He was born as Teri'i Tari'a Te-rā-tane and became Heir Apparent and Crown Prince (Ari'i-aue) upon the death of his elder brother on 13 May 1855. He became king of Tahiti on the death of his mother on 17 September 1877. His coronation was on 24 September 1877 at Pape'ete.

He married twice, first on 11 November 1857 to Te-mā-ri'i-Ma'i-hara Te-uhe-a-Te-uru-ra'i, princess of Huahine. He divorced her on 5 August 1861. His second marriage was to Joanna Mara'u-Ta'aroa Te-pa'u Salmon (thereafter known as Her Majesty The Queen Marau of Tahiti), at Pape'ete on 28 January 1875. He divorced her on 25 January 1888. Pomare V had one son and two daughters.

The island of Tahiti and most of its satellites remained a French protectorate until the late 19th century, when King Pomare V (1842–1891) was forced to cede the sovereignty of Tahiti and its dependencies to France. On 29 June 1880, he gave Tahiti and its dependencies to France, whereupon he was given a pension by French government and the titular position of Officer of the Orders of the Legion of Honour and Agricultural Merit of France, on 9 November 1880.

He died from alcoholism at the Royal Palace, Pape'ete, and is buried at the Tomb of the King, Utu'ai'ai in 'Arue. (1880)

#### Kingdom of Raiatea (Fenua a Raiatea)

The Kingdom had been ruled by five kings before King Tahitoe, who surrendered to the French. All five kings were named Tamatoa.

##### Protectorate Status (Farāni Aihuara'au)

In 1880, King Tahitoe accepted the provisional protectorate by Chessé and raised the protectorate flag of Raiatea with the French tricolour on its canton. Captain Mervyn B. Medlycott of the corvette HMS *Turquoise* ordered French Lieutenant Félix Marie Salaun de Kertanguy, of the war schooner *Orohéna*, to lower the protectorate flag, and in its place the Raiatean flag was hoisted and accorded a royal salute. According to Guy Hardy Scholefield, "The French flag was permitted to be rehoisted provisionally on 25 May 1881, for periods of six months, the discussion being renewed from time to time." Tahitoe was deposed by his subjects for requesting the protectorate. His daughter and successor, Queen Tehauroa, unsuccessfully attempted to enlist the protection of the British to preserve Raiatea's independence in accordance with the Jarnac Convention. On 17 March 1888, Governor Lacascade took possession of Raiatea and Tahaa and raised the French flag.

On 25 September 1887, five chiefs of Raiatea petitioned Papeete to send a French resident administrator. Teraupo'o, a lesser chief of Raiatea known for his fierce opposition to the French, refused to comply with the order of King Tamatoa VI to surrender to them and built up a resistance force. The following year, King Tamatoa VI, originally from the royal family of Huahine, abdicated to avoid being used by the French and returned to Huahine to become a *tāvana*. In his place, Teraupo'o led the native resistance against the French and installed a resistance government under Tuarii (a younger daughter of Tahitoe) as queen at Avera. The French established themselves at the former capital of Uturoa and appointed a *résident*, Marie Maximilien Gustave Alby. The French also had the support of the chief Tavana, a former minister of Tamatoa who held the title of viceroy of Raiatea-Tahaa. A prolonged war prevented the French from entering the rural areas of Raiatea as the natives resorted to guerilla warfare.
The *pa* or the military camp of Teraupo'o, 1897

The Raiateans unsuccessfully appealed to Robert Teesdale Simons, the British consul in Tahiti, for assistance and offered their country to the "Great White Queen". In 1895, Queen Tuarii traveled to the British protectorate Rarontonga to seek help from the British resident, Frederick Moss, who refused to meet with her.

