TAHITI

Te Ao Hou, July 1956, Page 28

TAHITI My Visit to Kinsmen of Ancient Days by Rangi Harrison I landed in tahiti on the 23rd of June and from this date on to about the 12th of July, I spent my time travelling around the island, mixing with the people and studying the language. The island of Tahiti consists of two parts, the bigger part being called Tahiti nui and the smaller Tahiti iti. These two parts are joined only by a narrow strip of land, with a road right around Tahiti nui, and on Tahiti iti on the east side the road goes as far as Tautira and on the western side as far as Te Ahupoo, leaving the end of the island (or the district of Pari as it is called) with no roads and quite in its primitive state. It is a very mountainous island with a strip of flat land running right around it, making it appear some-what like a hat in shape, with the hills covered in tropical forests and shrubs and coconut trees growing down to the water's edge. On the 13th of July Papeete was teeming with people, from England, America, France, Australia, New Zealand and many of the surrounding islands such as Fiji, Samoa, Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Hawaii, and from the Society Islands—Borabora, Raiatea, Hauhine—from the Tuamotu group and as far away as Rapa nui known as Easter Island. This great mixture of people were all here for the July Celebrations on the following day. That afternoon at 3 o'clock the guns were fired, being a sign that the Bastille celebrations were about to begin. I have never experienced anything like it, outside of Tahiti. Hundreds of Tahitians all dressed in their own costumes, filled the park or marae, and from there we all marched through town to the beat of Tahitian drums, ending up at the house of the Governor. Here before the Governor, speeches were made by all the different chiefs, gifts of sucking pigs, fowl and bananas were presented, and after all this was over we again followed the beat of the drums down to the waterfront. So began the Tiurae, as the Tahitians call it. I was surprised at the variety they had here, for there were merry-go-rounds, spinning wheels, darts, rifle range, food stalls, ice cream and drink stalls, and best of all, the dancing halls. All these places were built up along the waterfront, the frame work was timber, the roofs iron, and all the sides were thatched with ni-au leaves, the place being all lit up with many coloured lights. At night the show went on until one or two o'clock in the morning only closing in order to prepare for the next day which was only a few hours off. For two weeks this went on day and night, and I began to wonder how the people managed to carry on financially, as I was told that this was a very poor season for copra and prices were low. For three nights the dancing competitions were on from 8 o'clock until 12 o'clock, and I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it. From where I was sitting I was able to look down on the dancers as they performed, and what a performance. All the teams were competing in such dances as the otea, aparima, paoa, himinau, and finally a chant, or pehe as it is called. Each team had their own style of uniform and their own style of dancing. On Wednesday, 27th July, I went to the island of Moorea, about 20 miles away. As we entered Pao Pao Bay, you cannot imagine how thrilled I was at the sight before us, such beauty I had not seen before. That night we visited a village called Te Mae, where we were to see a dance done in real Tahitian fashion. On arrival at Te Mae, we were met on the road by men carrying flaming torches to show us the way, and as we entered the gateway I heard the cry of “Ia orana outou, haere mai.” When I heard this it was as if I was back home among my own Maori people. We were seated underneath trees on one end of the lawn, and after the chief had spoken to us and welcomed us to this island and his village, the fun began. Although I had seen the on' Tahiti in Papeete during the July celebrations, it was nothing like this. This was the on' Tahiti in reality. It was a lovely warm night, a green lawn surrounded by huge shady trees, and sweetly smelling flowers. The lawn was lit up by many hundred

burning torches and lanterns, and sitting around in front of us were the people of Te Mae village. Everyone dressed in their beautifully coloured on' costumes, and around their necks hung leis of gorgeously coloured flowers. Moe, piti, toru, yelled the dancing leader, and as the pahu's beat out the age-old island rythmn of Polynesia, so also did these people, old and young alike, perform dances that exist nowhere else in the world but Polynesia.