What is a motu? www.airtahiti.aero > News > What is a motu?

Over 68 pearl farms are scattered across the sublime lagoon of Ahe, an atoll renowned for its superior water quality. Here, at farms isolated between sea and sky, men and women work passionately to create the pearls of Tahiti

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.

So, all cays are motu but all motu are not cay! Jaque Iltis explains: "Near the pass of Bora Bora for example, we find Toopua motu which is actually a small volcanic islet - really a miniature high island separated by the lagoon." - Or you could say a little high island that is 150 meters high, not just a conglomeration of coral.

It's explainable why some islands in the Society archipelago have motu while others have few to none. It's all to do with the sinking of the island.Tahiti and Moorea, the eastern islands, are less far along in their sinking progress and have less barrier reef; therefore they have less motu.The opposite is found in the West of the archipelago; Tahaa, Bora Bora and Maupiti for example have sunk much farther than the islands in the East and thus have more motu.

If the word motu becomes universally accepted, then another word, hoa must go along with it.Hoa are the shallow channels between motu that link the lagoon to the sea. So when will we see these words in the dictionary? Just think of using them in your next game of Scrabble - even if they don't get you too many points.

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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."

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Only vegetation that can adapt to a dry and salty coralline environment can be found on motu. Coconut trees are ubiquitous next to salt-loving bushes and shrubs. The most prolific is the miki miki (pemphis) which forms wind resistant brush. Its rot-proof red hued wood is very beautiful and is used by local artists.

Much more diverse life is found under the water than above it. Shells, fish and corals surround motu, which house so few animals on the surface. There are a few sea birds that come to nest in the trees or on the ground, like the white fairy tern (kirahu), the common noddy (goio), the great frigate or the red-footed booby. Small lizards like the blue tailed skink a few coconut crabs (kaveu) and, more than occasionally, mosquitoes and noseums - the only unwanted locals on motu.

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Texte : Anne CESBRON-FOURRIER - Translation : Celeste BRASH