Commentary by: MARTI
writer, photographer, Earth guardian
Paris, France

THE POLYNESIANS & WAYFINDING

As a kid, I always imagined Tahiti as a small town, with laid back barefoot islanders like the people in Paul Gaugin’s paintings. I imagined the atolls peopled with the likes of Marlon Brando, star of the Hollywood film Mutiny on the Bounty. I had read the trilogy of the Bounty when I was 10 and had only the vaguest idea as to where it actually took place. I was impressed with the heroism of its European sailors. But I knew nothing of what we know today about Polynesian culture and the real heroes of Polynesia who subsequently lost their islands to European expansionism. 

CHARTING UNKNOWN SEAS & ISLANDS

Since then, I have learned that the Polynesians were some of the greatest navigators ever known. Thousands of years ago they sailed their massive buoyant outriggers to chart unknown territories in the vast and tumultuous South Pacific Ocean. In those days great skill and courage were needed to sail across immense stretches of open sea. These brave sailors navigated by the stars without compass or sextant, found new homes in the unpopulated volcanic atolls of the South Pacific, and then sailed back, only to return to the exact same islands with their families, plants and animals, to establish new homes. All with a sophisticated knowledge of the stars, ocean currents, and weather patterns based on the main tool of all indigenous peoples: centuries of pure observation. 

Today Polynesians pride themselves as being part of a huge Pacific island navigational triangle that includes Hawaii at the apex to the north, New Zealand (Samoa and Thonga) to the west, and Polynesia and Easter Island to the East. This triangle defines the largest group of inter-connected islands on the surface of our planet. 

Over 25,000 years, Polynesians migrated from South East Asia to Tahiti and Easter Island. They used simple <finding> techniques and knowledge passed by oral tradition, often in the form of song. Their outrigger canoes were devised to cover their basic needs. They devised ways to fish at any time as they rode huge waves and sought islands to settle.

MANA or SOUL FORCE

The Polynesian soul force is called mana. This Tahitian word has many meanings, among them spiritual and healing power. Tahitians believe that any individual can cultivate mana and that mana also exists in nature. In the old days, for the most part, Polynesian leaders were chosen by merit. The best warriors met and were subjected to various physical, mental, and spiritual tests. Physical strength was emphasized, as well as human combat, archery and navigation skills. The most apt warrior was chosen as the leader, but most often, this person was not seen as any more important than other community members. 

In Polynesia, as in many other indigenous cultures, every family traditionally has a totem animal. A fisherman, for example, might be seen to be in the shark family and protected by the shark’s spirit. Children of the owl family might be led out of danger by the owl, and so forth. Ancient burial customs allow the body of the deceased to decompose back into the earth so that the deceased's spirit empowers their descendants. 

When a person dies, it is said that the soul leaves the body from a tear duct and begins a tentative, instinctive journey. It dives into the sea and then rises to the summit of Polynesia’s most sacred mountain, Temehani on the island of Raiatea, one of Polynesia’s main spiritual centers. When the morning sun arrives to grace one of Raiatea’s ancient volcanic summits, the human soul is propelled into space by a rare and sacred flower with a magical scent, the tiare apetahi. This small beautiful flower only grows on one place on Earth. As nature welcomes a new day, it opens its five white petals in the shape of a hand and with a <pop> sends the departing human soul to the heavens.

HONORING ANCESTORS

A positive relation to one’s ancestors and the recently dead is one of the strengths of Polynesian culture. Polynesians believe that the wall between the living and the dead is permeable. An elder who has been revered as a leader in life does not lose his or her love of family after death. If the family feels the need for their continuing care, the family can strengthen the soul's presence with offerings and prayers. Even today, nearly every family has its own marae, or burial ground, close to home. And larger ancient Polynesian temple platforms, or marae, are still considered to be holy places by many Polynesians. 

For thousands of years Polynesians were completely self-sufficient, fishing, growing plantain and various root crops, and cultivating gardens with fresh greens. They paid tribute to their pantheon of gods, especially to Oro, the god of war and guardian of peace, and they had myths and legends to describe the shapes of mountains, and valleys. All this contributed to their natural resilience.

