Faaite

Atoll in French Polynesia

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16°43′S 145°19′W / 16.717°S 145.317°W / -16.717; -145.317ArchipelagoTuamotusArea227 km² (88 sq mi) (lagoon)
8.87 km² (3.42 sq mi) (above water)Length28 km (17.4 mi)Width10.5 km (6.52 mi)Administration

France

Overseas collectivityFrench PolynesiaAdministrative subdivisionTuamotusCommuneAnaaLargest settlementHitianau (pop. 246)DemographicsPopulation401^[1] (2012)Pop. density8/km² (21/sq mi)

Faaite, or Faaiti^[2] is an atoll of the Tuamotus in French Polynesia. It is located 60 kilometres (37 miles) to the north of Anaa Atoll. The total surface of the atoll is 227 square kilometres (88 square miles) Its dry land area is 8.87 square kilometres (3.42 square miles). Its length is 28 kilometres (17 miles) and its width 10.5 kilometres (6.5 miles). The total population as of 2012^[update] is 401 inhabitants.

Faaite's inner lagoon has a navigable channel to the ocean. The main village is Hitianau, with a total population of 246.

History

The first recorded sighting of the atoll by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernández de Quirós on 11 February 1606. It was charted as Decena (ten in Spanish).^[3] John Turnbull rediscovered it in 1802. Turnbull was the first retailer of the Pacific who used the route of Tahiti to Hawaii. Russian oceanic explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen visited Faaite in 1820 on the ships Vostok and Mirni. He named this atoll "Miloradovich".

From September 2 to September 4, 1987, the population experienced a collective hysteria incited by a religious leader from the "Charismatic Renewal" who convinced the locals the island was inhabited by the Devil. Six islanders were thrown into a fire and burned alive in an exorcism frenzy.^[4]^[5]

Administration

Administratively Faaite belongs to the commune of Anaa, which includes the inhabited atoll of Faaite and the uninhabited atolls of Tahanea and Motutunga.

Transport

The island is connected to the world via Faaite Airport.

References

^ "Population". Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie française. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
^ Young, J.L. (1899). "Names of the Paumotu Islands, with the old names so far as they are known". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 8 (4): 264–268. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
^ Beltrán y Rozpide, Ricardo "Las islas Tuamotu", Boletín de la Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid. t.XV, 2º semestre de 1881, pp-7-54.
^ "Death sect charges". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 58, no. 11. 1 November 1987. p. 32. Retrieved 3 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Faaite : 30 ans après, personne n'a oublié" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2023.