Tahaa was according to legend detached from Raiatea by a sacred eel possessed by the spirit of a princess. Raiatea itself is recognized throughout Tahiti as the "Sacred Island", the cultural heart of all Polynesia. It is believed by historians that Raiatea was the main stopover point for early Polynesians newly arrived from Hawaii, then known as Hav'aii.
Tahaa soft mountain shapes and filigree coastline has been nicknamed "the vanilla island" because of its many plantations. Vanilla here is known as the Black Gold!
The several motu with their stunning white sandy beaches and the turquoise-toned lagoon charm every visitor. It is also a unique place in Polynesia for the fact that it is possible to circumnavigate by boat the island from the protected waters of the lagoon!
In the bay of Faaaha, where the God Hiro was born around 1490, is today marked by but a few stones - and many legends. He is famous throughout Polynesia for navigating to the distant islands of Hawaii and New Zealand using only the stars as a guide.
We loved the Motu where the Pirogue Hotel can be found and Tautau with its lovely Coral Garden for the pleasure of snorkelers. Fish are not shy and plentiful, very curious about the swimmers!
Here is one legend that I like very much explaining the origin of the coconut and that one can find the eyes and the mouth of the eel on their shell:
"Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess daughter of the moon's son. Her name was Hina. She was so beautiful that lightening came out of her body.
She was destined in marriage to Lake Vahiria's King who was a disgusting eel. Hina ran away and went under the protection of the important Maui, who stops and adjusts the sun.
From the cliff of Vairo, they saw the eel that was coming to pick up Hina. Maui through his hook and screamed : "from my fief no king can escape. He will become food for my gods."
The eel swell the hook, was captured and the head was cut off. Maui wrapped the animal in a piece of Tapa and gave it to Hina advising her not to put the parcel on the ground before she reached her house. "The head of the eel contains great treasures for you".
But Hina forgot the parcel on the floor. The tapa went open and the head of the eel faced the floor. Young shoots came out and the first coconut trees were born."
I discovered something else very interesting on Tahaa, jewelry made from the giant black mussels. I will have to try and work this new medium but first I need to find some!
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We left Tahiti at sunset with our local friends excited of the week-end ahead. This was an easy night watch!!
They took us all the way south of the island: in Parea. What a gorgeous spot, after a lot of eating, talking, singing, drinking and the usual frolicking on the beach or in the water, we went for diner at the Mauarii Pension, a very picturesque restaurant on the beach. The next day we explored the two islands by dinghy and moved to Fare for our friends to fly back to Papeete. The village is really cute and everyone so friendly!
Restored Tahitian maraes (temples) and centuries-old stone fish traps tell the story of an ancient culture whose proud descendants still reside in this magnificent paradise. Huahine is an agricultural island, rich with watermelons and cantaloupes. Vanilla, coffee and taro plantations are plentiful, as are groves of breadfruit, mango, banana, papaya and flowers. International surfing champions seek the massive waves at Avamoa Pass, and the world's largest outrigger canoe race, the Hawaiki Nui Va'a, begins here each October.
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After nearly three months it is time for us to leave Moorea, our enchanted island of the Pacific. With heavy hearts we are lifting the anchor and thinking of all the good souvenirs and friends we had made here. A special thoughts to Carl&Minette, Jean-Louis&Agnes, all onboard Askari, Sandrine&Florian from the Aquadisco, Bill&Mary, Eugenie&Milly&Tim and all the others which I will not forget... Maruru, Nana.
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The most incredible dancing troop of the Pacific, the "Ballet de Tahiti".
The Tahitian styles of dancing are:
Te Mahana Hiro'a O Tahiti includes two basic types of Tahitian dancing:
• Otea " the famous hip-shaking dance of Tahiti performed to the syncopated rhythm of wooden to'ere and other drums Click here to learn how the dancers move. May take a few minutes to download.
• Aparima " a fast dance performed to music, including the Tahitian ukulele.
the finer points of the otea include having a theme or story line "that can be seen through the dance. The dancers also do 'orero, a formal speech."
The Otea style of dancing includes:
• Paoa " where the dancers sit in a circle and chant while select members dance inside the circle;
• Hivinau, where everyone in the circle chants while dancing.
During competition and the famous Heiva in June & July:
"The dancers must do the paoa and hivinau. The judges are also looking for poise and synchronization". "We're very particular that the girls' feet are flat on the ground and their legs are not spread. Also, their hips need to move without their shoulders shaking."
