Rema'i parau   Craftwork with pearl oyster shells. One of the French Polynesia's main economic activities is cultured pearl production: the famous black pearls. In fact, the pearls (and shells) range from a silver-grey to deep black but in the best examples there are reflects of a whole range of colors. The shells are a popular medium for local artists and crafts people, and they're engraved, sculpted, shaped, and used in various artistic constructions. [Programs: Xaos, The Gimp] 720x540 (178k)   600x450 (133k)
	Tifaifai   The tifaifai is a traditional patchwork bedspread much prized in Tahiti. Although there are machine-made examples for the tourist trade, the "real" tifaifai is always sown entirely by hand, and the best examples are rarely seen in commerce but are kept in the family. This reflects the origines of the tifaifai. Early missionaries in French Polynesia tried to stamp out the ancient culture to impose Christianity and at the same time they taught Polynesian women the art of sewing so they could wear "decent" clothes and decorate their homes. The tifaifai became not simply a decorative piece of work but more importantly a way of keeping the traditional culture alive and the patterns used in their fabrication are symbols of mythological elements in the genealogy of the family. [Programs: Dofo-Zon Elite, The Gimp] 720x540 (80k)   600x450 (64k)
	Maori Dream   [Programs: TieraZon, The Gimp] 720x540 (193k)   600x450 (144k)
	Varua 'ino   Evil spirits. [Programs: Tiera-Zon, The Gimp] 720x540 (171k)   600x450 (134k)
	Marae   Traditional open-air temple. The marae was the centre of religious practice for the ancient Polynesians. In the islands of French Polynesia they were built of stones, carefully stacked. Usually they had a raised stone platform with three of more large headstones (as shown in the image). With the arrival of Christianity many maraes on Tahiti and other islands were destroyed at the instigation of the missionaries, but more recently some important sites have been restored and others have been discovered more or less intact as development pushes into the interior of Tahiti. [Program: Vue d'Esprit] 720x540 (169k)   600x450 (121k)
Mythological divinities
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