Travel guide French Polynesia

Cultivated on many islands, especially in the Societies and the Tuamotu, copra is the dried albumen of the coconut, or white water. When the coconuts fall, their flesh is recovered, dried in the sun, and transformed into copra. Sent to Tahiti, the copra is used to produce a crude oil used by the manufacturers of monoi.

It is a member of the family in the broadest sense. Everyone is more or less a brother-in-law or cousin by marriage, and Polynesians always have one or more fetii in each of the Polynesian islands, like a huge family. In Papeete, there are entire neighborhoods of fetii that reconstitute family neighborhoods in an urban setting.

This is the Polynesian name for the dolphinfish. In the Tuamotus, it is fished with a spear, with a poti marara (motor boat), during an eventful chase. The mahi mahi is the king of fish in the local diet: grilled or raw with coconut milk, you will find it on every menu of snacks and restaurants.

Mana is a very strong term on the islands that represents the spirit of Polynesia, a universal principle of life. In her Dictionnaire insolite de Tahiti (Cosmopole Editions), Rosanne Aries describes Mana as "a mysterious force, a power - (super)natural - which can be invested in people or objects."

Erected in a rectangular shape, the marae are ancient outdoor stone-paved places of worship where religious ceremonies were held. During the Heiva in July and August, these sacred sites come alive with traditional songs and dances. Note that Marquesans use a different terminology and call these buildings "meae".

In the low islands especially, the reef crown is adorned in places with coral surfaces that are still emerged. This is called a motu, an islet in short. These can take various forms and proportions - in the Tuamotu archipelago, for example, the main motu of Fakarava extends over some 40 kilometers!

Originally designed to catch marara, small flying fish with delicate flesh, the poti marara is now also used to spear bonito, tuna and mahi mahi. Locally-built, they feature powerful engines, a high-speed wave-cutting hull and, of course, nets.

The particularly sensual Tahitian dance has amazed many an explorer. Banned by the missionaries, tamure remained in the shadows until the turn of the century, when it began to revive at the end of the war. Practiced by men and women alike, it is undeniably part of the rich cultural heritage of French Polynesia.

Respectively "man" and "woman". Beyond the signs on the doors of public toilets, these terms will be useful to you because they are fully part of the Franco-Taitian vocabulary. By extension, they are also used to translate "husband" and "wife"; you will now be able to answer the question "What is the name of your tane?"

It refers to a prohibition related to the sacred. Quite simply, in the Maori tradition, a tabu thing is inviolable because it is sacred. Whether you think it's out of place or not, it is de rigueur to respect a tabu, or else, according to Polynesian religious beliefs, you will receive a punishment of the supernatural order..

This is the Polynesian name for the traditional pendulum pirogue, the king sport in all the islands of Polynesia. While surfing, also an ancestral sport, is also popular with young people, the racing dugout canoe is still the competitive sport par excellence. It is notably publicised in Fenua during the famous Hawaiki Nui race.

The vini - literally "little chirping bird" - is a very popular bird in Polynesia and is a pretty grey headed bird. So popular that it gave its name to the territory's first mobile phone operator in 1998, and everyone has been calling a mobile phone a vini ever since! If someone asks you for your vini, it's your number..