.

Air Tahiti Magazine 56
nature q uiconque a sejourne quelque temps en polynesie francaise a adopte le terme «motu». un terme qui impregne le quotidien, un mot qui appartient a la dizaine de mots polynesiens que l on utilise quelles que soient nos origines culturelle et geographique, au meme titre que vahine, pareo et cela est bien normal, car la polynesie francaise, et plus precisement l archipel des tuamotu, sont les champions en motu. c est ici que l on en trouve le plus, en une telle densite. a tel point que les scientifiques du monde entier se sont a leur tour appropries le terme de motu. «les motu existent ailleurs, dans les caraibes et dans l ocean indien, comme aux maldives ou aux seychelles, mais leur concentration est bien moindre», rappelle jacques iltis, directeur du l institut de recherche pour le developpement (ird) de tahiti. un motu est une petite ile constituee d un amas de materiaux corallien (sable, bloc de corail ) arraches du recif par des vagues de tempetes et lors de fortes houles. c est charles darwin qui le premier schematisa en 1842 le phenomene corallien a l origine des barrieres recifales, des lagons, des atolls et des motu. sa theorie fait aujourd hui encore reference. le scientifique a montre comment la derive et l enfoncement des iles volcaniques (appelees aussi iles hautes) dans le plancher oceanique sous leur propre poids s accompagnaient de l apparition d un premier recif corallien, le recif frangeant, puis d un recif barriere, pour obtenir en dernier stade un enfoncement complet et la disparition de l ile volcanique. ainsi nait un atoll : une couronne recifale qui entoure un lagon, ce paysage si caracteristique des tuamotu. un recif qui sera progressivement attaque par l erosion marine et qui donnera alors naissance a des motu. ce phenomene se faisant sur le cote du recif le plus expose a la houle et aux vents dominants, pas etonnant alors que les motu ne soient pas regulierement disposes autour de leur «ile mere». mais attention les atolls (appeles aussi iles basses) ne sont pas seuls a presenter des motu. une ile haute qui possede une barriere recifale peut etre egalement entouree de motu, comme tahaa ou bora bora. > anyone who spends some time in french polynesia uses the word "motu" as part of their daily vocabulary. it's one of a dozen or so words that people in the islands, regardless of their language and background, have adopted as common usage along with others such as vahine, pareo etc. and it's no wonder the word has stuck. french polynesia, or more precisely the tuamotu archipelago, are all about motu and you'll find more here than anywhere else. at some point, even scientists began using the word. jaques iltis, director of the tahitian institute of research and development reminds us: "motu exist elsewhere - in the caribbean and indian ocean like the maldives and the seychelles - but they are far less concentrated." a motu is a little island made up of nothing but coral and it's derivatives - sand, limestone boulders etc - that have been bulldozed from the mother reef during storm waves and strong swells. charles darwin came up with his theory of atoll formation in 1852 and it's still the accepted theory today. the scientist was able to show how volcanic islands (also called "high islands") fall apart and sink into the ocean floor under their own weight. the fringing and barrier coral reefs remain after the main island has disappeared and thus an atoll is born, a reef crown that encloses a lagoon - the landscape of the tuamotus. motus are formed by waves and dominant winds consistently eroding and pushing the coral reef up onto itself. you'll find that motu do not necessarily form close to the mother island, but are created where the elements are fiercest. note that atolls (also known as "low islands") aren't the only places you'll find motu. any island that has a barrier reef can have them, as you can see at islands like tahaa or bora bora. "there is a scientific word equivalent for motu in french, the word 'caye,'" explains jaques iltis. "in english that word is 'cay." but this term isn't exactly the same. a 'cay' refers only to islets formed from coral while a motu is any fringing island no matter what its geological makeup. tuamotu, la traduction de l academie tahitienne quel est le lien entre les mots «motu» et «tuamotu» ? pour john martin, traducteur tahitien-francais, membre de l academie tahitienne, «tua», c est le dos et «motu», l ile ; le nom propre tuamotu signifiant «des iles au ras de l ocean». ainsi, pour le traducteur, «les iles des tuamotu sont comme des dos de cetaces qui apparaissent a la surface de l eau». tuamotu:the official translation from the tahitian academy what is the link between the words motu and tuamotu? according to john martin, tahitian-french translator and member of the tahitian academy, tua means "back" while motu means "island." the proper tahitina name translates to: "islands on the ocean's back." the translator himself states that for him, "the tuamotu islands are like whales backs when they surface above water."
Powered by fluidbook tm