Tuamotuans

## Related Ethnic Groups

Polynesians Austronesians

The **Tuamotuans** are a Polynesian people who live in the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extending (from northwest to southeast) over an area roughly the size of Western Europe. This archipelago’s major islands are Anaa, Fakarava, Hao and Makemo.

The Tuamotus are a French overseas collectivity. The people of Tahiti originally called the islands the *Paumotus*, an exonym that means “the subservient islands" - and other outsiders tended to use this name as well, until a delegation from the islands convinced the French authorities to change their name to *Tuamotus*, which means the "distant islands".

## History (A'amu)

The early history of the Tuamotu islands is generally unknown. Archaeological findings suggest that the western Tuamotus were settled from the Society Islands as early as 900 CE or as late as 1200 CE. DNA evidence suggests that they were settled about 1110 CE. On the islands of Rangiroa, Manihi and Mataiva, there are flat ceremonial platforms (called *marae*) made of coral blocks, although their exact age is unknown.

The first known European encounter with the Tuamotus was with the Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan, during his circumglobal voyage in 1521, undertaken in the service of the Spanish Crown. His encounter was followed by visits from several other Europeans, including:

* Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernandes de Queirós in 1606, sailing in the service of the Spanish Crown;
* Dutch mariners Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire in 1616;
* Jacob Roggeveen (who also first sighted Easter Island) in 1722;
* John Byron in 1765;
* Louis Antoine de Bougainville in 1768;
* James Cook during his first voyage in 1769;
* Spanish navigator Domingo de Bonechea in 1774 and
* Russian expedition of Otto von Kotzebue in 1815.

None of these visits were of political consequence, as the islands were within the sphere of influence of the Pōmare Dynasty of Tahiti.

The first Christian missionaries arrived in the islands at the beginning of the 19th century. By the late 19th century, traders had begun offering pearls from the islands for sale in Europe, and they became coveted possessions there. France forced the abdication of King Pōmare V of Tahiti and claimed the islands, but did not formally annex them.

Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Stevenson travelled among the Taumotus (then called the Paumotus) on the yacht *Casco* in 1888; an account of their journey was published as *In the South Seas*. Jack London wrote a story, "The Seed of McCoy", based on an incident in 1900 in which a burning ship, the *Pyrenees*, had been safely beached on Mangareva. In the story, London has the ship sail past Mangareva and all through the Tuamotus before beaching on Fakarava.

The Tuamotus made headlines around the world in 1947, when the Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl, sailing from South America with a crew of five others, reached Raroia on his raft *Kon-Tiki*. The islands were in the news again somewhat later, when France conducted nuclear weapons testing on the atolls of Moruroa and Fangataufa.

## Religion (Ha'apa'ora'a)

The majority of the population is Christian, including members of the Catholic Church and various Protestant groups. The Catholic Church administers 42 churches on the islands under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Papeete.

In 1833, the Catholic Church divided the Pacific into two apostolic vicariates: Western Oceania fell to the Marists and Eastern Oceania-which included the Tuamotus, Hawaii, Tahiti, the Marquesas and the Cook Islands-was the responsibility of the Picpus missionaries. In 1834, the French Fathers Honoré Laval and François d'Assise Caret arrived in Mangareva.

First with the acquiescence and then with the active support of the island chiefs, the Picpusians embarked on an extensive development program for the Gambier Islands. This included the introduction of cotton cultivation, pearl and mother-of-pearl fishing, and the establishment of plantations and orchards. As they were very successful, their missionary activities gradually spread to the other islands of the Tuamotu archipelago. With the missionary work, news of the islands' wealth in pearls also reached Europe, making them a coveted destination for European traders and adventurers.

## Language (Reo)

The official language of the archipelago is French. However, the Tuamotu language, Pa'umotu, is recognized as a regional language of the French Republic. **Tuamotuan**, **Paʻumotu** or **Paumotu** (Tuamotuan: '**Reʻo Paʻumotu'** or '**Reko Paʻumotu'**) is a Polynesian language spoken by 4,000 people in the Tuamotu archipelago, with an additional 2,000 speakers in Tahiti.

The Tuamotu people today refer to their land as Tuamotu, while referring to themselves and their language as Paʻumotu. Paʻumotu is one of six Polynesian languages spoken in French Polynesia, the other five languages being Tahitian, Marquesan, Mangarevan, Rapa Iti, and Austral.

The Paʻumotu alphabet is based on the Latin script.

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