Raiatea

Raiatea or Ra'iatea (Tahitian: Ra‘iātea) is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. The island is widely regarded as the "centre" of the eastern islands in ancient Polynesia and it is likely that the organised migrations to the Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand and other parts of East Polynesia started at Raiatea. A traditional name for the island is Havai'i, homeland of the Māori people. Situated on the southeast coast is the historical Taputapuatea marae, which was established by 1000 CE. The site was the political and religious center of eastern Polynesia for several centuries, and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017 for its historical significance. The main township on Raiatea is Uturoa, the administrative centre for the Leeward Islands (French Îles Sous-le-vent). There are also colleges which serve as the main educational location for secondary schools for students from the regional islands of Bora Bora, Tahaa, Huahine and Maupiti. The Tahitian language name Ra'iātea means bright sky. "Ulitea" is an obsolete transcription commonly used in the 19th century. The extinct Raiatea starling inhabited the island; there is only one drawing of it in the world – in the Natural History Museum, London. The Polynesian navigator Tupaia, who sailed with explorer James Cook, was born in Raiatea around 1725. Cook visited Raiatea in 1769 and again in 1773–1774. He named the island "Ulitea". Omai (c.1751–1780), another young man from Raiatea, travelled with European explorers to London in 1774 and also served as an interpreter to Captain Cook on his second and third journeys. In ancient times the island was called Havai'i, a sacred name in Polynesian culture and related to the names of Hawaii; Savai'i, in Samoa; and Havaiki, the ancient name for Fakarava in the Tuamotu. According to recent findings, the Society Islands were colonised from Samoa and Tonga around 200 BC, about the same time as the Marquesas.