Raiatea, The Head Of The Octopus

The octopus represents all of the Polynesian islands from New Zealand (both islands) to Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, to Hawaii and even to Rapa Nui! Over a hundred islands. It represents a sort of map, though not scale (a scale map would be totally impractical). Rather the Polynesians thought in terms of island chains represented by the legs of the octopus. The islands are drawn on each leg in the order you would encounter them by following the recommended island hopping route. So it's much more practical than a Western-style scale map would be given the navigation techniques the Polynesians had at the time, which although they had no modern technology, were still quite sophisticated.

Closer view of the octopus:

Here the head of the octopus is named Havaii, because that was the original name of this island.
It was later changed to Raiatea to avoid conflict with the other Hawaii.

Raiatea has the most important of the marae [1], called Taputapuatea. As the head of the octopus, it contained navigational markers to aid in voyages to the other islands.

From the UNESCO site:

At the centre of the Taputapuātea marae complex is marae Taputapuātea itself, dedicated to the god ‘Oro and the place where the world of the living (Te Ao) intersects the world of the ancestors and gods (Te Po). It also expresses political power and relationships. The rise in the importance of Taputapuātea among the marae on Raiatea and in the wider region is linked to the line of Tamatoa ari’i (chiefs) and the expansion of their power. Taputapuātea was the centre of a political alliance that brought together two widespread regions encompassing most of Polynesia. The alliance was maintained by regular gatherings of chiefs, warriors and priests who came from the other islands to meet at Taputapuātea. The building of outrigger canoes and ocean navigation were key skills in maintaining this network.

[1] Marae are sacred ceremonial and social spaces that are found throughout Polynesia.