Tahitian Culture’s “Stone” Foundation

Stone fishing is an ancient way of fishing developed by Tahiti’s earliest Polynesians. Today it’s also a genuine public festival.

This unique activity involves many boats that gather at each end of an island. Standing in the bow of the boat, men beat the lagoon water’s surface with a stone attached to a long rope.
The scared fish gather in the “rau”, what the Tahitians call a huge net woven from coconut palms. Everyone from the island holds the net in the water, gradually reducing the opening, trapping the fish in a circle that becomes smaller and smaller. Now it’s time to begin harpooning the fish, with personalities given the honor of killing the first fish. The rest of the fish are divided up among the participants.

Preparations for this event begin two days earlier. Each family on the island must weave 10 meters (nearly 33 feet) of “rau” (netting). Cooks have already begun preparing the big “ma’a”, or traditional Tahitian meal, that will be served on the day of the stone fishing.

Meanwhile, boats are decorated with coconut palms and tropical flowers for a contest to be held just before the fishing begins. This tradition is carried on in the Leeward Islands, such as Maupiti, where Pierre Lesage took these beautiful photos.

This day has the double advantage of preserving the Tahitian culture while providing the perfect pretext for the islanders to get together and share much more than the fruit of fishing.

© Photo P.Lesage – www.kapstock.com