Rapa Iti

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rapa or Rapa Iti as it is sometimes called in more recent years (to distinguish it from "Rapa Nui", one name for Easter Island), is the largest and only inhabited island of the Bass Islands. An older name for the island is Oparo[1] Rapa Iti is located at 27°35′00″S, 144°20′00″W. It is shaped roughly like a Greek final sigma (ς), with a well-protected central bay, surrounded by a ring of high mountains. The whole island appears very much to be the peak of a sinking volcano, with the bay as the caldera.

Its main town, often spelled on maps as Ahurei but pronounced by residents as Ha'urei (where ' denotes a glottal stop) is located on the south side of that bay. The people are Polynesian. In former times warfare is indicated by the 28 ridgetop forts. Today Rapa is home to the Tahitian Choir, in which a third of the island's population sing traditional songs.

Although sometimes considered part of the Austral Islands, the Bass Islands have a different geological, linguistic and cultural history. A description of the culture of Rapa is found in Rapan Lifeways (1970), by F. Allan Hanson.

[edit] Related Article

Rapan language

[edit] External links

• Communes of the Australs, contains maps of Rapa and the other islands
• Article about a scientific study on the social history and development of Rapa Iti society

Polynesia	Austral and Bass Islands - French Polynesia
Islands and communes: Raivavae | Rapa | Rimatara | Rurutu | Tubuai
Islets: Maria | Marotiri
Archipelagoes: Australs & Bass | Gambiers | Marquesas | Societies | Tuamotus