The sacred island of Polynesia — Taputapuātea marae (UNESCO), the birthplace of navigation, and the spiritual origin point of all Polynesian seafaring
Raiatea is the second-largest island in French Polynesia and the most sacred in all of Polynesia — a volcanic island in the Society Islands group, 220km northwest of Tahiti, considered the cradle of Polynesian culture and navigation. Taputapuātea marae, a vast stone platform on the island's southeastern shore (UNESCO World Heritage, 2017), was the religious and political hub from which Polynesian explorers set out to colonise Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island between 700–1200 CE. Unlike the resort islands of Bora Bora and Moorea, Raiatea remains largely undeveloped, oriented around its l…
Raiatea (ancient name: Ra'iatea — 'faraway heaven') was the spiritual capital of eastern Polynesia for over a millennium. The island's Taputapuātea marae was the most important religious site in the Pacific before European contact — the meeting place of high chiefs from across Polynesia, the training ground for navigators reading stars, currents, and bird migrations, and the origin point for the great Polynesian migrations. James Cook visited in 1769 and 1777; French annexation followed in 1887. The modern island retains its marae-centred cultural identity alongside French administrative stru…