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49-638: Huahine is an island located among the Society Islands , in French Polynesia , an overseas territory of France in the South Pacific Ocean . It is part of the Leeward Islands group (Îles sous le Vent). At the 2022 census it had a population of 6,263. Human presence on Huahine dates back to at least a millennium ago, as evinced by the numerous Marae on the island. Archaeologists estimate that

98-578: A pregnant woman lying down. Captain James Cook arrived in Fare Harbour on 16 July 1769, with Tupaia navigating HMS  Endeavour . They met with leading chief Ori (Mato). Cook returned on 3 September 1773 and met with Ori's son Teriʻitaria, the new ariʻi rahi of the island. Missionary Auna served as a deacon on Huahine prior to his work in Hawaii. The Spaniard Domingo Bonaechea in 1775, called

147-412: A salt marsh is likely to develop. Wave refraction can occur at the end of a spit, carrying sediment around the end to form a hook or recurved spit. Refraction in multiple directions may create a complex spit. Waves that arrive in a direction other than obliquely along the spit will halt the growth of the spit, shorten it, or eventually destroy it entirely. The sediments that make up spits come from

196-619: A French nobleman, sailor and soldier, left France on his circumnavigation of the globe in 1766. By the time he reached the Society islands in 1768, his crew was stricken with scurvy. Despite the crew being twice as numerous as that of the Dolphin , the islanders had sufficient food to trade their surplus for axes, knives and other iron goods. James Cook arrived in Tahiti in April 1769 . Between 1772 and 1775,

245-458: A Huahine chief, and his wife Teriʻiteporouaraʻi Tamatoa, member of the Tamatoa family of Raiatea, great-granddaughter of Queen Tehaʻapapa I of Huahine. This dynasty reigned from 1854 to 1895. The Polynesian prince Teriifaʻatau Marama could lay claim to the thrones of Huahine and Raiatea at the same time. However, the union of these two thrones under one scepter was unacceptable to both kingdoms so it

294-417: A population of 275,918 inhabitants (as of 2017 ). They cover a land area of 1,590 square kilometres (610 sq mi). The Society Islands are a tropical South Sea archipelago of volcanic origin. They represent the most economically important of the five archipelagos of French Polynesia. The highest point is Mount Orohena , which reaches 2,241 meters, located on the island of Tahiti. The population of

343-419: A section of headland where the turn is greater than 30 degrees. The spit will continue out into the sea until water pressure (e.g. from a river) becomes too great to allow the sand to deposit. Vegetation may then start to grow on the spit, and the spit may become stable and often fertile. A spit may be considered a special form of a shoal . As spits grow, the water behind them is sheltered from wind and waves, and

392-436: A variety of sources including rivers and eroding bluffs, and changes there can have a major effect on spits and other coastal landforms. Activities such as logging and farming upstream can increase the sediment load of rivers, which may hurt the intertidal environments around spits by smothering delicate habitats. Roads or bulkheads built along bluffs can drastically reduce the volume of sediment eroded, so that not enough material

441-654: A wide range of artistic skills and could be priests, navigators and lore specialists. Only good-looking men or women could become 'arioi. They played a crucial role in ceremonies associated with birth, deaths and marriage. The Society Islands are home to the Taputapuātea Marae , a UNESCO world heritage site on Ra’iātea . In 1767 HMS Dolphin , sailing under Captain Samuel Wallis , landed on Tahiti. The captain and crew were quite sick with scurvy on arrival and were keen to obtain fresh food. Europeans quickly found that

490-406: Is 75 km (29 sq mi). The two islands are separated by a few hundred metres of water and joined by a sandspit at low tide . A small bridge was built to connect Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti. Its highest point is Turi, at 669 m elevation. In the northwest of Huahine Nui lies a 375-hectare (930-acre) brackish lake known as Lac Fauna Nui (Lac Maeva). This lake is all that remains of

539-443: Is being pushed along to maintain the spit. If the supply of sediment is interrupted the sand at the neck (landward end) of the spit may be moved towards the head, eventually creating an island. If the supply is not interrupted, and the spit is not breached by the sea (or, if across an estuary, the river), the spit may become a bar , with both ends joined to land, and form a lagoon behind the bar. If an island lies offshore near where

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588-612: Is especially rich in fish and birds . Among the latter is a species that became extinct centuries ago, the Huahine starling ( Aplonis diluvialis ), whose fossils found on the island date its disappearance some seven centuries ago (although the German naturalist Georg Forster depicted in the 18th century a bird on the island of Raiatea very similar to the animal in question). In 2019 the Partula rosea and Partula varia snails were reintroduced to

