A quarter millennium since two worlds collided

All the UK hype around the Pacific this year is linked to the 250 year celebrations of Cook's first voyage around the Pacific. This includes the series Oceans Apart and Handmade Pacific on BBC4, that has been recently aired and stars members of my talented Rurutu family.
Cook left England in late August 1768, arriving in Tahiti on April 13th 1769 ( he then incidentally went on to "discover" Rurutu on August 13th 1769, with just a little help from his Tahitian interpreter-navigator Tupaia!). It seems like an appropriate moment to reflect on where history has taken both societies since then.
While we can know little of really how the Polynesians themselves experienced these first encounters, the accounts being predominantly European, it is fascinating to put yourself in the place of characters like Ahutoru, a Tahitian who returned to France with Bougainville, or Tupaia, Cook's Tahitian interpreter during the first voyage, and Omai (pictured here), a Tahitian who made it to England after Cook's second voyage, and the only one of the three who made it back to his islands - bringing livestock and a coat of armor, among other gifts (pictured right)!

The anniversary has also motivated several interesting exhibitions of Polynesian objects, many of which, much like our own ti'i A'a, are lingering in museum collections outside the Pacific. One such exhibition, called Oceania will be opening at the Royal Academy in London this week, and will be attended by the French Polynesian Minister of Culture among others! An occasion for Polynesians to reclaim their cultural identity, to make sense of all that was lost, forgotten and stolen over the intervening centuries. Today, after the far-reaching effects of introduced diseases, that literally decimated the populations of our islands, and the arrival of Christianity and the cultural upheaval that it brought, it is heart-warming to see the Polynesians rediscovering their roots, and moving forwards. The dynamism and innovation that we are seeing here in the world of contemporary art is simply thrilling. It's an exciting time to live in French Polynesia!

A momentous weekend

While I spent the weekend looking a bit like this, in Tahiti at the salon du tourisme, drumming up business, caught up in the usual social whirl..........our friends in Hawaii were hosting a Rurutu evening, to honor the trip and share Rurutu taro growing practices they learned, when they visited us back in July.... and to premier the short film they made about their experience and the traditional lifestyle here...

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, my cousin Michael married Amy, a beautiful wedding by all accounts, Aunty Sue and Uncle Dave were both looking very distinguished! Sad to have missed it but thankful for facebook! Wishing the happy couple a long and contented life together!
And if that's not enough I also just got confirmation that Viriamu will be coming soon to British screens as part of a series about the impact of first encounters in the Pacific! BBC4 September 17!

Talking about his cultural heritage, looking a bit like this!

Then just afterwards, his very talented mother will be starring in this series, showcasing Rurutu pandanus hat-weaving!

Looking a bit like this!

A veritable Rurutu bonanza on BBC4!!!

The end of the long holidays!

Yesterday it was back to school....
The kids were dutifully by the side of the road, ready and raring to go! Amai in his last year of kindergarten, Heimana in CM1 and Mato already in her second year of highschool in 5eme. It's gone real quick, but a lot has happened!

The guest house has been busy as ever, the whales arrived early this year and the season already seems to have been in swing for a while. I counted seven on my way to the store yesterday!



There was also the heiva to distract us with a couple of weeks of festivities. This is one of my favourite events, not as glam as the dancing, but worth a look! Starch weighing - heaviest taro/bananas/tapioca roots, in different categories!
There was Heimana's birthday lost in the middle of it all, along with the horse race and our Hawaiian group.

 The week of taro related and cultural exchanges were pretty intense, and Viriamu was in his element as the taro master! Here's hoping we'll make it over to visit them in a year or two, to see how it's done in Hawaii.

Mahie caused a storm by pouding taro, an activity exclusively reserved for Rurutu men.....those radical Hawaiian wahines.

 Then the rest was a blur of holiday rush and translating - Air Tahiti Nui celebrates its twentieth very soon, and boy do I know a lot about it all now!

So, here we are on the other side, looking forwards to an outing to Tahiti for our biannual salon.

A Polynesian taro saga

Taro is an important part of the lives of people here in Rurutu, you could argue that it's the foundation of our culture. Farming it definitely remains a living tradition. Viriamu's brother Meta supplies frozen taro to a supermarket in Tahiti, it earns him a modest living. I have blogged a fair bit about taro, but the subject is definitely going to be a recurring one!

We probably have the largest single expanse of taro field in French Polynesia, in our village Avera. It was being cultivated when Captain Cook quickly passed by Rurutu in 1769, and likely for a long time before that.
Last year, we were lucky enough to be featured in the Hana Hou, Hawaiian Airlines inflight magazine. Not only did we get a fabulous article in the magazine and great photos, but we also got to meet Shannon and Elyse, but now it is also bringing us a steady trickle of Hawaiian guests, interested in Rurutu and above all taro!  Turns out there are lots of kalo farmers in Hawaii, also keen to make connections with taro farmers here!


Next week we are privileged to welcome a group from Oahu, from the Ho'okua'aina project, seeking a cultural exchange and taro farming bonanza. They've chosen the perfect (if chilly) time of year, slap bang in the middle of the heiva festivities! It's going to be lots of fun!