When European explorers came to Polynesia several centuries ago in the world-wide race for colonization and expropriation of native lands, local people were forced to surrender their lives and lands to the intruders. Wooden spears and stones were no match for the canons of the colonizers. The local people fell under British and later French rule and that domination continues to this day in what has become French Polynesia. 

As recently as the 1980’s Polynesians were still instructed on French political history. People learned about the Napoleonic wars, but little, if any, consideration was given to aspects of indigenous Polynesian history. People old enough to remember this period describe in detail the punishments they endured as children for speaking the local Tahitian language at school. An elderly woman from the island of Huahini, told me:

“When we spoke our own language, they used to put our hands in a large half shell of a clam and whip them until our hands were bleeding.”

Today French Polynesia has a semi-autonomous government with a local parliament. But many political and socio-economic decisions are made in France, leaving Polynesians with French passports, but questionable real power over their internal affairs. With the presence of large French multinational companies that engender trade monopolies, Polynesians are to a great extent overwhelmed, as most have to live largely in a cash economy.

STRUGGLING TO GAIN AUTONOMY

Many Polynesians, especially remote islanders want independence. They are less tied to an artificial corporate monetary system than the bustling island of Tahiti with its French expats, paradisiac luxury tourist hotels, surfer hangouts, and as a consequence of modern urban development, suburban slums where people live precariously from day to day. Many people on the smaller islands live below the poverty line. A young woman from the Marquesas Islands who had to leave her home to find work selling luxury pearls in an upmarket mall in eastern Tahiti says:

“The Europeans imposed an economic system that is killing us. Everything is really expensive here for my family and my children.
We can’t manage to save enough money to go home. Today we only survive, instead of really living.”

An ancestor of a Polynesian princess from Huahine Island, where fierce historical battles were fought between her people and the French nearly 150 years ago, explained the devasting effects of colonization on Polynesian culture:

“We worked hard growing up, but we had a strong tribal culture and system of inter-island trading. We always had enough to eat with fishing and our gardens. When we had fish, we shared them with our neighbors. When our neighbors had sweet potatoes, they shared with us. Today we have to go the supermarket and pay high prices for what we need. That early sense of abundance and prosperity, of generosity and sharing, are gone.”

As with indigenous people everywhere, anxieties have increased about having enough money to survive in the present market economy, combating the high cost of living, and having life styles that are more appropriate. Fast food consumption and less exercise have led to serious health problems and many Polynesians are seriously overweight. 

Independence is indeed a complicated affair. The French Government has a large navy and protects Polynesian waters against encroaching fishing vessels from other nations. French domination of international waters means that French rule is likely to continue and be deemed necessary, as Polynesians depend on the sea for their food. 

Polynesians are, however, struggling to gain autonomy in many fields, especially in education, where they want less French expat teachers and more teachers who instruct in Tahitian and who have a genuine interest in preserving Polynesian culture. 

LOSING LANGUAGE & TRADITIONS

Worries also abound over losing traditions. A farmer from the tiny island of Maupiti, near Bora Bora where Hollywood films have been made, lamented the disappearance of the Tahitian language: 

“Our children are losing their language and culture. With TV and modern technology our kids are seduced by everything French
and mostly speak French among their friends even though many of them still understand Tahitian.”

Loss of an indigenous language is often a prelude to the decline and disappearance of a culture and Tahitians are increasing aware of this. 

Like most indigenous people, music and dance are still the main means of relaxing, especially on the smaller islands. The TV is often turned off after the news and people sit around under trees dripping with mangos and spectacular views of their turquoise lagoons and sing everything from traditional songs to Hawaiian ukulele ballads, and even romantic songs by Elvis Presley. 

STRONG SENSE OF COMMUNITY 

In many ways, the sun still shines on the people of the Great Ocean,Moana nui’a Hiva’. I have found that Polynesians have a strong sense of community identity. In all aspects of ancient Polynesian cosmology, humans are seen as powerful and capable. The Polynesian's understanding of family as a spiritual power, of deceased family members as continuing sources of love and care, and their capacity to accept the integration of death into life are a genuine contribution to the world.