637-777: The Catholic Church . The Protestants arrived with the first English explorers, while the Catholics settled in the area first with the arrival of the Spanish and permanently with the beginning of the French colonization of the region, which was consolidated with the establishment of a protectorate over the islands. By 1774 the Spanish had settled in the region briefly and installed a large cross that they brought from their colonies in Peru . In January 1775

686-763: The German Empire 's consul for the South Sea Islands, Gustav Godeffroy Junior, signed a treaty of friendship and commerce with the island's government on behalf of the German Empire. In 1888 the French finally established a protectorate over the Island. The island was formally annexed on 18 April 1888. French warships bombarded the two largest villages, causing some loss of life, in September 1890. The last queen, Te-haʻapapa III ,

735-537: The Hawaiki Nui Vaʻa  [ fr ; it ; no ] , an international Polynesian canoe (vaʻa) competition, is held. Most of the population follows Christianity as a result of the activity of missionaries from both the Catholic Church and various Protestant groups , and European colonization. In 1809 the island had its first contact with Protestant Christian missionaries . In 1815 the Protestant mission ordered

784-540: The Immaculate Conception ( Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l'Immaculée Conception ) stands out on the island. On each island the religious situation is different. On Bora Bora, for example, there are more Protestant Christians than Catholic Christians, as a result of the fact that the English arrived there before the French, however, both groups now regularly perform ecumenical Christian acts and live together. Each of

833-613: The Royal Society , the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands; however, Cook wrote in his journal that he called the islands Society "as they lay contiguous to one another". The first Polynesians are understood to have arrived on these islands around 1000   AD. The islanders explain their origins in terms of an orally transmitted story. The feathered god Ta'aroa lay in his shell. He called out but no-one answered, so he went back into his shell, where he stayed for aeons. When he came out he changed his body into

882-566: The viceroy of Peru , the Spaniard Manuel Amat y Juniet, organized three expeditions to the Society Islands. Having news of James Cook's expedition and fearing a British colonization of the island, he ordered a first expedition under the command of the Spanish sailor Domingo de Bonechea , with Tomás Gayangos as assistant, aboard the frigate "Águila". In the second expedition (1774-1775), Domingo de Bonechea and José Andía y Varela, aboard

931-569: The Croatian island of Brač , is formed by Adriatic currents flowing east and west through the Hvar Channel , along the southern side of the island. The spit bends slightly west or east, changing its direction gradually, depending on the conditions of the tides and weather. Since prehistory humans have chosen certain spit formations as sites for human habitation. In some cases, these sites have been chosen for proximity to marine resource exploitation ;

980-541: The Society Islands has a small airport. Faa'a International Airport is located in Tahiti and is the largest airport in the Society Islands. Spit (landform) A spit ( cognate with the word for a rotisserie bar) or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands , by the process of longshore drift by longshore currents. The drift occurs due to waves meeting

1029-407: The Society Islands, is one of the most fragrant of all flowers and is now protected. The atolls surrounding the islands are covered with numerous corals , around which butterfly and clown fish frolic. Manta rays also reside here. However, part of the underwater world of French Polynesia has been affected by nuclear tests conducted by the French government between 1966 and 1968. The climate of

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1078-418: The ancient Tahitian Maʻohi people colonized Huahine from at least the 9th century AD. Huahine is home to one of the largest concentrations of Polynesian archaeological remains dated between 850 AD and 1100 AD. Until the late 19th century Huahine was an independent kingdom, also called the Huahine and Maiao Kingdom . According to tradition, three main dynasties succeeded each other: The Hau-moʻo-rere dynasty

1127-503: The ancient atoll lagoon. Air transportation is available via Huahine airport , located on the northern shore of Huahine Nui. The island is covered with lush vegetation, much of which consists of coconut palms. There are also two important botanical gardens: the Ariiura Garden Paradise, which houses traditional Polynesian medicinal plants, and l'Eden Parc, where fruit trees from the rest of the world are cultivated. The fauna

1176-409: The atoll and the airport is another important economic sector. One of the famous attractions on Huahine is a bridge that crosses over a stream with 0.9-to-1.8 m (3-to-6 ft) long freshwater eels . These eels are deemed sacred by the locals, by local mythology. While viewing these slithering creatures, tourists can buy a can of mackerel and feed the eels. The Faʻahia archaeological site in

1225-448: The beach at an oblique angle, moving sediment down the beach in a zigzag pattern. This is complemented by longshore currents, which further transport sediment through the water alongside the beach. These currents are caused by the same waves that cause the drift. Where the direction of the shore inland re-enters , or changes direction, for example at a headland , the longshore current spreads out or dissipates. No longer able to carry

