In the Marquesas Islands, Polynesia, the large rectangular ceremonial plaza - flat areas surrounded by raised platforms. The grounds were used for ceremonies and daily social gatherings. This complex of structures, often 600 feet (200 meters) or more in length, was generally built upon a huge artificial terrace carved out of a slope. Surrounding the plaza atop the terrace were the houses of the tribal chiefs and priests, temples and other sacred structures, and long sheds for spectators. At one end, there was usually a temple with a sacred banyan tree in which were suspended the packaged bones of the illustrious dead of the tribe. A large example is Vahangeku'a in Taipivai Valley.