Tehaapapa II


Maerehia of Raiatea and Tahaa, was a princess of Raiatea and Tahaa from the Tamatoa dynasty family, a Polynesian royal family. She was wife of Ari'imate of Huahine, founder of the Teururai dynasty which reigned on the Tahitian island of Huahiné and Maia'o during the 19th century. She was Queen of Huahine and Maia'o and later Queen regnant in her own right. Comteporary sources seems to call her Tehaapapa I instead, disregarding the ruling queen by the same name at the time Captain Cook visited the island.
Se was installed as Queen of Huahine in 1868 until her death in 1893.

Background

Born in Raiatea, princess Maerehia was the only surviving daughter of King Tamatoa of Ra'iatea and his commoner wife Mahuti of Vaiari. Thus, she belongs to the Tamatoa family, the most powerful royal family of the Society Island. She was the last member of the Tamatoa dynasty.
By her father's elder sister, Queen consort Tere-moe-moe of Tahiti, she is the only first cousin to Queen Pomare of Tahiti.

Queen consort

In the beginning of the 1850 year, a civil war deposed her father's other elder sister, Teri'itaria II. The main dignitaries chose chief Ari'imate to be king and that's why he assumed the sovereignty on 18 March 1852.
He was installed as king of Huahine in 1852. His crowning took place on March 18, 1852.
Princess Maerehia became Queen consort to her husband.

Queen regnant

Twenty year later, a new civil war deposed her husband in 1868. She succeeded him and took the reign name of Teha'apapa II.
In 1890, she accepted the French protectorate on her kingdom. She died among her family in 1893. Her granddaughter succeeded her under the name of Te-ha'apapa III.

Marriage and issue

She married in 1840 Chief Ari'imate of Té-faré-ri-i, and had twelve children:
Their children remain member to the royal family of the former kingdom of Huahine-Maia'o and Raiatea-Tahaa since the end of the monarchy.

Ancestry

Family