Heiva i Tahiti Tu’aro Ma’ohi 2026 - Timau Ra’au - Team Vaihi

Filmed and edited by Johann Hironui Bouit Location: Pape’ete, Tahiti Featuring some of the runners from Team Vaihi who made podium: Mark Mair (3rd place in Feia ‘Api 19yrs & under) Maviri Gauthier (1st place Open Tane) Ta’ito’a Gauthier (3rd place Tamari’i 13-16yrs) Heiva i Tahiti Tu’aro Ma’ohi is an annual Traditional Sport event in Tahiti that has a long history and more recently, since 2015, Teams from Hawai’i, Aotearoa, Cook Islands and more have been invited to learn about, participate in and share culture together. While the event is competitive, the goal is for unity, education and perpetuation of ancestral indigenous practices of Oceania and beyond. Tahiti Mana and Team Vaihi host a similar event on O’ahu in the Hawaiian Islands called Te Moana Nui Games that is inspired by Tahiti’s event and is always under the guidance of the President of Tahiti’s Temoananui Ancestral Heritage Foundation, Enoch Laughlin as well as the Vice President, Manarii Gauthier who is also director of Team Vaihi & Tahiti Mana. Te Moana Nui Games’ objective is to help perpetuate the Tu’aro Ma’ohi and bring the Pacific Islanders together in friendly competition. Teams from Tahiti come each year to Hawai’i to compete and also help train the inexperienced athletes. There has also been a strong Māori presence in the past as well as Samoan, Chuukese, Pohnpei, Filipino and of course, Hawaiian athletes. Most recently there was indigenous Alaskan (Inuit), participation and their sports were shared in an exchange. Each year new connections and bonds are built. The interest in the sports has grown incredibly since Te Moana Nui Games first year in 2016. There is now a similar event in Miami in collaboration with the Black Belt Paddler event as well as many more events in the works. As the Traditional Tahitian Sports are celebrated more and more, it is an objective of the people of Ma’ohi Nui, also known more commonly as French Polynesia, to keep the events and practices under Ma’ohi guidance so the protocol and heritage stays in the hands of the people it comes from as it expands around the world. Te Moana Nui Games occurs at Waimea Valley each November featuring Stone Lifting, Fruit Carrying Race, Coconut Tree climb contests in collaboration with the Hawaiian Makahiki Games.