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Marriage and Family Tahitian families often used to be
large, usually with many children and several generations sharing a home.
Couples may still live with the husband's or wife's parents for a time
after marriage, but increased contact with western
culture has led to a trend towards nuclear
families. Family ties are very strong. In Polynesian culture,
children are highly valued and their upbringing is often shared by
grandparents or other sets of adoptive parents (faamu).
In the past, marriage partners were chosen by the
family, but today young people have greater freedom in choosing partners.
The tradition of celebrating marriages with feasts and festivities still
endures.
Diet and Eating Tahitians eat three meals
a day. The main meal is eaten in the middle of the day. Breakfast usually
consists of bread and a hot drink. The evening meal is also light, except
when it is a special occasion or when people are dining in a restaurant.
The Tahitian diet consists of fish and other seafood, chicken, pork, sweet
potatoes, breadfruit, rice, and local fruit and vegetables such as papaya,
mangoes, pineapples, bananas, and fafa,
a type of spinach.
Banana or papaya po'e
(purées) are often baked, covered with sugar and coconut milk, and served
hot for dessert. Coconut milk is also used in chicken or pork casseroles
that contain fafa. Fish is often marinated before being baked or grilled. Poisson
cru is raw fish marinated in lime juice, often served as part
of a salad. On special occasions people have a traditional feast (tama'ara'a).
People in Tahiti enjoy Chinese cooking and French
and other Western cuisine, as well as traditional indigenous
foods. Etiquette varies according to family practices and the kind of
dishes being eaten. Traditional Tahitian food is eaten with the fingers,
Chinese food with chopsticks, and Western food with knives and forks.
Although it may be considered impolite to refuse an offer of food, leaving
some food on the plate ensures that further helpings are not served and
reassures the host that the guest has been well fed.
Socializing Tahitians shake hands when
they meet, and use French greetings such as Bonjour
(“Good day”) in formal situations. It is impolite not to shake hands
with every person in a small gathering. Women might kiss each other on the
cheek when greeting, especially after a long separation. A traditional
Tahitian phrase of welcome is Ia orana!
Tahitians (and French Polynesians in general)
emphasize joie de vivre, or
“joy of life”. A favourite maxim is, “If you act like old friends
when you first meet, you will soon feel that you are.”. Tahitian
hospitality is such that guests may be offered a meal and the host family
will watch them enjoy it, but not eat themselves. Compliments on the
hosts’ family and home are welcomed, but a guest might cause
embarrassment if he or she singles out a specific item for praise. It is
customary to remove one’s shoes before entering the home.
Recreation Tahitians spend much of
their free time socializing, and parties and other festivities play an
important part in their lives. Soccer is the national sport, but Tahitians
participate in many others, such as boxing, volleyball, basketball,
canoeing, windsurfing, swimming, fishing, and diving. Other popular
recreational activities include watching television, going to the cinema,
and dancing.
Holidays and Celebrations National holidays include
New Year's Day (1 January), Easter Monday, Labour Day (1 May), Ascension,
Pentecost Monday, National Bastille Day (14 July), the Feast of the
Assumption (15 August), Toussaint
(All Saints' Day, 1 November), Armistice Day (11 November), and Christmas
Day (25 December). In France, Bastille Day
commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789, at the start of the
French Revolution. In Tahiti, the Tiurai
(July) festivities, which take place during the middle two weeks of the
month, provide an opportunity to celebrate Tahitian culture. Festivities
include parades, athletics events, dancing, and cultural events. Dance and
song competitions are popular, especially during Heiva
Taupiti, a season of celebrations that begins in May and
culminates with the Tiurai.
For
more general information
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