December 13th 2019

Today we did not have an activity until 2 p.m. So we sat around in the morning after a quick breakfast and enjoyed the warm sun and the idle time.

In the late morning, David and Marga returned from a trip to the village where David flew his drone for some new photo perspectives. They were to leave that day for home. We had a nice lunch with them and said our farewells as they left for the airport at 1 p.m. for their flight to Papeete, then L.A. and then London.

At 2 p.m. we met Henri for our trip to the Taaoa Valley and the large archeological site there called Upeke. First he took us for s short tour to the village and pointed out some places we had not seen on our first trip there, then we drove up into the hills to the site. It is a large area which many large stones arranged around a grand meeting area with the Chief’s throne at one end. There are, of course tiki and hieroglyphs everywhere as well as evidence of tool sharpening on the rocks and the small indentations where tattoo ink was mixed. On a large pile of stones there is a hole into which prisoners were put prior to them being sacrificed, this was one of the good things which the missionaries abolished although their influence was not all good. There was evidence of Pae Pae all around, the living places and ceremonial buildings of the indigenous peoples of many centuries ago.

The indentations in rocks were carved out to hold the ink for tattooing

Henri gets down into the hole in the stones used to house prisoners prior to their human sacrifice

The 'prisoner hole'

One of the concepts which came up repeatedly when we visited these archeological sites was ‘mana’. This is the Wikipedia definition which I cannot improve upon.

Mana is a supernatural force or power in the culture of the Melanesians and Polynesians. The force is ascribed to spirits, persons, or objects and describes the possession of power, rather than being a source of power. It can either be a force of good or evil.

In the 19th century, scholars compared mana to similar concepts such as the orenda of the Iroquois Indians and theorized that mana was a universal phenomenon that explained the origin of religions.

Mana is not universal to all of Melanesia and is not found in simpler tribes.

Mana is a foundation of the Polynesian worldview, a spiritual quality with a supernatural origin and a sacred, impersonal force. To have mana implies influence, authority, and efficacy—the ability to perform in a given situation. The quality of mana is not limited to individuals; peoples, governments, places and inanimate objects may also possess mana, and its possessors are accorded respect.

Hawaiian and Tahitian culture.

In Hawaiian and Tahitian culture, mana is a spiritual energy and healing power which can exist in places, objects and persons. Hawaiians believe that mana may be gained or lost by actions, and Hawaiians and Tahitians believe that mana is both external and internal. Sites on the Hawaiian Islands and in French Polynesia are believed to possess mana—for example, the top rim of the Haleakalā volcano on the island of Maui and the Taputapuatea marae on the island of Raiatea in the Society Islands.

Ancient Hawaiian believed that the island of Molokaʻi possesses mana, compared with its neighboring islands. Before the unification of Hawaii by King Kamehameha I, battles were fought for possession of the island and its south-shore fish ponds which existed until the late 19th century.

A person may gain mana by pono (right actions). In ancient Hawaii, there were two paths to mana: sexual means or violence. Nature is dualistic, and everything has a counterpart. A balance between the gods Kū and Lono formed, through whom are the two paths to mana (ʻimihaku, or the search for mana). Kū, the god of war and politics, offers mana through violence; this was how Kamehameha gained his mana. Lono, the god of peace and fertility, offers mana through sexuality

The Upeke area was chosen as it is between two rivers and waterfalls and was obviously of major importance at the time.

Henri lifts the 150 kg (330 lb) rock to demonstrate his strenght.

The hand sign which Marquesans use as a greeting. Almost everyone we met along the road got one of these from Henri. He seemed to know (or was related to) everyone!

Around the area is the usual assortment of trees including breadfruit, kapok, grapefruit, taro and others. The kapok which covers the ground in places is like cotton and is used to incorporate into clothing and bedding We also found some very small red and yellow peppers which we picked and took them back to the hotel. We were warned that they were very hot and that was an understatement!!! We also learned of the cananga  odorata tree which is also called ylang ylang (from the Tagalog word for it). This tree’s flowers produce a healing oil good for relaxation, killing bacteria and even head lice, lowering blood pressure and other good effects. The smell of the flower is said to closely resemble the perfume Chanel No 5 and may or may not have been the inspiration to Coco Chanel to creat this famous perfume.

A kapok tree and its 'fruit'

A Pae Pae

A giant hibiscus, not only beautiful to look at but also useful to clean scuba masks!!

We left the site and drove down to the beach where we visited the plain but beautiful Catholic Church and then walked by the beach. Here, Henri who had picked a grapefruit from beside the road peeled it for us and it was the most sublime taste not too sweet, not too acidic and so refreshing. Quite unlike the ones we get at home. Then we drove to the port where the only gas station on the island is situated and the berth for the Aranui 5 is located as well as a large boatyard full of very expensive looking yachts including one enormous catamaran. There are also a number of yachts moored in the harbor. As it was Friday some people were taking off in their small boats.

We stopped at the village center where we were able to admire the magnificent wild boar which Henri and his brother had sculpted out of a huge piece of stone

Henri's pride and joy, his enormous wild boar statue which he had permission to install in this location.

Then it was back to the hotel again. We had a swim and then dinner and so to bed, except for MAC who wanted to try to spot some shooting stars from the Geminid meteor shower which was scheduled for that night.