1274-477: The chief's power. Key followers of the 'Oro cult were the 'arioi, who lived separately from the common people. They wore scented flowers and adorned themselves with scents and scarlet-dyed cloth. The head of each 'arioi group was heavily tattooed from ankle to thigh and known as a blackleg. Both male and female blacklegs were a privileged group but they were forbidden to have children. Their babies were all killed at birth. They received and gave lavish presents. They had

1323-705: The coast changes direction, and the spit continues to grow until it connects the island to the mainland, it is called a tombolo . The end of a spit attached to land is called the proximal end, and the end jutting out into water is called the distal end. There is debate as to the longest spit in the world, with both the Arabat Spit in the Sea of Azov and the Younghusband Peninsula in South Australia approximately 110 kilometres (68 mi) long. Alternatively, with

1372-569: The destruction of the idols of the ancient gods of the local religion. In the following decades, Catholic missionaries arrived. Between 1819 and 1820 the first chapel was built on the island. Catholics, under the direction of the Archdiocese of Papeete, administer one religious building, the Church of the Holy Family ( Église de la Sainte-Famille ) which was reopened in the town of Fare (northwest of

1421-464: The full load, much of the sediment is dropped. This is called deposition. This submerged bar of sediment allows longshore drift or littoral drift to continue to transport sediment in the direction the waves are breaking, forming an above-water spit. Without the complementary process of littoral drift, the bar would not build above the surface of the waves becoming a spit and would instead be leveled off underwater. Spits occur when longshore drift reaches

1470-518: The island "La Hermosa" (The Beautiful). Today it is known by the nickname "the island of the woman". In 1846 the island successfully resisted French rule, the inhabitants never resigned themselves to the idea of being colonized and in 1847 the island proclaimed itself an independent state under the name of the Kingdom of Huahine. On 20 April 1879, the commander of the SMS Bismarck , Karl Deinhard, and

1519-457: The island) on 30 October 2010. The original church had been established however between 1906 and 1909. The inhabitants of the island are engaged in activities such as agriculture and fishing. Agricultural products include vanilla ( Vanilla × tahitensis species) and various types of melons. Thanks to the lush coconut forest, copra production is also a very important activity for the local economy. Tourism through cruise ship passengers calling at

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1568-543: The island. In February 2024 the Ornithological Society of Polynesia reintroduced the Tahitian Striated heron to the island. Administratively Huahine is a commune (municipality) part of the administrative subdivision of the Leeward Islands . Huahine consists of the following associated communes: The administrative centre of the commune is the settlement of Fare, on Huahine Nui. The total population

1617-424: The islanders were desperate to obtain iron, which was prized for use in woodworking and as fish-hooks. The sailors found that young women and girls were eager to exchange sex for a nail. The islanders were delighted at the abundance of iron on the ship and tried to board the ship in search of iron. Wallis reported that he shot cannon to maintain control of his vessel and the iron on board. Louis de Bougainville ,

1666-518: The islands is concentrated in the coastal regions and becomes increasingly sparse towards the mountainous center of the islands. The main island of Tahiti (Îles du Vent), where 50% of the inhabitants live, is also home to the capital of French Polynesia, the city of Papeete . The tropical forests of French Polynesia are home to a great variety of rare animals and plants. Above all, the islands are known for their olfactory landscape . The Tahitian tiaré ( Gardenia taitensis ), which blooms exclusively on

1715-462: The islands varies between tropical and subtropical due to their size. The heat and very high humidity, together with the islands' fertile volcanic soils, have created dense, mostly inaccessible tropical forests . There are two seasons: a warm one, which lasts from November to March, and a cooler one, from April to October. Most of the population of the Society Islands profess Christianity including various Protestant Christian denominations and

1764-677: The mainland. The Curonian Spit , off the coast of Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia , separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea ; it is 98 km long (61 mi). In a similar fashion, the Vistula Spit separates the Vistula Lagoon from the Gdańsk Bay off the coast of Poland . Zlatni Rat , a popular pebble beach jutting southward from the harbor town of Bol , on

1813-473: The multi-layered dome of the sky. Other parts of his body he transformed into Papa-fenua, the earth. Other parts he made into Te Tuma, the ata, or shadow of his phallus. Ta'aroa said, "Cast your eyes on my phallus. Gaze upon it and insert it in the earth." He came down to earth at "Opoa in Havai'i" (now Ra'iatea ), one of the most sacred places in the Society Islands. Other gods were created, and these ran directly into