"The boys need to do the pa'oti " the scissoring " with strong movements of the legs, while bending down and keeping the back straight. And, of course, they've got to sustain these movements. Tahitian dancing is very vigorous.
When our Tahitian friends came for dinner on Blue Dawn we had the good surprise to find out that the winner of the 2009 taure'are'a was with them. This 10 years old boy gave us a very expressive dance and storytelling show!
Click Here to check out the Website for the competition!
Click Here to See Pictures of Ballet de Tahiti!
Click Here to enjoy it live with the Video!
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While being in Cook's Bay, we met the most amazing Tahitians, the locals are always really friendly but those guys are the types which you can count as exceptional! Carl & Minette, Jean-Louis & Agnes have been such fabulous hosts, trying to do a lot of special things for us. This turned out to be a perfect timing as our long time friends, Bill & Mary just arrived from Aussie.
We had such a laugh when they took us on their sport fishing boat, Geoff is never interested in fishing (or I must say will not even touch a fish unless filleted in his plate) and they made him bring one back on board. Check out the video, this one is for you Michael, Captain Blight is still there! To thanks them we had a diner party on the boat, the 10 of us were quite loud and drunk by 1am. The children gave us a private show of dance and storytelling, cannot get better than that! It is really good a we have our good friend Bill & Mary from Australia with us on the boat!
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Making landfall late in the afternoon with the sun setting behind Moorea; the spectacle was incredible. We could not wait to reunite with these islands, their beauty and their people. We have kept after 12 years on the boat a fresh feeling of Moorea.
We tried to anchor in Tahiti but there was no room for us so the next day we headed towards our little home away from home: Cook's Bay.
On the picture, wednesday night show at the Bali Hai Hotel with my friends Rosie & Emma of Askari.
Below is a Video of the Ballet of Tahiti, an amazing 2 hours of traditional singing and dancing.
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Kauehi
We arrived early in the morning and had the nice surprise to found out from the Maire that we were only the second boat to land this year!!!! So you can imagine the happiness and excitement of the locals... Everyone was friendly and received us with open arms; schools of children will follow us around, the villagers wanted to give us so much...And even their food; Emerita cooked for me a Coconut crab (locally known as Kaveu) which looked like a huge hermit crab without a shell. It is actually a funny story, I waited for my friends on Loon3 to try it out (I was not courageous enough to try it on my own). Emerita and her husband told me that the derriere of the beast (how strange) was the best part: like fois gras! And we've got to that part we all made a face and spat it out, it was disgusting. Thanks god, the rest was yummy with a slight taste of coconut. It is the largest land-living arthropod in the world and is known for its ability to crack coconuts with its strong pincers in order to eat the contents. If they get your finger or so the only solution according to the locals: It may be interesting to know that in such a dilemma a gentle titillation of the under soft parts of the body with any light material will cause the crab to loose its hold.
The Maire also own a pearl farm and we went on his truck the eight of us for a tour, it was really interesting and we could not resist purchasing a few, we were in heaven sitting behind a table covered in the ravishing pearls....
Before living I gave a few presents to my new friends and took the children for several dinghy rides, it was an unusual sight, the dinghy was really low on the water with little kids hanging on all sides and screaming at the top of their lungs! I think I could have gone deaf if it were more children in the village.
Such a great time....
Fakarava
First of all if anyone would like the routes for C-MAP of Fakarava passage from North to South, South anchorage and/or south pass please email me.
This atoll was more touristic so we did not interact with the locals as much but we were repaid by the beauty of the reef and a large amount of sea creatures. The sail down south inside the lagoon was really nice and we enjoyed Tetemanu tremendously: sandbars, lone palm trees, incredible hue of blues from the water mixing with the sky, pink sand, numerous shell's expedition with my girlfriends, fabulous snorkeling in the pass with the sharks. This is my kind of place!
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Click Here to Follow us on a Pearl Farm Tour!
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Ia Ora Na
I laid my eyes upon the horizon; gigantic black shadows were blocking the skyline. A rugged, forbidden place was forming before me, my heart was pounding, I was in the Marquesas. It all came back to me; the legends, the skins covered with magnificent tattoos, the incredible nature and its proud people. I could taste its power through every pore of my body and excitement filled me.
Like a spell, all I could think of were the colossal dark peaks covered in the most amazing thick jungle, their summits always hidden in masses of clouds. It is in there that all the magic was still alive, everything was possible! In my head the words from Thorn Eyerdhal book "Fatu Hiva" were echoing happily...
