History of Tahiti and her islands

Stepped in the culture

As the cradle of the Maohi civilization that spread throughout the Polynesian triangle, the Marquesas Islands have preserved imposing relics of the past along with their living cultural traditions. Their tiki, carved stones and marae, sacred religious sites, built of raised and aligned stones, or stones arranged into pyramids are to be seen throughout the islands. The renewal of interest in the traditional arts can be seen in the development of the art of tattooing which was originally practiced for esthetic reasons as a social symbol. This renaissance can also be seen in the growing of interest in the dance and polyphonic song forms, “himene tarava” or “ruau”, which truly express the depth of the soul of Polynesian people. This intense cultural re-awakening can be felt in the many performances that occur around the amazing Heiva time in July where groups of up to 150 participants compete in musical production, choregraphy and costuming. And poetry reclaims it ancient noble status in the art of declaiming orero, an age-old oral tradition, accompanied by the pure sounds of the vivo, the nose flute.

Chronology

From 3000 to 4000 B.C.: The first waves of
people from Southwest Asia to the South Pacific.
Third to sixth century: First settlements of menin
the Marquesas Archipelago.
From 850 – 1000 A.D.: Originating in the
Marquesas Archipelago, the colonization of the
Leeward Islands, Hawaii, The Cook Islands,
Easter Island and New Zealand.
1521: Magellan discovers part of the Tuamotus
Archipelago.
1595: Alvaro de Mendena discovers The
Marquesas Archipelago.
1767: Arrival of Wallis on Tahiti.
1768: Arrival of Bougainville on Tahiti and
baptizes her “The New Cythera”. He takes
possession of the Society Islands.
1769: First voyage by Cook to Tahiti.
1773: Second voyage by Cook to Tahiti.
1774: Cook returns to Europe with a Tahitian
named Pa’i.
1777: Last voyage by Cook to Polynesia.
1788-1791: Mutiny on the Bounty
1793: Beginning of the Pomare Dynasty
1797: Arrival of the first missionaries of the
London Missionary Society.
1797: Creation of the Pomare Dynasty
1815: The Polynesians chiefs lose the battle of
Fei Pi. Pomare II converts to Christianism.
1819: Pomare II creates the “Pomare code”.
1836: The English Protestants obtain theexpulsion of the French missionaries.
1841: Dupetit Thouars proclaims the French
Protectorate on Tahiti and the initiative is ratified
by Great Britain.
1844-1847: French-Tahitian war.
1847: Pomare IV accepts the French
Protectorate.