The next day, we hiked an hour up to the huge archeological site and arrived just before the 100+ cruise ship passengers. We had a chance to walk around the site by ourselves, except for the millions of blood-thirsty mosquitos! I had DEET head to foot and they were still biting me. Luckily, some friends that we met on Hiva Oa arrived and had some of the local bug spray. The ingredients included tiare flowers and citronella and it actually worked, thank goodness! At the entrance to one of site, there was a humongous banyan tree, estimated to be over 600 years old. It was so big it was hard to get a photo, so I took two.
(See Photos)
The cruise ship guides gave an explanation of the site(s). There were actually 3 connected sites: Kamuihei, Tahakia & Teiipoka. There had been hundreds of structures at the sites, which supported a population of an estimated 20,000 people - hard to believe! There were tiki (stone carvings), paepae (stone house platforms), me ae (temples), and tahua (ceremonial plazas) surrounded by moss-covered rocks everywhere. There were pits (ua ma) used to store breadfruit, taro and manioc (cassava) to feed the large population during periods of drought. The guide also pointed out another pit, by the large banyan tree, which was used to bury the remains from sacrifices and taboo objects. We saw two large petroglyphs and it is estimated that there are >500 petroglyphs around the sites.
(See Photos)
Then, there was a Marquesan Dance presentation. The seven dancers wore outfits made 100% from leaves. They danced to a drum beat and the dances were comprised of primitive warrior type movements, accompanied by grunting sounds. They performed the traditional "Pig Dance" in preparation for the traditional "Umu" pig roast. Not at all the Polynesian style dancing you see in the Society Islands and Hawaii.
The Umu Pig Roast was very interesting and is still a part of the Marquesan culture and lifestyle. But, it is reserved for special occasions, as it takes 2 hours to prepare and 4 hours to cook. They first dig the pit, prepare the fire, heat the rocks, then place the pigs and veggies on banana leaves, cover with several layers of leaves, layers of burlap, and finally, cover the whole thing with a mound of dirt. We got to watch a team of three people uncover the pigs, accompanied by roosters crowing the whole 10 minutes. Tony said it was the best pork he'd ever had, while I had the fish.
(See Video of Pig Roast)
More Later - G&T