HAKAOHOKA SITE

This site is not easy to access despite the trail (in disputed state) leading to it from Hohoi. Several pae pae, paving stones, tohua and meae are scattered in a thick bush. There is a terrace, the tribal chief's place. Chief Hamipohue's pae pae has several engravings, whose geometric forms seem almost extraterrestrial. The representation - lizards, figures, turtles or suns - strikes by its symbolic force. The lush vegetation reinforces the impression of being an explorer discovering an unknown civilization. According to one of the many legends, Heato, the last king of Ua Pou, was madly in love with the daughter of the chief of the Kaavahopeoa tribe, who lived in the same valley. But when her father refused, Heato prepared an attack on the tribe to capture the young woman. The Kaavahopeoa chose to flee and, with the help of the gods, built bamboo rafts in less than one night. At dawn, preparing to attack, the warriors found the valley deserted: the tribe and the chief's daughter were already far away. In fact, the valley was deserted much later by its inhabitants because of the European smallpox, and these very lively places became an archaeological site... Be careful, we repeat that the site is abandoned, and that vegetation has invaded the place. So there is not much to see and the curious might be disappointed: only the passionate, armed with a strong machete, could possibly find their happiness.