What makes: Papeete?
Our round-up of Papeete’s core ‘sense of place’ ingredients
French Polynesia is a place defined by a vast number of diverse, rich, and layered identities.
French Polynesia is composed of 118 islands, but is also part of a wider Polynesian culture that incorporates the islands of Hawaii, Easter Island, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and more. Yet French Polynesia’s islands can also be sub-divided into five distinct groups of islands, and beyond this, each island of course has its own unique identity.
The island of Tahiti is but one island in this rich Polynesian fabric, and Papeete happens to be a small city – albeit the capital city – on the island. To understand Papeete and its sense of place, therefore, we must cast the net wider. The people of Papeete are both Polynesian and French; both Tahitian and Windwardian.
These strands of belonging reach across time and geography, and by navigating these strands, we can begin to define what makes French Polynesia, Tahiti and Papeete, what they are today.
Symbolism
The cultures of French Polynesia are imbued with symbolism. It is part of the design of the place and culture, handed down through generations for thousands of years.
From the language of flower wearing, to the design and placement of tattoos; from the preservation of sacred marae sites, to the staging of traditional dance and music festivals. The way that French Polynesians use their bodies and spaces is loaded with wider meaning and symbolism.
In fact, there is a symmetry in the way French Polynesians use bodies and spaces: both can be used – through design and movement ¬– to communicate wider, deeper meanings. This connects people to places in a profound and powerful way: the people are the place.
Connection
The people of Papeete are connected to the land, sea and natural landscape of their island in a way perhaps unique to islanders in Polynesia.
These are a people descended from ancestors who crossed vast oceans by canoe, using only the sun and stars for navigation. For millennia, Polynesians have preserved a culture that cherishes the fruits of the land and sea. And today, the importance of land, land ownership, and land conservation, is stronger than ever in French Polynesia.
This unique culture and history of Polynesia strongly connects people both with each other and with their natural surroundings. The epic legends of the past forge a powerful sense of belonging, and the threats of the environmental future keep people rooted in protecting and caring for their islands.
Paradise
For outsiders and insiders alike, it is no secret that French Polynesia – Tahiti, Bora Bora, Mo’orea especially – perpetuate an identity of true Paradise.
The label by no means tells the full story of Tahiti or its surrounding islands, but it goes a long way to explain the development and success of French Polynesia’ largest industry: tourism.
White sand beaches, turquoise waters, jaw-dropping sunsets, coconut cocktails, cabins suspended over the ocean – Tahiti embodies any archetypal vision of Paradise. While this started as a happy accident of extraordinary natural assets, it is now an image that is actively pursued in the production of place.
The built environment, daytrips, services, dining, accommodation and performances here are all tailored to the tourist’s vision of Paradise.
So successful is this identity – both in person and in the imagination ¬– that just to mention the name ‘Tahiti’ generates sighs of longing and conjures images of perfection among most.
