Festival Day 1: Te Fenua Enata, the Land of Men

Given the large number of boats in the harbor, there is a very active grapevine for passing information. Some is via VHF Channel 16, some via Festival officials, and some from just standing around the water faucet loading up water containers.  We learned from Messaluna that the various island groups would be serving a traditional lunch (Grand KaiKai) representative of their local food, but the catch was you had to have a “traditional plate” for the traditional lunch to be served onto. We learned this meant a woven plate with a banana leaf on top. 

One of the French cruisers knew how to make these and she taught one of the women in our group, who then passed it on to the others. So on Dec. 14th I was commandeered to take some of the women ashore and hack down branches from a special palm tree to get the leaves that were used in the weaving process. Machete in hand, and feeling a little like Robinson Crusoe, we found the right kind of palm tree and quickly had four or five huge branches which we stripped down the center (very precisely since they need to be the right thickness) and washed them in the sea.

Sasha, Meryl, and Kim try their hand at making the woven plaited serving dishes.

From L to R: Jahn, Anne Marie, Katie, Sasha and Meryl with their finished plates.

Back at Flying Cloud the ladies from La Aventura and Maluhia were being taught by Katie off Messaluna in the intricacies of weaving a grass plate. With Katies’ excellent instruction the women soon had several plates woven and some even experimented with fancy handles, etc. Feeling more like Robinson Crusoe every day. 

I love this picture since it exemplifies the uninhibited nature of the Marquesan women and the intricate tattoos found in the Marquesan islands.

The next day we headed into the village to see if we could get some Early Bird Specials in the artisan areas. I was looking for a gift for my daughter and son-in-law (who will be visiting us in late March) and Meryl was looking for ear rings and necklaces. Each participant island had a special hut set aside for their artisans, but only a few were set up when we got there. We visited the Ua Poa hut and saw some outstanding necklaces and carvings. The artisans use polished shells, stones, and animal tusks in their art and the results were absolutely gorgeous. They wouldn’t accept money yet since the Festival wasn’t officially opened but we put some neat necklaces on lay away. 

The stone carvers from Fatu Hiva use modern power tools to shape and provide detail to the stone tikis.

Here an artisan uses a common hatchet to shape the rock, much like in the olden days.

These beautiful seed pods feature intricate designs that are carves using a Dremel motor tool.

The Marquesas are called Te Fenua Enata, the Land of Men. It’s a very macho culture here and it’s easy to see vestiges of the fierce warrior culture here in the hulking, tattoo covered Marquesan men, long considered some of the fiercest warriors in all of Polynesia.  Several men from Fatu Hiva (home to many famous wood and stone carvers) had started carving two large tikis with chainsaws, and two more men were making a tiki out of rock brought from Fatu Hiva using power grinders. It was interesting to see the islanders using some of my favorite tools, a Husqvarna chainsaw, a Makita grinder, and a Dremel motor tool, to make beautiful works of art. Many of the men were sporting intricate tribal tattoos and necklaces made of wild boar’s tusks that I assume they killed while hunting. 

The dignitaries from all around French Polynesia included the High Commissioner, the Mayor, and French Naval officers.

We headed back to the boat for lunch, then joined Roger and Sasha from Ednbal for the walk back into town for the opening of the Festival des Arts. We knew seating was going to be tough so we wanted to get there early, but we weren’t early enough. One half of the stands at the soccer stadium were already full (including some of our cruiser friends), so we tried sitting on the other side, only to find that area was reserved for dignitaries. We ended up sitting on the lawn right in front of the dignitary area and got a great view as the Festival opened with a parade of the various island’s participants like a mini Olympic Games. Each island entered the stadium following their standard bearers and dressed in traditional costumes (typically involving grass skirts for both the men and women.

A Fatu Hiva warrior astride a powerful Marquesan horse. These very spirited horses roam wild all over the Marquesan islands and can be seen crossing steep cliff faces and running along the steep ridge tops.

Fata Hiva was the first to arrive, followed by a large team from neighboring island of Tahuata sporting huge grass skirts and warrior men with boar’s tusk necklaces that looked like they’d slice your throat if you turned your head too quick.

The first delegation from Ua Huka flying the new Marquesan flag.

The Marquesan men sport fierce boar's tusk necklaces and intricate tattoos.

The dancer's costumes featured mostly natural materials.

The Marquesan women always seem to have a big smile on their face. Life is good here.

Next to arrive was Ua Huka, followed by Taki Toa (from the southern Gambier Islands), Riki Tea, representing Marquesans living in Tahiti, and finally our favorite team, the Rapa Nui, all the way from Easter Island. 

The Rapa Nui from Easter Island with their elaborate -- and abbreviated costumes -- were definitely a crowd favorite.

Many of the Rapa Nui had more European features than Polynesian.

Amazingly this warrior was hitting on the young French girl who explained she just flew in from Paris to help recover someone's sofa (I don't make this stuff up).

The Rapa Nui men were crowd (and woman) favorites in their white war paint and not much else (except a thin thong-type garment that seemed to contain a wild animal seeking to escape). The women were equally stunning with huge white feather headdresses and feather boa skirts. It was interesting that many of the Rapa Nui didn’t have the distinctive Polynesia features of the Marquesans and Tahitians, but seemed almost European in ethnicity. It turns out that Chile governed Easter Island and many Spanish people populated the island. It was strange to be greeted with an “hola” from the Rapa Nui.

As it began to get dark we were treated to the first of many dance performances during the course of the Festival, this time by the energetic Tahuata team, followed by Taki Toa and Nuku Hiva (one of the largest teams). In the midst of the final performances a torrential rain hit the stadium area, some of the heaviest rain I’ve every seen in my life (and I’m from Seattle and an expert on heavy rain). The dancers continued on, not missing a beat, including kids as young as five or six years old. We were huddled under golf umbrellas but as the performances came to an end we did an end run to the stadium building where we sat in the stands with the rain absolutely pouring off the sides of the building like a waterfall.

As it began to let up we had thought about having dinner at one of the many thatched hut restaurants that had been set up for the Festival, but saw a bus headed back to the harbor and jumped on with a crowd of other cruisers. Again, it’s 82 degrees down here and the rain is warm, but we were very glad we didn’t have to walk the three miles back to the boats that night. It was so fun being with Australians Roger and Sasha, as the Aussies seem to take every hardship as a chance to laugh and party. A fun ending to a great first day of the Festival.