French Polynesia/Raiatea: Taputapuatea Marae

Taputapuatea Marae is the central marae (temple) complex of the entire Polynesian culture and is over 1200 years old. It is a newly minted 2017 UNESCO World Heritage Site. The current complex consists of three massive stone platforms facing the ocean with several rows of standing stones and statues of tiki gods. Taputapuatea Marae was the most significant religious place in the entire South Pacific where high priests from all the surrounding islands, near and far, came to exchange knowledge and dedication to the cult of Oro, God of Life and Death. Around 1000 AD a grand alliance of Polynesia was formed to include most of the islands of the Society archipelago, the Austral archipelago, Hawaii, Cook Islands, and northern New Zealand. The main high priest Vaita predicted that the alliance will last for hundreds of years before new people would come in a canoe without an outrigger and conquer all the lands. The alliance fell apart due to infighting between the Polynesian kings, nevertheless in 1769 James Cook arrived on the Endeavor ship and claimed Raiatea, Tahaa, Huahine, and Bora Bora in the name of King George III of the United Kingdom. Endeavor had no outrigger…
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