Attempts were made to mediate the conflict by Consul Simons and Tati Salmon, an Anglo-Tahitian businessman of royal descent. The French Protestant missionary Jean-Frédéric Vernier, former chaplain of Queen Pōmare IV, also attempted unsuccessfully to sway the natives. Pastor Gaston Brunel, who took charge of the Protestant schools on the island in 1894 and was largely sympathetic to the natives, often visited the camp of the resistance leader and gained valuable insight into the rebellion. French artist Paul Gauguin, who witnessed the final phase of the rebellion, noted that diplomacy failed to persuade the natives of Raiatea to surrender. Gauguin also witnessed the 1896 expedition to Raiatea.

The French appointed Governor Gustave Gallet to defeat the entrenched rebellion by military force. Gallet had previous experience with suppressing the 1878 Kanak rebellion in New Caledonia. In 1896, two French warships, the cruiser *Duguay-Trouin* and the transporter *Aube* arrived from New Caledonia with two hundred French soldiers to quell the native resistance under the command of Captain Charles Jessé Bayle and Captain Paul Louis Albert Chocheprat, respectively. The invasion force was reinforced further with a company of Tahitian volunteers. On 27 December 1896, Governor Gallet attempted to parley with the rebels to avoid bloodshed. He set an ultimatum for the rebels to surrender by 1 January 1897. The rebel government at Avera under Queen Tuarii and 1,700 rebels reluctantly surrendered. Teraupo'o and the rebels of Tahaa and the district of Tevaitoa refused the call, prompting the French to land and engage the remaining armed natives. The French routed the under-equipped and disorganized native forces and many fled into the mountains to escape capture. The armed native resistance ended with the capture of the leading chief, Teraupo'o, on 15–16 February 1897. The casualties of the six-week campaign were nearly fifty deaths mainly on the side of the Raiateans.

The captured resistance leaders, including Teraupo'o, his wife, his brother and lieutenant Hupe, the chiefess Mai of Tevaitoa and six other men, were deported to Nouméa, New Caledonia. Their followers were exiled to the island of Ua Huka in the Marquesas Islands, while others were conscripted as forced laborers to improve the roads of Raiatea. (1881 was the official year of annexation)

#### Kingdom of Huahine (Fenua a Huahine)

Huahine was an independent kingdom, also called the Huahine and Maia'o Kingdom. According to tradition, three main dynasties succeeded each other:

The Hau-mo'o-rere dynasty was founded in the 17th century; its last representative was Queen Teha'apapa I, whom Captain Cook met in 1769. She maintained the cohesion and independence of her kingdom.

The Tamatoa dynasty has its origin in Teha'apapa I and her husband Mato a Tamatoa, member of the Tamatoa family of Raiatea. They are the founders of the Tamatoa branch of Huahine. This dynasty reigned until 1854.

The Teurura'i dynasty descends from Ari'imate Teurura'i, a Huahine chief, and his wife Teri'iteporouara'i Tamatoa, member of the Tamatoa family of Raiatea, great-granddaughter of Queen Teha'apapa I of Huahine. This dynasty reigned from 1854 to 1895.

Teriifa'atau Marama Polynesian prince, could claim the thrones of Huahine and Raiatea at the same time. However, the union of these two thrones under one scepter could not be contemplated, so it was agreed that his younger brother would inherit the throne of Raiatea.

In 1884, he obtained the position of prime minister of the Kingdom, a post previously held by his younger brother, who became King of Raiatea in 1884.

He became the protagonist of the annexation of the kingdom of Huahine and Maia'o to France. It was in 1895 that the regent, on behalf of Queen Tehaapapa, and the principal chiefs of the kingdom fully renounced their powers and attributions in favor of France in a treaty of abdication dated 15 September of the same year.

After the annexation, he was elected chief of Tefareri'i, a position he held until his death.

##### French Colonization (Farāni Aihuara'au)

Captain James Cook arrived in Fare Harbour on 16 July 1769, with Tupaia navigating HMS *Endeavour*. They met with leading chief Ori (Mato). Cook returned on 3 September 1773 and met with Ori's son Teri'itaria, the new ari'i rahi of the island.

