Tahiti, Tourists, and Tamure (Update 25)
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Update from Jonathan Smith
Onboard Uto Ni Yalo
Bula Fiji

Thursday was a day of sightseeing for the crew except for Colin who stayed back and did some repairs on our steering paddle which got a bit worn from all the rough seas on the trip down from Fiji, Aotearoa and Tahiti.

The rest of the crew including crew from the other four canoes got onto two buses for a trip around the island. All the skippers had to go to the Gendarmerie or police station with our passports to get cleared in (one day after being onshore) so we thought we missed out on the tour but the buses came to pick us up from the police station which was nice of them.

We started off by going to a cave up a little mountain. The mouth of the cave was very low and could could only fit one person at a time and you had to crawl on your belly to get in. Once you were inside it opened up into a huge cavern and of course it was pitch black so you couldn't even see your hands in front of your face. Legend has it that during the tribal war days the warriors would go out and hold back and fight the enemy while the woman and children would shelter and live in this cave until danger was over.

We went around to five ancient Marae (Traditional worshiping ground) which had huge flat stones erected around the boundaries of the Marae and each Marae had different legends. One of the Marae's had a rock about three metres high and it had a pointed end.

The legend has it that you could only be classed a warrior if you could stand up straight and wrap your hand around the tip of this rock. They must have been some real tall Tahitians in the day. At the same Marae there was like a delivery area where there was a big flat rock with two vertical pieces where the woman would give birth. If the child was male, he was wrapped up in what we call in Fiji the drau ni via leaf or some call elephant ears leaf. If the child was able to break out of the wrapping of the drau ni via leaf he was considered a warrior. If the child could not break out of the drau ni via then he was considered a mahu or feminine.

We eventually ended up in a village called Anatonu where there was a feast awaiting us for lunch. One of the crew from the Faafaite (Tahiti Canoe) is from this village. In fact he is the only local from the island of Raivavae sailing on the Faafaite, so the locals are very proud of the young fellah.

There was Tahitian drums and Lali's and local music which sounded so beautiful as Tahitian music is known for. We had all sorts of baguette (French Bread) sandwiches and fruits like Lady fingers banana, papaya, sugarcane and the grape fruit here is to die for. It is so sweet unlike the ones we got back home which is very sour and no amount of sugar can make it any sweeter.

After the lunch they presented each Vaka with a piece of sandalwood. They called up the presidents for each society to accept the sandalwood from a hip swinging Tahitian lass, and when the gift was received you had to join the tamure for about a minute. Obviously Colin was stuck onboard the Uto Ni Yalo and when I looked around for one of my crew to go and accept the gift of sandalwood they had all mysteriously disappeared so I was the one to be sacrificed to do the tamure after accepting the gift of sandalwood.

Funny thing is halfway through the drum beats and hip swinging and leg waggling all the crew were in front of me with their cameras snapping away, video and all. They can bugger me up when on shore, I'll get my payback when we out at sea, then we see who's going to have the last laugh.

After all the fun and laughter of watching the other skippers and presidents TRYING to do the tamure we said our farewell and parted this beautiful village and headed back to the Uto Ni Yalo. Onboard again after that heavy meal it was back to reality and the rest of the maintenance to be completed onboard before we depart for Moorea on Friday afternoon.

All the crew came up with excuses about not being able to go up the swaying mast to change a topping lift and halyard block that broke during the voyage. Usually we choose the smallest and the lightest person to go up the mast. What they didn't realise was the hard bit was pulling the person up on the bosun's chair. And to digest their food faster they had my 90 kg weight to pull up the length of the mast.

All I could hear while taking in the scenery being pulled to the top was cursing and swearing from below. That taught them a lesson.

After all was repaired the crew from the other vakas and support vessels started to trickle onboard the Uto Ni Yalo's deck for the afternoon/evening kava and sigi drigi session. The sigi drigi was mixed in with tahitian ukulele and sounds from the local boys which went on till about 2200 hrs (10pm) when everyone started to retreat from around the centre of the tanoa and to their own vakas after a long day of touring and fun.

Vinaka

Johnathan Smith

 

 

 

Raivavae Island - 10.30am Friday

2nd Update from Colin Philp

Bula Viti kei Rotuma

Everyone is up early today preparing for the short voyage to Moorea. Sails need to be hoisted, booms fitted and a last minute check of the rigging.

Rupeni is busy stocking the galley with fresh fruits and vegetables being bought to the dock by the locals. No money changes hands. Everything is given freely and accepted with much gratitude.

Dalo, Grapefruit, Uto, Sugarcane, Pawpaw, Bananas, Lemons, Niu continues to be delivered all morning. Even a sack of fish is delivered. Then a carton of their local bread is dropped off. The generosity of the people is incredible. They don't have a lot to give but they have given us so much.

I hope the people of Raivavae have benefited as much as we have from our visit to this beautiful island.

The Mayor is putting on a farewell lunch for us today. However we have received the latest weather reports and it looks like we may not be leaving after all. The forecast is for Northerlies for 3 days so it makes sense to stay a few more days and wait for the Trade Winds to return. The Trade Winds here are from the South East the same as Fiji which will be perfect for our sail to Moorea which is North of Raivavae.

The skippers are all meeting as I write this to decide on what we will do. It will be a difficult decision as the people have already started gathering on the wharf to farewell us.

To add to Johnathan's report on yesterday. The aft deck of the Uto ni Yalo has become the meeting place of all the Vaka crews. Even before we start mixing the kava in the evening, crew members from the other canoes and locals, start gathering on our canoe.

We have had so many of the crews ask us if the Fijian crew are always this happy and cheerful. They say we are such a happy bunch. I guess this is the reason they like visiting our canoe. The other reason is obviously the kava mixed in with the singing.

These evening sessions are bringing everyone closer together and we now feel like one big family. By the end of this voyage when we do part ways, the friendships we form will last a lifetime and beyond.

Vinaka

Colin/Uto ni Yalo