Tai Pī (province) in the context of "Typee"

Tai Pī is a province of Nuku Hiva, in the Marquesas Islands, an administrative subdivision of French Polynesia. The settlement follows the line of the valley and the stream that passes from its mountainous island surroundings.

Herman Melville (known as 'Tommo' in Melville's narrative) was famously marooned here when, as a young whaling ship sailor, he deserted ship with his shipmate, Toby Greene. This experience which lasted a total of four weeks was the subject of Herman Melville's first book Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life. He arrived the day the French sailed into Nuku Hiva and began firing their cannon, thus proclaiming it a French Protectorate.