Jean-Claude Teriierooiterai

Jean-Claude Teriierooiterai (1952[1] — 22 October 2020)[2] was a French Polynesian linguist and anthropologist. An advocate of the Tahitian language, he was a member of the Tahitian Academy.

Teriierooiterai grew up in Papenoo on the island of Tahiti, and was the grandson of Norwegian trader Bjarne Kroepelien.[1] At the age of 14 he was sent to school in New Caledonia, where he encountered the Wallisian language and wrote a Wallisian - Tahitian - French lexicon.[1] He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the Lycée technique de Nouméa, then returned to Tahiti.[1]

He worked as professor of Polynesian Culture at the University of French Polynesia and was president of the Fa’afaite-Tahiti Voyaging Society.[3]

In 2013 he defended a doctoral thesis on Polynesian navigation, on Myths, astronomy, time division and traditional navigation: the Oceanian heritage contained in the words of the Tahitian language.[4]

On 10 June 2013 he was inducted into the Tahitian Academy.[5][6]

In 2014 he worked with Marguerite Lai and the Artistic Conservatory of French Polynesia to produce Te Feti’a Avei’a, a dance production about the journey of a Polynesian canoe.[7] In 2019 his show Te Aho Nunui won the Heiva i Tahiti best author award.[8]

Teriierooiterai died in Paris in October 2020.[2][9] His book Le fabuleux voyage de la langue tahitienne ("The Fabulous Journey of the Tahitian Language") was published posthumously in 2022.[10]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d "Jean-Claude Teriierooiterai, l'enfant de Papenoo à la conquête des étoiles" (in French). Hommes de Polynésie. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b "L'intellectuel et académicien Jean-Claude Teriierooiterai est mort" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Jean-Claude Teriierooiterai est décédé" (in French). Polynesie1. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Mythes, astronomie, découpage du temps et navigation traditionnelle : l'héritage océanien contenu dans les mots de la langue tahitienne par Claude Teriierooiterai" (in French). theses.fr. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  5. ^ "2 immortels font leur entrée à l'Académie Tahitienne" (in French). Radio1. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Académie tahitienne : 2 nouveaux « maîtres de la langue »" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  7. ^ "L'étoile guide : une reconstitution historique au Marae Arahurahu" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Le souffle vital de O Tahiti E a enchanté To'atā" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Jean-Claude Teriierooiterai est décédé" (in French). TNTV News. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Langue tahitienne, un étonnant périple" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.