archaoeological sites

Marae Rauhuru

The term rauhuru refers to the dried banana leaves. Emory lists it as a marae tupuna (family), without specifying its chiefdom of attachment. He mentions the presence of petroglyphs (canoes) on limestone slabs (corals) at the ends west of the north face of ahu (high part) and also other petroglyphs, turtles .

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF FA'UNA NUI LAKESIDE IN MAEVA

(MARAE AND FARE POTE'E)

What are the marae?

The marae were spaces dedicated to social and religious ancient Polynesians ceremonial activities. Some were small, including many altars called marae tupuna, family altars. Not all the marae belonged to the upper class all of ari'i, but they generally had the largest and highest marae. If the design and construction of a marae ranged from one island to another, the basic architecture generally comprised a rectangular courtyard or marae, provided a platform ('ahu) to one of its ends, and a set of standing stones.

Place of worship of ancestors and some deities, the marae was a meeting place between the people and the powers that it was important to obtain favors from. The religious ceremonies gave rise to prayers ('upu pure), invocations (ti'aorora'a) and offerings (pupura'a o).

History

Marae Fare Ro’i

Its name, which means "house (of) bed," is also the name of a famous marae Mahina, Tahiti, the bed in question could be a metaphor for an object or a place designed to accommodate and sustain a deit y figure in. (world of darkness). Emory archeologist lists the marae as a Tupuna marae (family) of the chiefdom (mata'eina'a) Tou Fare Huahine.

Marae Fare Tai

Listed as a marae tupuna (family), and also attached to the chiefdom Fare Tou som name means "House (the) sea

Marae Vai-‘otaha

As well as the case of marae Taputapuatea, Opoa, which many marae were named after in the Society Islands, Vai-'Otaha (source of the frigate) is a prestigious marae name known outside of Huahine, in reference to the Bora Bora marae Vai' Otaha whose chiefs wore a belt of light feathers (maro tea). Emory does not rank in a specific category, and also related to the leadership Fare Tou.

The elements of a marae

The Leeward islands marae and those of the Windward Islands showed significant architectural and ornamental differences (size, location, walls, accessories). Two components are stil l common: the courtyard of marae and ahu, space reserved fo r gods and spirits of some ancestors. the marae paving could cover all or part of the court. Most often, the Leeward islands marae does not include a stone wall, such as Tahiti). A certain number of stones, permanent element s of construction, erected along the facade of the ahu and in the courtyard, served as altar to the gods and ancestors as well as backing to the officiants. Wood constructions with various functions housed images of gods, accessories or ceremonial relics of the dead of the privileged classes. Trees associated with the marae were considered conducive to the coming of the gods

The age of the marae

The carbon-14 dating carried out by archaeologists in the archipelagos of the Society have confirmed that some of the marae date back to twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the period o f the supposed expansion of the class of ari'i hui (chiefs, kings ) from the Leeward Islands to the Windward Islands. Most marae are dated from the late fifteenth century to the end of the thirteenth century, the peak power of large chiefdoms of the S ociety Islands. In Huahine as elsewhere, before the onset of monumental marae , with a courtyard and an altar, as we know, simpler places of worship existed, comprisi ng one or more main stones that have been incorporated into the new types of marae as and when they evolved. The lakeside Fa'una Nui marae around the fare pote 'e are Ro'i Fare, Fare Tai, Vai-Otaha Rauhuru.

The marae, a living structure

The marae changed depending on the evolution of the groups alliances. The expansion of a family group or chiefdom, easing prestige of his representative, could evolve the size and struct ure of a marae . A new b uilding was built next to or sometimes on the site of an ancient marae , especially in the opportunity to take possession of the land. After the war, it happened that the losers marae were damaged or processed by the victors, as well as genealogies a ttached to marae were sometimes i ncorporated into the new strong men, to give them oldest legitimacy of their new territories. The marae was also the place where family life important ceremonies took place (baptism and naming, weddings, funerals) of each human group, and leaders in particular.