But let's stop a minute and go back in time to study the local history.
"Geography profoundly influenced the Marquesans and their culture. The isolation of the different groups hidden away in deep valleys and separated by precipitous ridges and stretches of no-man's land discouraged the development of political unity and fostered a more egalitarian, albeit territorial society.
Whether by right of descent or personal prowess, there arose individuals who elevated themselves above the others and whose ambition drove them to conquer and establish a hierarchy of professional priests, artisans, warriors and advisors. A large agricultural surplus under the control of these petty chiefs gave them the means to promote their own power and prestige. This led in turn to the creation of elaborate religious and ceremonial structures and the general enrichment of material culture, both religious and secular.
As the powerful expansionist chiefs sought the domination of neighboring groups, inter-tribal skirmishing and cannibalism became common, and weak or defeated groups were frequently forced to leave the islands in search of a new home. By approximately 1300, the Marquesans had probably already reached the estimated population maximum of 100,000. Huge fortification complexes were built on the central plateaus of the islands. Earthworks, wooden and stone palisades and other defensive structures commanded high observation points, and massive ditches and channels rendered access between the individual valley difficult.
The nature of the islands led to the development of a proud, independent people given to conflict and tribal exclusivity, a basic unity and underlying stability was nevertheless maintained throughout the islands.
Communication and cultural exchange between hostile groups was sustained through great fetes and important ceremonial occasions to which all were invited and animosity (at least to a degree) was put aside. Traveling craftsmen such as tattooers and canoe builders, certain high-ranked individuals and groups of performing artists were all free to travel unmolested throughout the land and were instrumental in maintaining cultural homogeneity. In this milieu of cultural interchange and competitiveness, Marquesan craftsmen developed great skill in carving and decorating wood, stone and bone, and developed a rich repertory of surface designs and patterns, some of a type to be found throughout Polynesia, others distinctively Marquesan in origin and concept. The image most favored by Marquesan artisans was that of the wise and potent ancestor Tiki, recognized generally through Polynesia as the creator of the human race.
They also placed great emphasis on sexuality in both secular and religious spheres. Sexual prowess an important element of religious ritual and everyday life. Public sexual play was an important part of many ceremonies, particularly those concerning the fertility of the land, circumcision and the tattooing of young males. Sexual orgies were held to stimulate the ancestors' spirits to their own sexual activity, which in turn was believed to increase the fertility of the land.
The first European to visit the Marquesas was Alvaro de Mendana, who arrived in 1595, named the islands Las Islas de Marquesa de Mendoza and claimed them for Spain. Although de Mendana's journal described the natives as friendly and welcoming, nevertheless, over 200 of them were killed in separate incidents with the Spaniards.
Nearly two centuries were to pass before the next white visitor, Captain James Cook, arrived in 1774. Although this visit was less traumatic, blood was still spilled. More disastrously, Cook's expedition had the effect of opening the Marquesas to the outside world. The introduction of firearms, alcohol, and a multitude of diseases decimated the local population and contributed to an element of self-destructive anarchy. And then missionary groups did their best to destroy the traditions of singing and dancing, the use of Marquesan musical instruments, wearing of native dress, kava-drinking, the use of turmeric (it led to immoral ways) and of course, tattooing, which was viewed as a heathen practice."
A history that had always fascinated me: with its fierce warriors, its myths and cannibalism. This you cannot see anymore which is unfortunate or maybe not! But in their art it is still alive and the very ancient people can tell you some scary stories which might even keep you awake at night.
They are very skillful at carving wood and bones from the most impressive Tiki god, to intricate necklaces and "casse-tête" (which is the French word for a type war club). We went to one of my favorite village, Hapatoni on Tahuata Island, famous for "les sculpteurs". There are very pleased to let you wander around checking their work and giving you explanations. I've got a few tips and lessons along the way and I could not resist buying another deadly weapon. A spear was added to my collection of unusual objects. I just had to get some bones now to try out these new designs. After meeting the local tattoo artist in Nuku Hiva (see picture above), I told him of my problem and he answered me: "Do not worry, I am a carver as well and I will bring you the dear material in the afternoon". I was quite frankly more impress by his person than what he was telling me, dancing along his face were stunning tribal tattoos, a long tail of feathers on the back of his head were moving in the breeze and some traditional jewelry ornate his body. I clicked back into reality and thank him. A few hours later I was proudly holding my rather big bones, will see...
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