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Marquesas Meʻae & Sacred Banyans
Nuku Hiva (Hatiheu/Kamuihei) & Hiva Oa (Upeke), Marquesas
French Polynesia
Active (heritage sites)
Regional cluster
- Location
- Nuku Hiva (Hatiheu/Kamuihei) & Hiva Oa (Upeke), Marquesas
- Coordinates
- ~8.82°S 140.10°W
- Elevation
- Valley & ridge
- Size
- Ceremonial complexes with sacred trees
- Age / Founded
- Pre-European (Marquesan)
- Status
- Active (heritage sites)
- Deity & Religion
- Ancestral chiefs/priests/warriors' spirits; Marquesan religion
- Community & Guardians
- Marquesan (ʻEnata) people
- Vernacular name
- Meʻae (sacred site) + sacred aoa (banyan)
- Record type
- Regional cluster
Cultural practices & uses
Meʻae shrines & tohua plazas; giant banyans shelter chiefly spirits (skulls placed in them); tapu
Plant species
Sacred banyan (Ficus prolixa); valley forest
Biome & fauna
Marquesas valley forest
Threats & protection
Tapu-protected heritage; partial restoration (e.g., Kamuihei, Upeke)
Source
moeVarua — Sacred Trees in Polynesia; Univers Voyage — Marquesas tikis & paepae