Tahiti Cultural Exchange – July 2009

08/11/09

Pasifika Foundation Hawai‘i was invited to visit Tahiti to meet with the members of the Maohinesia Association, a community group formed in 2002 (originally known as the Polynesian Triangle Association). The mission of the Maohinesia Association is to contribute to development in the Maohi Islands in the areas of culture, education, social well-being, sport and environment, with a special emphasis on cultural preservation, perpetuation and celebration. The association’s objectives go beyond Tahiti to include the entire Polynesian Triangle.

Noah Ha’alilio Solomon, a Hawaiian culture and language student at UH-Manoa who has been working with PFH’s CBHV project team for two years, traveled to Tahiti in July with a two-fold purpose; to meet with the members of the Maohinesia Association and create a connection between our organizations; and to explore aspects of community-based hosting of visitors as is practiced in Tahiti. Here is his report of his experiences.

Cultural Exchange – Pueu/Taravao and Mahina, Tahiti
As a project member on Pasifika Foundation Hawaii’s team, I was privileged to participate in a cultural exchange in Tahiti in the middle part of July this year. The purpose of this week-long exchange was for the proper education of Tahitian traditions and customs to visitors in a Tahitian family/community setting, while the participant lives among them, participating in the daily activities, helping with daily chores, and becoming integrated within the family/community.

The first part of the stay was hosted by Tere Fearon, a woman from a small island called Rakahanga in the northern part of Rarotonga. She communicates in English, French, Tahitian, and the dialect of Rarotongan native to her birth island.

On the first day, Tere and her dog Haku took a few friends and I to the beach, a small, quiet cove below her home in Mahina. We talked about the various fish and plants native to Tahiti, and how others were common in Hawai‘i. It’s always my thrill to unexpectedly come across plants that we have here as well, like laua‘e (maire) and lehua (rehua).

Down in the cove, we started to panapana (gather) some chapeau chinois, which is what I know as opihi. We hollowed them out, washed them in the ocean and ate right from the reef. We swam, relaxed and sunbathed as the day ended. The crowd then moved back up to her home on the mountain called Pihaapape, which means ‘hot bubbling water,’ as another friend explained the legend of how the mountain came to be known as such. During the ascent, I had picked some ferns and fauna, which I used to make a small haku for Aunty; she wore it for the rest of the night. The enjoyment continued with dinner of freshly caught fish and cocktails, while we talked story about Aunty Tere’s adventures around the South Pacific. After, we made our way to a bar called Manhattan, where Aunty’s cousin from Rarotonga plays live music.

The following day, after lunch, Aunty Tere shared some of the himene (songs) that come from Rakahanga and other parts of Rarotonga. The spoken language of Rarotonga matches closely to Hawaiian language, but specifically, and interestingly enough, the dialect spoken in Rakahanga is a bit closer in linguistic relation to Hawaiian. It was an exciting experience to share words and phrases only to discover they are similar if not exactly alike in both languages.

The following day, I was taken to the museum in which Aunty Tere works. A friend of mine that is from Tahiti who was also in town at the time is a descendant of the late American Author, James Norman Hall. The family has recently turned the author’s home into a museum in the district of Arue. Aunty Tere is a tour guide in the museum, and it was quite a treat to hear and see the life of Mr. Hall and also be a close friend of his great-granddaughter.

What was really interesting to me was my firsthand observation, as it seemed to unfold just before my eyes at that very moment, of the direct and initial result of the white male foreigner/navigator landing in the Pacific and marrying with a Polynesian woman, thereby raising truly “hapa” children, whom are steeped in two histories, two cultures, two backgrounds, and two (or more) languages. I realize this isn’t entirely the case, as this reality already happened throughout Polynesian history, but I see it still happening. I suppose I notice this because in order for two cultures clash on contact, both must still be intact as practiced on a daily basis. Such is the case in Tahiti, where the native language at the very least, is still spoken and serves as a connection to the traditional customs. Accordingly, this offered a nostalgic and refreshing glimpse into what old Polynesia was and still is in certain places, and for me, nothing holds more value.

