Repackaging Tradition in Tahiti?: Mono'i and Labels of Origin in French Polynesia

the French government granted Mono de Tahiti (coconut oil scented with tiare [Gardenia taitensis] flowers) an appellation d'origine (ao), or label of origin (jorf 1992). Though this French scheme of protected geographical indications (gis) originated in the early twentieth century, mono was the first product from a French overseas territory to receive such a designation. This milestone formally recognized and protected the unique environmental and cultural heritage said to be embodied by the oil, together with its claims to ancestral virtues. Yet the production standards enshrined by ao law emphasize industrial-manufacturing processes developed since World War II. The reality of contemporary production sits in tension with the imagined heritage that is marketed to tourists and foreign consumers, as well as the history and continued uses of mono'i within Polynesian communities.