Editing French Polynesia (section)

== Culture ==

=== Languages ===
{{bar box
|title=Home languages in French Polynesia (2017 Census)
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Languages
|right1=percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|French|darkgreen|73.9}}
{{bar percent|Tahitian|purple|20.2}}
{{bar percent|Marquesan|red|2.6}}
{{bar percent|Mangareva|black|0.2}}
{{bar percent|Austral languages|orange|1.2}}
{{bar percent|Tuamotuan|darkblue|1}}
{{bar percent|Chinese|green|0.6}}
{{bar percent|Other|purple|0.4}}
}}
All the indigenous languages of French Polynesia are [[Polynesian languages|Polynesian]]. French Polynesia has been linguistically diverse since ancient times, with each community having its own local speech variety. These dialects can be grouped into seven languages on the basis of [[mutual intelligibility]]: [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]], [[Tuamotuan language|Tuamotuan]], [[Rapa language|Rapa]], [[Austral language|Austral]], [[North Marquesan]], [[South Marquesan]], and [[Mangareva language|Mangarevan]]. Some of these, especially Tuamotuan, are really [[dialect continua]] formed by a patchwork of different dialects. The distinction between languages and dialects is notoriously difficult to establish, and so some authors may view two varieties as dialects of the same language, while others may view them as distinct languages. In this way, North and South Marquesan are often grouped together as a single Marquesan language, and Rapa is often viewed as part of Austral subfamily. At the same time, Ra'ivavae is often viewed as distinct from them.{{Sfn|Charpentier|François|2015|pp=73–76}}

[[French language|French]] is the sole official language of French Polynesia.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101023183701/http://polynesie.rfo.fr/infos/actualites/langues-le-tahitien-reste-interdit-a-lassemblee-de-polynesie_37394.html Le tahitien reste interdit à l'assemblée de Polynésie], RFO, 6 October 2010</ref> An [[organic law]] of 12 April 1996 states that "French is the official language, Tahitian and other Polynesian languages can be used." At the 2017 census, among the population whose age was 15 and older, 73.9% of people reported that the language they spoke the most at home was French (up from 68.6% at the 2007 census), 20.2% reported that the language they spoke the most at home was [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]] (down from 24.3% at the 2007 census), 2.6% reported [[Marquesan language|Marquesan]] and 0.2% the related [[Mangareva language]] (same percentages for both at the 2007 census), 1.2% reported any of the [[Austral language]]s (down from 1.3% at the 2007 census), 1.0% reported [[Tuamotuan language|Tuamotuan]] (down from 1.5% at the 2007 census), 0.6% reported a [[Varieties of Chinese|Chinese dialect]] (41% of which was [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]]) (down from 1.0% at the 2007 census), and 0.4% another language (more than half of which was [[English language|English]]) (down from 0.5% at the 2007 census).<ref name="languages">{{cite web|url=http://ispf.pf/bases/Recensements/2017/Donnees_detaillees/Langues.aspx|title=Recensement 2017 – Données détaillées Langues|author=Institut Statistique de Polynésie Française (ISPF)|access-date=2019-04-07|archive-date=7 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407144500/http://ispf.pf/bases/Recensements/2017/Donnees_detaillees/Langues.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the same census, 95.2% of people whose age was 15 or older reported that they could speak, read and write French (up from 94.7% at the 2007 census), whereas only 1.3% reported that they had no knowledge of French (down from 2.0% at the 2007 census).<ref name=languages /> 86.5% of people whose age was 15 or older reported that they had some form of knowledge of at least one Polynesian language (up from 86.4% at the 2007 census but down from 87.8% at the 2012 census), whereas 13.5% reported that they had no knowledge of any of the Polynesian languages (down from 13.6% at the 2007 census but up from 12.2% at the 2012 census).<ref name=languages />

