.

Air Tahiti Magazine 52
culture l es anciens polynesiens etaient polytheistes : chaque ile, chaque chefferie, famille et corps de metier possedaient ses dieux. des dieux aux fonctions bien specifiques et des dieux differents, cependant complementaires. les polynesiens venaient sur les marae pour honorer ces dieux et leur demander d'influencer favorablement les evenements. ils cherchaient, par exemple, a obtenir le retour de l abondance des recoltes ou bien une victoire guerriere. le marae avait donc une fonction capitale puisqu il permettait d assurer la communication avec le monde des dieux. c etait uniquement sur le marae que les atua les dieux - pouvaient etre convoques par les rituels des pretres, pour venir s incarner dans les idoles sculptees. la hierarchie des marae reflete la hierarchie meme de la societe polynesienne. les iles etaient partagees en chefferies avec a la tete de chacune, un ari i - un chef - mais egalement un ou plusieurs dieux. c est pourquoi chaque ari i, famille et corps de metier possedaient son marae, car on se rendait sur le marae du ou des dieux a invoquer, c est-a-dire de l evenement a honorer ou de la decision a prendre. a premiere vue, un marae ressemble a une cour rectangulaire en pierre, dans laquelle se situe un ahu, sorte d autel en pierres dressees, simple ou a etages. dans les iles de la societe, les marae etaient construits avec des pierres seches, en fait des blocs de basalte et des dalles de corail. les galets etaient ensuite grossierement faconnes et assembles pour former le parvis. l ahu formait une petite pyramide a etage, il etait reserve au pretre, tahu a, et au chef, ari i. au centre de l esplanade, il y avait des pierres «dossiers», sur lesquelles le pretre et le chef s installaient pour prier. on trouvait egalement des unu, sculptures de bois aux formes geometriques qui representaient > ancient polynesians were polytheists : each island, each family and profession had their own gods. gods with specific functions, gods that were different yet complementary. polynesians came to the marae to honor these gods and ask them to influence events in their favor. they sought, for instance, to obtain abundant harvests or a victory at war. the marae thus had an essential function, since it allowed communication with the world of the gods. only on marae could the atua - the gods - be conjured up by the priests rituals and be embodied in the sculpted idols. the hierarchy of marae is a reflection of polynesian society. islands were divided into districts each headed by an ari i - a chief - and also by one or several deities. this is why each ari i, family and profession had their own marae, as people went to the marae dedicated to this or that god according to the event to be celebrated or the decision to be taken. a marae appears as stone-paved rectangular yard, inside which stands an ahu, a kind of altar made of lifted stones that can be multi-storied. in the society islands, the marae were built with dry stones, blocks of basaltic rock and coral slabs. pebbles were then roughly shaped and put together to form the square. the ahu was shaped as a small, raised pyramid. it was reserved for the priest, the tahu a, and for the chief, the ari i. the center of the platform featured backrest stones on which the priest and the chief sat to pray. there were also unu, geometricshaped wood sculptures representing men or animals. the unu symbolized the family who owned the marae. the marae was surrounded by several buildings, such as the fare ia mahana, the house of sacred treasures sacred to the point that guards . protected this fare holding items of worship and other sacred utensils. marae varied in size and importance, but the > marae de maeva a huahine / maeva s marae on the island of huahine 26 r e v u e d e b o r d n ° 5 2 / a i r ta h i t i / o n - b o a r d m a g a z i n e n ° 5 2
Powered by fluidbook tm