Missionary Auna served as a deacon on Huahine prior to his work in Hawaii.

In 1846 the island successfully resisted French rule, the inhabitants never resigned themselves to the idea of being colonized and in 1847 the island proclaimed itself an independent state under the name of the Kingdom of Huahine.

On 20 April 1879, the commander of the SMS Bismarck, Karl Deinhard, and the German Empire's consul for the South Sea Islands, Gustav Godeffroy Junior, signed a treaty of friendship and commerce with the island's government on behalf of the German Empire.

In 1888 the French finally established a protectorate over the Island. The hitherto independent kingdom of Huahine and Maia'o was not annexed until 1895 (deposing the last queen Te-ha'apapa III) and incorporated into the French Establishments of Oceania, now French Polynesia, which had existed since 1898.

#### Kingdom of Bora Bora (Fenua a Bora Bora)

Bora Bora was annexed by the French on 19 March 1888, but royal power remained in effect until her abdication on 21 September 1895. She remained the head of the royal house of Bora Bora until her death. The Kingdom had 1 king and 2 queens.

Bora Bora was annexed by the French on 19 March 1888, but royal power remained in effect until Teri'imaevarua II's abdication on 21 September 1895. She remained the head of the royal house of Bora Bora until her death.

## Gender (Māhū)

''***Māhū''*** ('in the middle') are third gender people with traditional spiritual and social roles within the culture. Historically māhū were assigned male at birth (AMAB), but in modern usage māhū can refer to a variety of genders and sexual orientations.

Māhū were particularly respected as teachers, usually of hula dance and chant. In pre-contact times māhū performed the roles of goddesses in hula dances that took place in temples which were off-limits to women. Māhū were also valued as the keepers of cultural traditions, such as the passing down of genealogies. Traditionally parents would ask māhū to name their children.

**Rae-rae** are male-to-female trans women in Tahitian culture, a contemporary distinction originating in the 1960s from Māhū (meaning "in the middle"), which is the more traditional social category of gender liminal people of Polynesia. *Petea* is a disparaging term for cis-male homosexuality (suggesting "men who sexually desire each other") used in French Polynesia, in contrast to traditional social category aikane used in Hawaii.

They are regarded as the more modern equivalent to drag queens of the western world, and carry a negative connotation with ties to poverty and sex work. Rae-rae may be more likely than mahu to undergo male-to-female gender reassignment surgery or other cosmetic surgeries. Additionally, the identity of rae-rae has closer ties to homosexuality, in contrast to mahu, which identify more with femininity and "sweetness" and may take a vow of chastity

## Outrigger Canoe (Va'a)

The Tahitian national sport is Va'a. In English, this paddle sport is also known as outrigger canoe. The Tahitians consistently achieve record-breaking and top times as world champions in this sport.

**Vaʻa** is a word in Samoan, Hawaiian and Tahitian which means 'boat', 'canoe' or 'ship'. A larger traditional seagoing vessel for long-distance voyages is referred to as *vaʻa tele* (big ship). The term *alia* is also used for larger vessels in Samoa. The smaller *vaʻa* used for fishing typically have a float, or outrigger, attached to the main hull for stability. This outrigger part of the canoe is called *ama* in various Polynesian languages.

A main hull of a *vaʻa* can be made in one piece, from a hollowed out trunk of a large tree with the *ama* float attached later. Other types of Polynesian construction include 'sewing' planks of wood together with special cords and ropes, a type of hand made sennit, important in the material cultures of the people of Oceania.

## Language (Reo)

**Tahitian** (Tahitian: *Reo Tahiti*, part of *Reo Mā’ohi*, languages of French Polynesia) is a Polynesian language, spoken mainly on the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It belongs to the Eastern Polynesian group.

As Tahitian had no written tradition before the arrival of the Western colonists, the spoken language was first transcribed by missionaries of the London Missionary Society in the early 19th century.

