IIPONA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Some 1,500 m from the centre of the village of Puamau (the route is signposted and offers a beautiful view of the bay), this site is one of the main legacies of the Marquesan civilization at its peak before the arrival of the Europeans. It has been known for more than a century by ethnologists and archaeologists. In 1991, on the occasion of the third Marquesas Islands Arts Festival, it was restored by a team of French archaeologists.

Iipona is a huge meae (religious sanctuary) that covers almost 2 hectares, and on which you can admire the largest tikis in French Polynesia (the largest tikis in Polynesia are almost 30 m high, but they are those of Easter Island and that's another story!). The complex consists of 5,000 m² of terraces on two levels, on which many pae pae, paving, lithic sculptures and petroglyphs are scattered. Five monumental tikis and several small ones guard the premises. They are mostly carved from keetu (red or grey volcanic tuff) extracted from a nearby quarry or from the peak of Toea, which dominates the whole. Relatively well preserved, they have been straightened and placed in their supposed original position. The most imposing is the Takaii tiki (2.67 m), which bears the name of a warrior leader renowned for his strength. Massive, with a square head and a deep gaze, he looks at you in a powerful and assertive way. The tiki Te Tovae E Noho, to the left of the Takaii, is more damaged and less well worked. Further back, the Fau Poe tiki is supposed to represent Takaii's wife. Towards the entrance of the site, the Maki Taua Pepe tiki is lying on the ground and observes a strange expression, his eyes pointing upwards. Finally, very close to the latter, the Manuiotaa tiki clearly represents a feminine character, more slender and graceful than the previous ones.

Although the symbolic role of these tikis has not been officially demonstrated, the history of the creation of this meae is nevertheless known today. The Iipona Valley was once inhabited by the Naiki tribe, led by three nobles who had established their residence there. In a fight with a tribe from a nearby valley, they captured the chief of Hanapaa and sacrificed him. The clans of the different valleys allied themselves against the three nobles to expel them from Puamau. Victorious, they built this meae on their place of residence.