=== Music ===
{{main|Music of French Polynesia}}

French Polynesia appeared in the [[world music]] scene in 1992, recorded by French musicologist [[Pascal Nabet-Meyer]] with the release of [[The Tahitian Choir]]'s recordings of unaccompanied vocal Christian music called [[himene tārava]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Philip|last=Hayward|title=Bounty Chords: Music, Dance and Cultural Heritage on Norfolk and Pitcairn Islands|location=Bloomington|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2006|pages=24–35|isbn=9780861966783}}</ref> This form of singing is common in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands, and is notable for a unique drop in pitch at the end of the phrases, a characteristic formed by several different voices, accompanied by a steady grunting of staccato, [[Non-lexical vocables in music|nonlexical]] syllables.<ref>{{cite book|first=Mervyn|last=McLean|title=Weavers of Song: Polynesian Music and Dance|publisher=Auckland University Press|year=1999|pages=403–435|isbn=9781869402129}}</ref>

=== Dance ===

Tahitian dance as a movement art evolved alongside Tahitian oral transmission of cultural knowledge.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.oritahiti.net/en/on-ori-tahiti-teaching/tahitian-dance/index.html |title= Tahitian Dance|author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref> In fact, dance movement or gesture has significance, that supported the transmission of cultural knowledge.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.tahititourisme.com/the-history-of-tahitian-dance/|title= Traditional Tahitian dances – cultural survivors|author=<!--Not stated-->|date= 31 August 2023}}</ref> Dance styles include [['Aparima]] and [['upa'upa]].

However, after the [[London Missionary Society]] brought their religion to the islands,  they pressured  King [[Pōmare II]] (whom they had converted from traditional beliefs to their [[Reformed tradition]]) to introduce a new legal code.<ref>Gunson, N. (1969). Pomare II of Tahiti and Polynesian imperialism. The Journal of Pacific History, 4(1), 65–82</ref> This code, now known as the Pōmare Code, came into effect in 1819 <ref>{{cite book|first=Bernard |last=Gille|title=Wistoire des institutions de l'Océanie française: Polynésie, Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis et Futuna, L'Harmattan|date=2009 |pages=403–435|publisher=Harmattan |isbn=978-2-296-09234-1}}</ref> and banned numerous traditional practices including dancing, chants, floral costumes, tattooing and more.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.heiva.org/en/140-years-of-heiva-i-tahiti/|title= Let's celebrate 140 years of Heiva !|author=<!--Not stated-->}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
[[File:TuamotuCemetery.jpg|thumb|Cemetery in the [[Îles Tuamotu-Gambier|Tuāmotu]]]]
[[Christianity]] is the main religion of the islands. A majority of 54% belongs to various [[Protestantism|Protestant]] churches, especially the [[Maohi Protestant Church]], which is the largest and accounts for more than 50% of the population.<ref name=tahitipresse>{{cite news |title=126th Maohi Protestant Church Synod to last one week |url=http://en.tahitipresse.pf/2010/07/126th-maohi-protestant-church-synod-to-last-one-week/ |work=[[Tahitipresse]] |date=26 July 2010 |access-date=31 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729164942/http://en.tahitipresse.pf/2010/07/126th-maohi-protestant-church-synod-to-last-one-week/ |archive-date=29 July 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref> It traces its origins to [[Pōmare II]], the king of Tahiti, who converted from traditional beliefs to the [[Reformed tradition]] brought to the islands by the [[London Missionary Society]].

