ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS

Huahine is full of archaeological remains, especially between Maeva and Faie, where the royal families once lived. Fifty-four marae were recorded in 1925, ten others were subsequently discovered, and sixteen have since been restored. This is the largest concentration in French Polynesia, attesting to an ancient occupation of the first Polynesians; most of them date back to the 16th century. In the village of Maeva, not far from the airport, you can see more than twenty of these old stone buildings as well as the fortification walls, restored or left as they are. This site provides valuable information on a time when the royal power, of which Maeva was the central place, undertook important hard work, while even today most of the fares are still made of wood. The fare pote'e is a huge thatched hut, empty, reconstitution of a meeting place that could accommodate 350 people. The Manunu marae rises between sea and lagoon on the motu Oavarei, it represented the island community. An enormous mass 40 m long by 6.50 m wide, formed by a triple wall of slabs more than 2 m high, it would contain, near the altar, the tomb of Raiti, Maeva's last high priest; when he died in 1915, one of the rows of marae stones collapsed. The site has recently been redeveloped to be more accessible to tourists, including fairly comprehensive information panels.