Young Pacific Leaders pay their respects to the ancestors at Marae Taputapuātea, Raʻiātea.
By Michelle Curran
Strategic Communications, Pasifika TV
Emotions were heightened at Marae Taputapuātea, Raʻiātea in Pōrīnetia Farāni, as 44 Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) hailing from 22 Pacific nations paid homage to the ancestors, who both paved the way for them and bound them together as people of Te Moana Nui.
It has been a poignant experience for 29-year-old BJ Zebedy from the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
“Sites like this are very sacred, and when you visit, you feel the respect this place has, and that it has been honoured by generations of people,” BJ says.
“Not many people get to experience this, and it is an honour to be here, as a person from the Pacific.”
BJ Zebedy from the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
The visit was part of a two-day retreat to Raʻiātea at the conclusion of Tiaki Moana Summit and Workshop, staged in Tahiti and Mo’orea, where YPL and other knowledge leaders provided insights and expertise on the health and prosperity of Te Moana Nui.
In 2017, Taputapuātea and the marae complex were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its political and religious significance, and testimony to traditional eastern Polynesian culture.
Considered to be the ancestral homeland for Polynesians, Raʻiātea (or Havai’i/Hawaiki) is where the great migration is believed to have begun, with voyagers setting out to populate the likes of Hawai’i, Aotearoa New Zealand, te Kūki ‘Āirani, Tonga, Samoa and other parts of East Polynesia.
Harnessing nature to navigate Te Moana Nui
Like the master navigators of Raʻiātea, BJ’s ancestors of the Republic of the Marshall Islands also harnessed stars, winds, and ocean currents to traverse Te Moana Nui from Austronesian seafarers over 2000 years ago.
Born and raised in Majuro, BJ is a Protected Areas Network Officer for the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority and he says Taputapuātea has increased his appreciation for his own ancestors.
“The Marshall Islands has a great lineage of voyagers…it is amazing we live so far apart from each other, but we are bridged by the mighty Pacific.
“Being in this space where great voyagers have been makes me appreciate the Marshallese and my ancestors.
“It is definitely the right place to conclude our week – it is a historic site and a marine managed area and incorporates what we have been talking about at Tiaki Moana – it is a powerful end to the week.”
Micronesian navigators played a key role in the revival of Polynesian navigation.
Mau Piailug, who grew up on Satawal in the Federated States of Micronesia, where traditional navigation is still practiced, navigated the reconstructed Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūle’a on her maiden voyage from Hawai’i to Tahiti in 1976.
He later trained the Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson, who subsequently trained many others.
In July this year, the Hōkūle’a will visit Raʻiātea, as part of its Moananuiākea circumnavigation of the Pacific, and its 50 years of sailing anniversary celebrations.
A treaty will be signed between Hawai’i, Rapanui and Aotearoa to reinforce the connection between the nations and need to work together on issues the Pacific currently faces, including the health of the ocean.
Power of collaboration
Tilly Smith is the Consul of Taputapuātea and responsible for cultural protocol on the Marae.
Consul of Taputapuātea Tilly Smith.
The retired teacher and respected Raʻiātea leader warmly welcomed the YPL group onto the Marae, saying it is time for Te Moana Nui to unite to combat current concerns affecting the region and its peoples.
“We need to unite and be bound strong, like a waka,” Tilly says.
“Having the young leaders here means we are now like family…we need to make the connections a reality, not just a study, theory or kōrero.”
He adds the moana is sacred, and people need the support of our tupuna and atua.
“For Mā’ohi, the ocean is one of God’s creations and we have to respect it, as well as three fundamental concepts of tupuna, mana and tapu.”
Raʻiātea is Hawaiiki for Māori
For another YPL workshop participant, Mananui Ramsden from Ōhinehou Lyttelton (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha, Raukawa and Rangitāne) says the “road to Raʻiātea” is what enticed him to put his hand up for the YPL initiative.
“This trip hooked me, as my waka (Tākitimu), left from Raʻiātea around 700 years ago,” the Chairman of Te Rūnaka o Koukourarata says.
Mananui Ramsden’s connection to Raʻiātea is both historical and personal.
Mananui adds his grandfather Eric Ramsden sailed these same isles between the World Wars, alongside Sir Peter Buck, a Māori anthropologist, physician, and politician who made significant contributions to Māori public health and Pacific studies.
Historically and on a personal level, this journey has been immeasurable for Mananui.
“My father, Peter Te Rangihīroa was supposed to visit this Marae, but he passed away three years ago,” he says.
Speaking at Taputapuātea on behalf of Māori YPL representatives, Mananui says he felt a sense of calm and his father’s presence.
While Raʻiātea has been the drawcard, connecting with new international contacts has been the bonus of Mananui’s YPL experience, he adds.
“This trip has provided me a wide range of international connections and from a ‘doing good mahi’ perspective, there are no slouches in this cohort.”
Mananui’s own “good mahi” spans key areas such as mahika kai, freshwater farm planning, and advocating for the Rakatirataka over Wai Māori through Te Tiriti o Waitangi-related frameworks.
He also serves in iwi governance for Te Rūnaka o Kāi Tahu, where he works to strengthen connections across the iwi and uphold Kāi Tahu’s leadership and aspirations.
Mananui says the Tiaki Moana YPL group hopes to stay in touch and collaborate on future projects around ocean health and prosperity.
“We may come from different perspectives on issues and challenges, but we also bring different layers to the big picture.”
Visit the Tiaki Moana website for more information on the summit and the Young Pacific Leaders website for more details on the US Department of State initiative.