In many parts of Polynesia the name of an important leader was (and sometimes still is) considered sacred (*tapu*) and was therefore accorded appropriate respect (*mana*). In order to avoid offense, all words resembling such a name were suppressed and replaced by another term of related meaning until the personage died. If, however, the leader should happen to live to a very great age this temporary substitution could become permanent.

In the rest of Polynesia *tū* means to stand, but in Tahitian it became *ti’a*, because the word was included in the name of king Tū-nui-’ē’a-i-te-atua. Likewise *fetū* (star) has become in Tahiti *feti’a* and *aratū* (pillar) became *arati’a*. Although *nui* (big) still occurs in some compounds, like Tahiti-nui, the usual word is *rahi* (which is a common word in Polynesian languages for 'large'). The term *’ē’a* fell in disuse, replaced by *purūmu* or *porōmu*. Currently *’ē’a* means 'path' while *purūmu* means 'road'.

Tū also had a nickname, Pō-mare (literally means 'night coughing'), under which his dynasty has become best known. By consequence *pō* (night) became *ru’i* (currently only used in the Bible, *pō* having become the word commonly in use once again), but *mare* (literally cough) has irreversibly been replaced by *hota*.

## Religion (Ha'apao'ra'a)

Most of the population of the Society Islands profess Christianity including various Protestant Christian denominations and the Catholic Church. The Protestants arrived with the first English explorers, while the Catholics settled in the area first with the arrival of the Spanish and permanently with the beginning of the French colonization of the region, which was consolidated with the establishment of a protectorate over the islands. By 1774 the Spanish had settled in the region briefly and installed a large cross that they brought from their colonies in Peru.

In January 1775 the priest Fray Jerónimo Clota celebrated the first Catholic mass on the islands. The Spanish did not remain in the area due to the continuing uprisings in other of their colonies.

Queen Pōmare IV expelled French Catholic missionaries from her kingdom in 1836 and provoked the annoyance of France. Between 1838 and 1842, French naval commander Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars responded to French complaints and forced the queen and Tahitian chiefs to cede Tahiti as a French protectorate. In the 1880s France formally annexed the islands.

Today the Catholic Church owns at least 45 religious buildings in the area, all under the ecclesiastical responsibility of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Papeete (Archidiocese of Papeete or Archidioecesis Papeetensis) with headquarters on the island of Tahiti. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (*Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l'Immaculée Conception*) stands out on the island.

On each island the religious situation is different. On Bora Bora, for example, there are more Protestant Christians than Catholic Christians, as a result of the fact that the English arrived there before the French, however, both groups now regularly perform ecumenical Christian acts and live together.

## Prominent Tahitians (Ta'ata Ma'ohi Tuiro'o)

**Pascal Vahirua** (born 9 March 1966) is a French retired footballer who played mostly as a left winger. Vahirua was born in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia. Discovered by legendary club manager Guy Roux, who was vacationing in the island, he moved to AJ Auxerre's youth academy in 1982, aged 16, going on to amass nearly 400 official appearances for the club in nine full professional seasons and making his Ligue 1 debut on 25 September 1984 in a 3–1 home win against Stade Brestois 29. Vahirua appeared for the France national team at Euro 1992.

**Marama Vahirua** (born 12 May 1980) is a retired Tahitian footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his career in France before finishing his professional career in Greece with Panthrakikos F.C. In July 2018, he became president of Tahitian club A.S. Dragon. Between 2013 and 2014, he was the technical director of the Tahitian Football Federation.

**Tarita Teri'ipaia** (born 29 December 1941) is a French retired actress of Tahitian and Chinese descent most famous for Golden Globe nominated. For media and entertainment appearances and engagements, she has usually been billed as **Tarita**.

**Taïna Barioz** (born 2 June 1988, in Papeete, Tahiti) is a French alpine skier. She is the daughter of French ice hockey player Didier Barioz, who played for the Club des Patineurs Lyonnais in Lyon, France in the 1970s. Barioz placed 1st in the 2014 FIS NorAms.

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