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‘Ei ‘akapākaniraga: A Desire for Recognition

Albert Faahei Hugues is an author and speaker (Littéramā’ohi, Pīna’ina’i) committed to promoting indigenous tangible and intangible heritage. He is president of the cultural and linguistic association Te ana pouga magareva, a doctoral student in Polynesian linguistics at the University of French Polynesia, a teacher of history, geography, and Reo Magareva literature at the Mangarévian Re’e College in Saint-Raphaël, and a translator into Reo Tahiti (Tahitian) and Reo Magareva (Mangarevian).

Reo Magareva, a Polynesian language of the Oceanic family, has been spoken in the Gambier Islands since the first indigenous settlers arrived in the twelfth century. Like their Austronesian navigator ancestors who set out from Taiwan 3,000 years earlier, these settlers were horticulturalists who brought plants with them and cultivated the habitable islands.

In 1797, a British ship sighted the islands. In 1826, a British officer landed and met King Maputeoa, who resided in Rikitea. Of the 5,000 inhabitants then living in the archipelago, only 463 remained by 1887. In less than sixty years, 90% of the population had been wiped out by diseases introduced by Europeans, along with conflicts, forced displacements and forced labor.

Today, about 1,600 people live in the Gambier Islands, but only around 500 still speak Reo Magareva, often only partially, making it a highly endangered language. French assimilation policies had devastating effects on its use, but in recent years, thanks to the efforts of committed Mangarévians, the language and culture are once again being passed down to younger generations and their parents, who had long been cut off from their roots.

Traditional Mangarevian deities were burned in mass bonfires during large-scale auto-da-fés in 1835. Only eleven sculptures survived this cultural and spiritual destruction; missionaries sent them to the Vatican at the time. Among them are:

  • Tū, a deity associated with the breadfruit tree and its fruit, whose cult centered on the uaikai ceremony held at the main marae, Te Ke’ika, when the breadfruit (tūmei, tumu mei) began to form;
  • Rao, a deity invoked during the planting of curcuma longa (rega). Although no longer cultivated in Mangareva, it was once so highly prized that it was placed under the protection of three deities: Mei’ara-iti, Raga’au and Rogo. Rogo was responsible for bringing rain and providing food; he was symbolized by the rainbow and the mist and bore the attributes of the god of horticulture. Two other deities, Rao and Tūpō, were specifically invoked during the planting of rega. Priests, called ta’ura rega, conducted ceremonies during its cultivation and the cooking of its tubers.

Among the unique treasures of Mangarevian culture (destroyed yet, paradoxically, also recorded by missionaries) was the traditional pe’i dance, performed with both grace and energy. It was accompanied by percussion (drums called pa’u) and songs. The word pe’i means “stomping the earth”.


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
ILARA (August 4, 2025). ‘Ei ‘akapākaniraga: A Desire for Recognition. ILARA, the Institute for Linguistic Heritage and Diversity. Retrieved November 16, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/14oj2


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