Editing Tahiti (section)

=== Death ===
[[File:W. Woolett engraving after William Hodges of a toupapow, or funeral bier, and Chief Mourner, from Cook's 2nd voyage to Tahiti.jpg|thumb|W. Woolett engraving after [[William Hodges]] of a ''toupapow'', or funeral [[bier]], and Chief Mourner, from Cook's 2nd voyage to Tahiti]]
[[File:Tahitian Parae, or Chief Mourner costume, on display in the Bishop Museum.jpg|thumb|upright|Tahitian Parae, or Chief Mourner costume, on display in the [[Bishop Museum]]]]
The Tahitians believed in the afterlife, a paradise called Rohutu-no{{okina}}ano{{okina}}a. When a Tahitian died, the corpse was wrapped in [[barkcloth]] and placed on a funeral bier, ''fare tupapa {{okina}}u'', which was a raised canoe awning on posts surrounded by bamboo. Food for the gods was placed nearby to prevent them from eating the body, which would condemn the spirit to the underworld. Mourners would slash themselves with shark's teeth and smear the blood on barkcloth placed nearby. Most importantly, the Chief Mourner donned the ''parae'', an elaborate costume that included an [[iridescence|iridescent]] mask made of four polished pearl shell discs. One disk was black, signifying Po, the spirit world, while one was white, signifying Ao, the world of people. A crown of red feathers signified {{okina}}Oro. A curved wooden board, ''pautu'', below the mask contained five polished pearl shells, which signified Hina, the moon goddess. Hanging below were more shells in rows, ''ahu-parau'', representing the [[Pleiades]], believed to be the eyes of former chiefs. Finally, a ceremonial garment, ''tiputa'', covered the body and was decorated with an apron of polished coconut shells, ''ahu-{{okina}}aipu''.<ref name=Anne/>{{rp|151–152,177–179,308}}