Hidden treasures :

Maré is made up of imposing limestone structures of coral origin, bearing the mark of a rugged geological past. It is a former atoll that was gradually lifted. The great central plateau was the bottom of the lagoon, and the surrounding cliffs were the barrier reefs. Jo’on Peu, custodian of the padoku, the Maré word for chefferie or chieftaincy, will take you along a path that runs around the inner rim of the cliffs. It wanders through a maze of grey and white rocks, a place of unreal, untouched beauty. Numerous plants have found a home in the most improbable places. Banyan-tree roots dangle down and imprison the limestone walls. Round a bend, perched on the twisted branch of a tree, a parrot watches our slow progress through the forest. Among the trees that live, die and sometimes fall to the ground, there are clearings where flowers of light blossom.

To get an insight into the soul of the Guahma District, you cannot have a better or more friendly guide than Jo’on. He has a keen eye for his country, in which the birdsong, the shape of the rocks, the wind rustling through the leaves, and the voices of people are all familiar to him. Gazing around the grey-white veil of the Laasicen Cliffs, Jo’on tells the story of his land and his special, almost physical, relationship with its fertile soil. It is a story that merges collective imagination and reality. His ancestors are there, behind each stone, in each hole. From time to time in a nook or cranny, piles of wood placed on the ground indicate the entrance to mysterious cavities guarded by the spirit of the ancestors… Paa Gutinic (grandmother Gutinic) watches over her children. He finds the words to make you think, search and dream. He can also be very direct in proclaiming, exposing and undermining our Cartesian certainties.