'upa'upa

After having arrived on Tahiti in 1797, the LMS missionaries quickly intimidated the local rulers of the island and fixed themselves in a position of power.

Being Catholic with some broader views on life than the Protestants, and considering that 'if you cannot beat them, join them', they proclaimed in the official bulletin of 1849 that the ʻupaʻupa was still forbidden, except on public feastdays, but then still without the indecent gestures.

Around 1920 strips of raffia were added, which soon would develop into the characteristic more or grass skirt (in reality made from hibiscus fibers) of Tahiti.

But it was not until 1956 that Madeleine Mouʻa organised a dance group, called the heiva, of which Teriʻi and Takau, daughters of the last queen of Tahiti became patrons.

The opening of Faʻaʻa international airport in 1961 and the real start of the tourist industry on Tahiti made all the dances which had come forth from the ʻupaʻupa a part of daily life once more.