[[Catholic Church|Catholics]] constitute a large minority of 38.3%<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Papeete (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]|url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dpape.html|access-date=2021-08-15|website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org|archive-date=15 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815081524/https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dpape.html|url-status=live}}</ref> of the population (2019)<ref name=":0" /> which has its own [[ecclesiastical province]], comprising the Metropolitan [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Papeete|Archdiocese of Papeete]] and its only [[suffragan]], the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Taiohae|Diocese of Taiohae]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/country/PF.htm|website=GCatholic|title=Catholic Church in Territory of French Polynesia|access-date=1 April 2017|archive-date=10 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210045604/http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/country/PF.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The number and proportion of Catholics has increased significantly since 1950, when they represented 21.6% of the total population.<ref name=":0" />

Data from 1991 revealed that Catholics were in the majority in the [[Tuamotu Islands]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Saura|first=Bruno|date=1991|title=The Tahitian Churches and the Problem of the French Presence in 1991|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25169083|journal=The Journal of Pacific History|volume=26|issue=2|pages=347–357|doi=10.1080/00223349108572673|jstor=25169083|issn=0022-3344|access-date=15 August 2021|archive-date=15 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815003850/https://www.jstor.org/stable/25169083|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Gambier Islands]]<ref name=":1" /> and the [[Marquesas Islands]],<ref name=":1" /> while Protestants formed the majority in the [[Austral Islands]]<ref name=":1" /> and several of the [[Society Islands]] such as Tahiti.<ref name=":1" /> This diversity is due to the fact that Protestant missionaries (from [[England]] and the [[United States]]) first came to one group of islands, and after French colonisation the [[Catholic Church]] spread to several more scattered islands, but also to the main island of Tahiti.<ref name=":1" />

[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in French Polynesia|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] had 28,147 members {{As of|2018||lc=y}}.<ref>[https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/french-polynesia LDS Newsroom Statistical Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712232042/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/french-polynesia |date=12 July 2019 }}. Retrieved 25 March 2020.</ref> [[Community of Christ]], another denomination within the [[Latter Day Saint movement|Latter-Day Saint]] tradition, claimed 9,256 total French Polynesian members as of 2018<ref>Saturday/Sunday Bulletin World Conference 2019. Community of Christ. 2019. pp. 15–16.</ref> including Mareva Arnaud Tchong who serves in the church's governing [[Council of Twelve Apostles (Community of Christ)|Council of Twelve Apostles]]. There were about 3,000 [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] in Tahiti {{As of|2014|lc=y}},<ref>{{cite book|title=2015 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses|publisher=Watch Tower Society|page=186}}</ref> and an estimated 500 Muslims in French Polynesia.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.refworld.org/docid/53ba8dbb5.html| title = State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2014 – Case study: Tahiti: Islamophobia in French Polynesia| access-date = 31 May 2020| archive-date = 9 January 2017| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170109123410/http://www.refworld.org/docid/53ba8dbb5.html| url-status = live}}</ref>

===Cuisine===
Due to the island location and the fact that the French Polynesia produce a significant array of fruits and vegetables, natural local produce, especially coconut, features in many of the dishes of the islands as does fresh seafood.
Foods like [[Faraoa 'ipo]], [[Poisson cru]] and [[Rēti'a]]. The islands of Tahiti and the Marquesas indulge in a unique food made by preserving [[breadfruit]] known as [[List of fermented foods#Fermented fruits and vegetables|''ma'']] which either can be baked further in the [[earth oven]], or consumed directly mixed with fresh breadfruit as ''popoi mei'' (as is in the Marquesas).<ref>{{cite journal |title=Breadfruit Fermentation Practices in Oceania|pages=157–8 |journal=Journal de la Société des Océanistes |date=1984 |volume=40 |issue=79 |first=Nancy |last=Pollock |doi=10.3406/jso.1984.2544 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/jso_0300-953x_1984_num_40_79_2544}}</ref>

=== Sports ===
[[File:Hawaiki Nui Va'a 4.jpg|thumb|Va'a (traditional Polynesian outrigger canoe) during the Hawaiki Nui Va'a race]]

==== Football ====
{{Further|Football in Tahiti}}
The [[sport]] of [[Football (soccer)|football]] in the island of [[Tahiti]] is run by the [[Fédération Tahitienne de Football]].

