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The South Pacific
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Tahiti History and Culture
Many flowery adjectives have been used to describe the island of Tahiti. The ones most often heard are “paradise”, “heaven on earth”, and “breathtaking.” Through the centuries, famous individuals have made Tahiti their home, shunning the noise and commotion of busy metropolises for the beauty and tranquility of an island life in French Polynesia. Herman Melville wrote stories of his South Seas adventures and his experiences in Tahiti’s Taipi Valley. Robert Louis Stevenson set sail to Tahiti and neighboring islands with his family in tow. Artist Paul Gauguin lived and worked in Tahiti from 1891 until his death a dozen years later, abandoning a conventional life in Europe and rejecting "everything that is artificial and conventional."
Early History
Historians believe that Polynesians from southeast Asia began arriving at Tahiti and its surrounding islands in about 200 B.C. Early Tahitian residents were often described as savage; practicing human sacrifices and cannibalism.
It wasn’t until centuries later that the first Europeans arrived in the region. Some of the first were Captain James Cook and Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, who both came to Tahiti in the late 1760s. These men and others returned to their homelands with stories of stunning island beauty and a land where the men were wild and the women “loose”. (As you might imagine, the latter enticed many to check it out for themselves!)
Before long, traders and whalers arrived in the islands, bringing not only weapons and other items but also diseases that took their toll on the population. The lifestyle of those who lived here remained less than proper, until Christian missionaries came along to “clean up” the island. Polynesian temples were destroyed and improper activities were forbidden.
In the mid-1800s, the French assumed control of the island, ousting the English and declaring Tahiti a French Pacific Settlement. In the 20th century, Polynesians fought alongside the French in both World Wars. Pearl production became the center of the French Polynesian economy.
Tahiti Today
Tahiti has often been a reluctant daughter of France, especially during the years when the French were testing nuclear weapons in the nearby Tuamotus Islands. Today, the country boasts a president that’s keen on independence and continues to pursue the possibilities, though it may take decades to achieve.
The People
Approximately 245,000 people reside in French Polynesia, with about three-quarters of them living on Tahiti. French is the first official language of Tahiti and Tahitian is the second. English is spoken by many, particularly the Chinese, and the pro-independence leadership is stressing the importance of learning English in the island’s schools.
Thanks to the missionaries that arrived in the 19th century, slightly more than half of all Tahitians are Protestant. About one-third are Catholic, with a variety of other religions completing the total, including Mormon, Buddhist, Confucianism, and Seventh-Day Adventist.
The Polynesian people of Tahiti and her neighboring islands are warm and welcoming but quite casual and uninhibited, certainly more so than in other parts of the South Pacific. Locals wear little on the beach but do indeed take time to dress up for church on Sunday.
Because Tahiti is more touristy than South Pacific destinations like Fiji or the Cook Islands, there’s less interaction with villagers who remain true to Polynesian ways, though the “Maohi” are more than eager to talk to you about their legends and traditions.