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Tahitian and Mā‘ohi Foodways

National

French Polynesia — one hundred and eighteen islands across five archipelagos, of which the Society Islands hold Tahiti and the administrative centre, plus the Tuamotus (low atolls), the Marquesas, the Australs and the Gambiers. The indigenous people are Mā‘ohi and the language TAHITIAN, alongside French. The signature dish is POISSON CRU — ‘ia ota — raw tuna in lime and COCONUT MILK with cucumber and tomato, and it is genuinely everyday rather than a restaurant item. Also FAFA, chicken with taro leaves; PO‘E, the pounded fruit and starch pudding baked in coconut milk; MA‘A TINITO, the Chinese-Tahitian pork and bean dish that records a CHINESE community present since nineteenth-century plantation labour; the AHIMA‘A earth oven and the Sunday TAMA‘ARA‘A feast; URU, breadfruit, and the fermented MAHI pits; and the FRENCH layer, which is real — baguettes are price-controlled and universal. ⚠ AND THE NUCLEAR HISTORY BELONGS ON THIS ROW: France conducted 193 nuclear tests at Moruroa and Fangataufa between 1966 and 1996, and the contamination of reef and lagoon food chains and the compensation claims arising from it are documented and still contested.

Atlas — where and when

Where in the world

Communities and languages

  • Mā‘ohi community documented
  • Chinese Polynesians community documented

Languages: Tahitian, French

What is recorded

  • French Polynesia comprises approximately 118 islands across five archipelagos. The indigenous people are Mā‘ohi and the language Tahitian. Ma‘a tinito is documented as recording a Chinese community present since nineteenth-century plantation labour. France conducted 193 nuclear tests at Moruroa and Fangataufa between 1966 and 1996; contamination of reef and lagoon food chains and the compensation claims arising are documented and remain contested. documented
  • France conducts 193 nuclear tests at Moruroa and Fangataufa; contamination of reef and lagoon food chains and the resulting compensation claims remain contested. documented

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

  • part of Polynesian Foodways documented
  • related to Chinese documented

    Ma‘a tinito records a Chinese community present since nineteenth-century plantation labour.

  • related to French documented

    French Polynesia is French; baguettes are price-controlled and universal. France also conducted 193 nuclear tests at Moruroa and Fangataufa between 1966 and 1996.

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.