Meeting with Jean Mare, the current guardian of the Taputapuatea Marae.
A must-pass point for all sailors in French Polynesia, the Marae de Taputapuatea is considered the house of the gods. For centuries, Maori ancestors had to place a stone there as a rite of passage before each trip. Each stone represents a navigator.
Ancestral culture and Polynesian rites still hold a very important place today in French Polynesia. The Taputapuatea Marae has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017.
