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Tahiti Churchgoers, French Polynesia, 1996

"Churchgoers in Sunday finery sweat out a sermon with the help of handheld fans in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia's steamy capital. Worshipers sit in same-sex groups, blending their voices in rousing himenes—Tahitian-style hymns. So transporting is the sound, vows one hearer, ‘it lifts you right out of your seat.’”

—From “French Polynesia: Charting a New Course,” June 1997, National Geographic magazine

Photograph by Jodi Cobb