Culture of Manihi. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

It's hard to call Manihi a densely populated territory. The last census showed that just about 800 people inhabit the island, and the main activity here is still fishing just like it was hundreds of years ago. And, of course, pearl collecting. Interesting fact: people have been inhabiting the island for quite a long time. Presumably, the first settlers came here in the period between the 7th and the 5th centuries BC. Ancestors of the current inhabitants used to grow edible plants and engage fishing. People weren’t aware of bows or arrows, writing and many other human inventions for a pretty long time. One couldn’t say that life on Manihi was easy, and still, nature managed to provide people with everything they needed. Far more islanders were dying owing to constant wars with neighbours than hunger even during the poorest harvests. Wars also used to be kind of a control tool to the social structure in society – slavery wasn’t something vicious for native Polynesians.

It’s an interesting fact that even though various local tribes were honouring various gods, there still always were some common elements between them that you can notice while talking to people who live here. A «mana» concept, – a personal power – that was always connected with a tradition covering one’s body with diverse drawings, had been widely spread there for many centuries. Nowadays, tattoo art that has survived centuries of intertribal strifes and European persecutions is still one of the so-called sights of the local culture. Anyone can actually try this ancient craft themselves, as local absolutely don’t mind it.

It’s essential to point out that despite the fact there is almost nothing left from the original Polynesian settlements, there are still a few maraes on Manihi. The word marae can be translated as «a flat area, cleared of weeds». However, it’s actually a small rectangle bordered with stones. There were statues of gods in the corners in the former days, unfortunately, they haven’t survived until today, so now there are just rectangular and multistage ahus that used to be central stones for the sculptures. Marae was a social and a religious centre for the islanders. In the present days, some of them are deserted. On the other hand, a few ones are still used directly. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

So, the Turiaoa residents are quite similar to Polynesians. It seems like time has no hold on the lost in jungles settlement. Certainly, nobody’s wearing banana leaves skirts or attacking travellers with spears here or something. But locals still fish right the way their ancestors used to, cook in underground ovens and have never forgotten about ancient memories. Manihi settlements are real open-air museums where people can see a true mode of life, architecture and traditions of Polynesians that have almost not changed since the French governance.

Everyone who comes to Manihi literally has to visit the local pearl farm. Today it’s owned by Robert Wang, just like many other sights of the French Polynesia times. It’s a family business. An enterprising Chinese with European roots called Wang once came to Tahiti and his attention was caught by a peculiar colour of local pearls. It was clear that it was all about local shells. The businessman decided without any hesitation that it would not be smart to leave all those black pearls which were highly valued in Europe just to chance. He built the first plantation where shellfish were grown and manually filled with sand grains which would become pearls in several years. Today, one of this type of farms is located on Manihi. Local Polynesians as well, as Chinese people (who are known for their diligence), work there. On the farm, you can find out about the whole process of pearls creation and what difficulties might appear during the process. A guide will also tell you how to distinguish qualitative pearls from fake ones and how to take care of pearls. In addition, you can learn lots of fascinating things about the place of pearls in the Polynesian culture and stories connected with its extraction and wearing. Each tour ends with visiting the shop on the territory of the farm.