After seeing the museum, I was then whisked away to Pueu and Taravao, by a group called Maohinesia Association. The president of the association is Teamo Rua, with whom I had contact before I left Hawai‘i to Tahiti. He and the treasurer, Stanley, came to pick me up. They spoke a little bit of English, fluent in French and Tahitian, but for the sake of learning, Teamo suggested the benefits of being immersed in Tahitian and I elatedly agreed.

We arrived at the house of their friend Valentine, who is the vice-president of the association. Her husband is a tattoo artist who uses traditional Tahitian patterns and other Polynesian designs. We ate lunch, fafa moa, which is like chicken lu‘au for us here in Hawaii – taro leaves and chicken.

We then went to Teamo’s house, which he recently purchased on a big lot among other agricultural lands. I remember thinking it resembled “Tahitian Homestead.” There, I was presented with priceless material as gifts. I was given vanilla grown in Tahiti, a rongorongo that Teamo picked up in Rapa Nui, and a CD that Teamo’s relative recorded. At this point, I gave them the gifts I had brought.

Teamo and Stanley had perused the PFH website prior to our meeting. There, they found the article that had run in HawaiiRed Magazine in which I was featured, and thanks to Google translation, there were able to understand the work I had done for PFH during an earlier phase of the community-based host-visitor project. They also read the mission statements and other recent projects and accomplishments of Pasifika Foundation Hawai‘i. I was surprised they were able to acquire so much information about us outside of what Ana and I had given them in email.

It was time for dinner, so the matahiapo came, which is the word they use for kupuna. Two aunties arrived to greet my presence, and they were two of the nicest women I have ever met. They brought me hand-sewn pillowcases, a patchwork quilt, homemade monoi oil and a hand-dyed pareo.

The next day, we went to Vai‘ufa‘ufa Lake. This is an area near the isthmus of Tahiti that joins Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti. The legend that exists at this place is that two great whales once rose together from the ocean on either side, facing opposite directions. This union is what created the isthmus, leaving the landmasses on either side.

This place is located high in the uplands, on top of a vast plateau. Maohinesia hosts events here, like ceremony for the beginning of Matariki (Makali‘i) and other cultural celebrations. They host communal ‘awa drinking ceremonies and camp there as well.

The following day was set aside for a meeting with Beatrix Lucas, the newly appointed mayor of Taiarapu Est, Tahiti Iti. Ms. Lucas and her assistant formally received us in her office, and I thanked her with an oli and ho‘okupu as well. A journalist came to document and photograph the meeting, and the next day, there was an article in the daily newspaper distributed throughout the country.

That afternoon was my last day with Maohinesia. A big party was planned in honor of the meeting between Maohinesia and Pasifika Foundation Hawai‘i. I was greeted again with chants and songs of welcome, in a formal setting, and I responded accordingly. I was presented again with gifts, and we dined together and celebrated. Music and song and dance followed.

It is partly thanks to modern technology and Google translation programs that I was able to be received and hosted in the way I was. Teamo had printed out several copies of the article, as well as PFH’s mission statements and information about who we are. He was constantly introducing me to all of his friends, “from Hawai‘i, culture and community building,” and he gave a copy of the PFH information to everyone that had a moment to read it.

Currently, Maohinesia is making a valiant effort toward planning, funding and building the “Eco-Village and Vai‘ufa‘ufa.” I have received a plan of this project, and they may break ground within the next year. The village is to have eight houses on a multiple-acre lot near the area where they host ceremonial and cultural events. Each house will serve a different purpose that aligns with some aspect of traditional Tahitian customs and knowledge; tattoo, sculpture/carving, traditional healing, traditional cooking, etc.

Inclusively, the visit to Tahiti, meeting with Maohinesia on behalf of Pasifika Foundation Hawai‘i was very beneficial to me on many levels. Professionally, I feel I have helped make some important new connections on behalf of PFH. Culturally, it was so fulfilling for me to be immersed in a language so closely related to Hawaiian, for it allowed me a glimpse into the archaic forms of perception that Hawaiian has almost lost historically. Emotionally, the idea of being welcomed in a community that is just as happy with my presence as I am being in theirs without a thought paid to the question of money has shown me a different side of traveling, and has triumphed with success over any previous trip/vacation/visit I have ever taken. Personally, I was honored to be hosted and embraced by our Tahitian family in the blue planet called Pasifika, I am truly honored to have been able to do this.