#marae

by Laurence Aberhart

Taputapuatea, Raiatea, French Polynesia

A marae is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. It generally consists of an area of cleared land roughly rectangular (the marae itself), bordered with stones or wooden posts (called au in Tahitian and Cook Islands Māori) perhaps with terraces (paepae) which were traditionally used for ceremonial purposes; and in some cases, a central stone ahu or a'u. In some modern Polynesian societies, notably that of the Māori of New Zealand, the marae is still a vital part of everyday life. However, in tropical Polynesia, most marae were destroyed or abandoned with the arrival of Christianity in the 19th Century and some of them have become an attraction for tourists or archaeologists.

A marae is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. It generally consists of an area of cleared land roughly rectangular (the marae itself), bordered with stones or wooden posts (called au in Tahitian and Cook Islands Māori) perhaps with terraces (paepae) which were traditionally used for ceremonial purposes; and in some cases, a central stone ahu or a'u. In some modern Polynesian societies, notably that of the Māori of New Zealand, the marae is still a vital part of everyday life. However, in tropical Polynesia, most marae were destroyed or abandoned with the arrival of Christianity in the 19th Century and some of them have become an attraction for tourists or archaeologists.

Marae detail, Raiatea, Leeward Islands, French Polynesia