1862-647: The natural closing of the Roanoke inlet in 1811, Bodie Island in North Carolina may qualify as the longest, also measuring in at approximately 70 miles (110 km) to the peninsula's terminus at the Oregon Inlet . The longest spit in a freshwater body of water is Long Point, Ontario , which extends approximately 32 km (20 mi) into Lake Erie . Farewell Spit in New Zealand , at 32 km (20 mi), in

1911-560: The north of the island has revealed subfossil remains of several species of extinct birds exterminated by the earliest Polynesian colonists of the island. The island has scheduled passenger airline flights operated by Air Tahiti with ATR turboprop aircraft via the Huahine - Fare Airport . Society Islands The archipelago is believed to have been named by Captain James Cook during his first voyage in 1769, supposedly in honour of

1960-657: The north-west area of South Island , is believed to be caused by the strong prevailing winds and currents, bringing sand eroded from the Southern Alps of the South Island and depositing these into Golden Bay . A well-known spit in the UK is Spurn Point at the Humber ; it is approximately 4.8 km (3.0 mi) long. Another is Chesil Beach in the UK, which connects the Isle of Portland to

2009-422: The priest Fray Jerónimo Clota celebrated the first Catholic mass on the islands. The Spanish did not remain in the area due to the continuing uprisings in other of their colonies. Queen Pōmare IV expelled French Catholic missionaries from her kingdom in 1836 and provoked the annoyance of France. Between 1838 and 1842, French naval commander Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars responded to French complaints and forced

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2058-407: The principal chiefs of the kingdom fully renounced their powers and privileges in favor of France, in a treaty of abdication dated 15 September of that year. After the annexation he was elected chief of Tefarerii, a position he held until his death. The name Huahine literally means "woman's sex". It could probably be translated as "pregnant woman" since the profile of Mount Tavaiura makes one think of

2107-542: The queen and Tahitian chiefs to cede Tahiti as a French protectorate. In the 1880s France formally annexed the islands. Today the Catholic Church owns at least 45 religious buildings in the area, all under the ecclesiastical responsibility of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Papeete (Archidiocese of Papeete or Archidioecesis Papeetensis) with headquarters on the island of Tahiti. The Cathedral of Our Lady of

2156-614: The ships "Águila" and "Júpiter", recognized or discovered a dozen islands between the archipelagos of Tuamotu and the Austral Islands, and established a mission in Tahiti, which lasted only a couple of years. Domingo de Bonechea, whose health was weakened, died during this expedition. The islands became a French protectorate in 1843 and a colony in 1880 under the name of French Establishments of Oceania ( Établissements Français d'Océanie, EFO ). The islands are divided, both geographically and administratively, into two groups: They have

2205-410: The time of the people. The high chiefs or ari'i rahi were descendants from the gods, reckoned to be forty generations previous. In their presence commoners showed respect by stripping to the waist. The high chiefs erected marae as places of worship. In the generations before Europeans arrived, a cult called 'Oro-maro-'ura developed: the cult of the red-feathered girdle. This became a tangible symbol of

2254-408: Was 5,999 inhabitants in the 2007 census, which increased to 6,263 inhabitants in 2022, distributed in eight villages: Fare (the capital), Maeva, Faie, Fitii, Parea, Tefarerii, Haapu and Maroe. The main activities are vanilla cultivation, copra production, fishing and tourism. In terms of sports , Huahine is, along with neighboring Bora Bora , Tahaa and Raiatea , one of the four islands among which

2303-399: Was agreed that his younger brother would inherit the throne of Raiatea. In 1884, Teriifaʻatau Marama obtained the position of prime minister, a post previously held by his younger brother, who had become King that year. Teriifaʻatau Marama became a principle figure in the annexation of the kingdom of Huahine and Maiao by France. It was in 1895 that the regent, on behalf of Queen Tehaapapa, and

2352-473: Was deposed, and the island incorporated into the French Establishments of Oceania, in 1895. Huahine measures 16 km (10 mi) in length, with a maximum width of 13 km (8 mi). It is made up of two main islands surrounded by a fringing coral reef with several islets , or motu. Huahine Nui (Big Huahine) lies to the north and Huahine Iti (Little Huahine) to the south. The total land area

2401-548: Was founded in the 17th century; its last representative was Queen Tehaʻapapa I, whom Captain Cook met in 1769. She maintained the cohesion and independence of her kingdom. The Tamatoa dynasty has its origin in Tehaʻapapa I and her husband Mato a Tamatoa, member of the Tamatoa family of Raiatea. They were the founders of the Tamatoa branch of Huahine. This dynasty reigned until 1854. The Teururaʻi dynasty descends from Ariʻimate Teururaʻi,

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