Tikis
In Maohi culture, divinities took on a human form, and tikis were their representation. Worked in wood, stone or other materials, their proportions symbolize power, abundance and goodness. The first tikis appeared in the 15th century, at a time when the population was experiencing a veritable craze for sculpture. Today, they can be purchased in a variety of sizes and budgets: the smallest start at between 3,000 and 5,000 CFP, while the largest can fetch several thousand euros.
Braiding
Weaving is widely practiced in Polynesia. Whether it's coconut leaves for the roofs of farés, or pandanus leaves for carpets(peue), hats, fans and handbags, the know-how is everywhere! If you take part in a picnic on a motu with new Polynesian friends, you'll quickly realize that while the feast is being prepared, they spend their time weaving baskets and dishes, which they throw away as soon as the meal is over. They have dexterous hands, using two or three fingers to slide the thin coconut leaves together in a grid pattern. Even children make balls out of them! But it's certainly in the Australs, and particularly on Rurutu, that you'll find the most refined works. Expect to pay at least 1,000 CFP for a small piece; the more elaborate, the higher the price.
Tahitian Pearls
Tahitian pearls come exclusively from Pinctada margaritifera black-lipped oysters. Tahitian pearls are those with a continuous layer of mother-of-pearl over more than 80% of their surface, with no nucleus visible, and which meet a series of other criteria judged by professionals. The pearls are then sorted according to their quality, and sold on various markets. They are distinguished by their wide variety of shapes and colors. In their raw state, there are four types of shape: baroque, semi-baroque, hooped and round (or semi-round). From iridescent green, Tahitian pearls pass through a variety of hues, reaching an absolutely magnificent lunar gray. Whatever your purse, you'll be able to bring home a keshi (mother-of-pearl derived from graft rejection) or a Tahitian pearl: the less expensive ones are generally sold in small craft and costume jewelry stores; the more expensive ones in the jewelry section of jewelry stores. Pearl farms often also have an adjoining boutique, where you can buy your pearl on its own or mounted, which we recommend: your jeweler in metropolitan France may not have the necessary tools to drill it if required.
Pareo (Pareu)
The long sarong has a typical Polynesian charm and will remain a precious ally on your next beach vacation. Once made from tapa, beaten pieces of bark, the sarong is now made from colorful fabric, and can be worn in a variety of ways. Depending on the occasion, Polynesians - men and women alike - compete in ingenuity when it comes to wearing this rectangular piece, which can also be used as a sheet, curtain or seat cover, and is very useful for lying on the beach. Its design is modern for some, more traditional for others, adorned with ancestral motifs.
Generally made in Asia, pareos are most often printed in Tahiti, and designs are constantly being renewed. In our opinion, the most beautiful are those designed by hand, with bright dyes and personalized designs.
You'll find pareos in every store, but the Papeete market offers the widest choice. Expect to pay between 1,000 and 2,500 CFP, depending on the precision of the design. You can also buy fabric by the metre in local stores.
Monoï
Monoï is also native to Polynesia, where it has been used since the dawn of time. And make no mistake about it, Tahitian monoï is very different from that found in mainland France! It has obtained the appellation d'origine and is made exclusively from local products: refined coconut oil and added perfume, usually tiare, jasmine or sandalwood. Since time immemorial, it has been smeared on newborn babies, and applied to the body and hair.
Tahitian monoi is rarely found on the shelves in mainland France, however, as it doesn't fit in with cosmetic standards: it's greasy (it's oil, after all) and can't be used in the sun. That's right! Tahitian monoi used as a sun cream doesn't make you tan, it makes you burn, even though sun product manufacturers add monoi to their formulas! So beware... Use it instead as a beauty oil or massage oil: it strengthens the skin, leaving it soft and satin-smooth, and after a few uses, it even absorbs sunburn. It also makes hair silky and shiny; in short, its qualities have long been recognized. You'll find monoi in one-liter bottles at the market, but it's not always scented, which makes its rancid smell stand out. It also doesn't mix well with sweat, which turns it into an unpleasant odor. It's best to use it in small bottles or as soap: Parfumerie Tiki, for example. Don't be surprised: monoi congeals below 24°C, so simply run it under hot water to liquefy again.
Tapa
Before the discovery of cloth, the only fabric available for covering oneself was tapa, obtained from the bark of certain trees - breadfruit, mulberry or banyan - and beaten for hours to flatten it. Today, only the Marquesas island of Fatuiva can boast that it is still produced according to ancestral recipes. The only fabric used for clothing, tapa was mainly used for special occasions and was a sign of wealth. The bark was stripped from the trees with a stick to produce strips 15 to 20 cm wide, then soaked, scraped, decorated and beaten for hours. In Tahiti, tapas are mainly available in relatively affordable A4 format, and are now used more as wall decoration than clothing. A quality tapa measuring around 1 metre can easily cost 20,000 CFP and will make a beautiful decoration; luxury hotels in particular are big buyers of these pieces to adorn the walls of their rooms.
Tifaifai
Among other decorative fabrics, tifaifai is a patchwork inherited from the wives of English missionaries. Symmetrical or radiating motifs, based on flowers or fruit, are sewn around a central point on a cotton fabric background that varies in size from cushion to bedspread. Playing on particular color combinations, they are finely crafted by families. This is one of the most popular wedding gifts. Prices range from 10,000 to 25,000 CFP, depending on color and size.
Vanilla
One of Polynesia's many treasures is vanilla. Many experts consider Polynesian vanilla to be among the best in the world. To find out more about vanilla farms and the fertilization of the vanilla flower, you can visit vanilla factories on the island of Taha'a, nicknamed "Vanilla Island" for the scent it releases.
Anyone wishing to buy vanilla must, however, pay close attention to the following two parameters, or risk buying poor-quality products: the beans must be very dry and black in color.
Tattoo (Tatau)
Finally, more original and daring: tattooing. Did you know that the word "tattoo" comes from the Polynesian "tatau"? This is where the white man discovered it; scientists believe that it existed in Japan, but was abandoned.
Since the dawn of time, the art of tattooing has been highly developed in Tahiti and throughout Polynesia. As they won victories, warriors would get more and more tattoos, partly to dress up, but mainly to impress their opponents. Men decorated their bodies almost entirely (women too, to a lesser extent), but all began with an initiatory phase, which brought the tattooed man to adulthood and the loss of his childhood "tabu". At death, the women scraped off the tattoos to restore the body to its divine state. This was obviously very rudimentary at the time: small holes were drilled into the dermis, then smoke black, an ink obtained from the kernel of the bancoul nut, was injected with a comb.
With the arrival of the missionaries, tattooing was outlawed, but practised clandestinely until the early 1980s, when it was rehabilitated as an art form. Today, the majority of Polynesians are tattooed, but no longer from head to toe. The same machines are used as in Europe, and the needles are usually sterile; please ask for confirmation. Today's tattoo designs are very rarely skull-and-crossbones or evil dragons, but borrow from traditional Polynesian motifs of spirals, mosaics and stylized figures evoking a tiki, a turtle, a fish... Marquesan motifs are still very popular. In Papeete, prices are generally higher than in Europe, which is not the case in the rest of the islands. Last but not least: does it hurt? Yes, but you mustn't move (and you mustn't drink to soothe the pain). At first, the tattoo leaves a scab of blood and ink that you mustn't rip off; it disappears after a few days, and Polynesia will remain engraved on your person forever..
