in the beginning, Ta’aroa, the Polynesian god, created the world. From his spinal column, he made the mountains, his tears became oceans, rivers and lakes... From his feathers and the first men he made vegetation and plants came into being, including the banana, mei’a by its Tahitian name. it is one of most consumedfruits in the world, particularly so in French Polynesia where every garden, public or private, has several plants. What is the significance of this fruit in Polynesia ? Just like many plants found in French Polynesia, certain species of banana, musa paradisiaca and musa troglodytarum for instance, were brought along in the voyaging canoes of the first Polynesian explorers, arriving from southeast asia, more than a thousand years ago. other species (musa sapientum and musa nana) and varieties were introduced later, after the arrival of the first european navigators. These recent introductions have caused certain varieties to disappear and have created hybrid varieties. This makes it diffcult to be absolutely sure which species and varieties were initially present. Bananas have always been an integral part of Polynesian life. The bunches of bananas were cut when they were green, just before they were ripe and hungup where they would not be pecked at and eaten by birds. When there was to be a tāmā’ara’a’a (Tahitian word for a large meal) and the bananas were not yet ripe enough, the bunches would be placed together in ditches to speedup the process : after a few days the bananas would have ripened. NATURE The leaves were and are stillused as a tablecloth and also to cover the ahimā’a, the traditional earth oven. in the Marquesas, the flattened banana stems are laid onto the heated stones in the traditional oven to prevent the food from burning, and to provide moisture for steaming the foodstuffs. The varied uses of the plant demonstrate its importance in Polynesian culture. A botanical overview contrary to what you might imagine, bananas are not woody plants but herbs. They belong to the Musaceae family, gigantic herbs that growup to 10 meters talland can be found near habitations at low altitude and/or in the mountains, depending on the species and variety. a tropical plant, mei’a prefer to grow in humid places and thrive in moderate sunshine. The banana plant is madeup of different parts, offshoots from the base that formnew plants, a false trunk – really just a thick stem – that supports the leaves, and a flower spike, bearing female flowers that produce fruits at the top of the stem and male flowers near the tip. The fruits don’t usually have seeds, reproducing more often via the shoots that growup from the roots of the mother plant. The shoots can be removed and propagated. it takes about one year for a young shoot to mature and produce fruits. The plant can fruit all year ‘round. les Feuilles De Bananier sonT uTilisées coMMe naPPes lors De GranDs rePas eT serVenT aussi À enVeloPPer les aliMenTs lors De la cuisson Dans le Four TraDiTionnel (Ahimā’A). BANANA leAves Are used As A TABleCloTh duriNg lArge meAls, BuT Also To wrAp Foods Cooked iN The TrAdiTioNAl eArTh oveN (ahiMā’a).