==== Va'a ====
The Polynesian traditional sport [[va'a]] is practiced in all the islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tahitinuitravel.com/destination/vaa-canoe/ |title="Va'a" – the Polynesian Canoe |publisher=Tahiti Nui Travel |access-date=24 January 2022 |archive-date=28 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928031829/https://tahitinuitravel.com/destination/vaa-canoe/ |url-status=live }}</ref> French Polynesia hosts the {{interlanguage link|Hawaiki nui va'a|fr|Hawaiki nui va'a|it|Hawaiki Nui Va'a|no|Hawaiki Nui Va'a}}{{void|Fabrickator|comment|use explicit article name for each language to avoid confusion about capitalization used for each language}} an international race between Tahiti, Huahine and Bora Bora.

==== Surfing ====
French Polynesia is famous for its [[Surf break|reef break]] waves. [[Teahupo'o]] is probably the most renowned, regularly ranked in the best waves of the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/30/travel/50-surf-spots/index.html|title=World's 50 best surf spots - CNN.com|author=Jade Bremner|website=CNN|date=July 2013 |access-date=2016-06-03|archive-date=16 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816180725/http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/30/travel/50-surf-spots/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This site hosts the annual [[Billabong Pro Teahupoo|Billabong Pro Tahiti]] surf competition, the 7th stop of the [[World championship tour (WCT) surfing|World Championship Tour]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2019/mct/2919/tahiti-pro-teahupoo|title=2019 Tahiti Pro Teahupo'o|website=World Surf League|date=28 August 2019 |language=en|access-date=2020-04-20|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731205430/https://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2019/mct/2919/tahiti-pro-teahupoo|url-status=live}}</ref> and hosted the surfing events of the [[2024 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1091410/tahiti-approved-ioc-paris-2024-surfing|title=Tahiti approved by IOC as surfing venue for Paris 2024 Olympic Games|website=Inside the Games|language=en|date=2020-03-03|access-date=2021-02-23|archive-date=24 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024204400/https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1091410/tahiti-approved-ioc-paris-2024-surfing|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Kitesurfing ====
There are many spots to practice kitesurfing in French Polynesia, with Tahiti, Moorea, Bora-Bora, Maupiti and Raivavae being among the most iconic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tahiti-kitesurf.com/kite-in-french-polynesia/general-informations.html|title=General Info - WWW.TaHiTi-KiTeSuRF.COM|last=GR3G|website=tahiti-kitesurf.com|access-date=2016-06-03|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807174820/http://www.tahiti-kitesurf.com/kite-in-french-polynesia/general-informations.html|archive-date=7 August 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[File:Fakarava Atoll Passe Sud.jpg|right|thumb|Fakarava atoll, south pass]]

==== Diving ====
French Polynesia is internationally known for diving. Each archipelago offers opportunities for divers. [[Rangiroa]] and [[Fakarava]] in the [[Tuamotus|Tuamotu]] islands are the most famous spots in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scubadiving.com/top-100-diving-in-french-polynesia|title=Top 100 Destination: Diving in French Polynesia|website=Scuba Diving|access-date=2016-06-03|archive-date=2 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402070949/http://www.scubadiving.com/top-100-diving-in-french-polynesia|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Rugby ====
{{main|Rugby union in French Polynesia}}
Rugby is also popular in French Polynesia, specifically rugby union.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wheretoplayrugby.com/news/2020/02/25/french-polynesian-rugby-rugby-is-a-hit-in-tahiti/ |title=French Polynesian Rugby – Rugby is a hit in Tahiti! |publisher=Where to play rugby |date=25 February 2020 |access-date=25 June 2022 |archive-date=11 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811203723/https://wheretoplayrugby.com/news/2020/02/25/french-polynesian-rugby-rugby-is-a-hit-in-tahiti/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Television ===
Television channels with local programming include [[Polynésie la 1ère]] (established in 1965) and [[Tahiti Nui Television]] (established in 2000). Channels from metropolitan France are also available.