Up bright & early for our full day excursion. We stopped for a very quick breakfast before catching the staff shuttle to the staff dock, where a taxi was supposed to be waiting to bring us to our guide. We arrived at the staff dock & I noticed that many Tahitian & French staff members went directly to a "staff quarters," while others went to their cars or were picked up by family members. The staff quarters reminded me of Dirty Dancing & I joked with Curt that we should pick up watermelons tonight, hop on the staff boat & party with the locals. I was half waiting for a Tahitian Johnny Castle & his dance crew to come out in their dance gear.
Our taxi was not there on time (he was obviously running on island time). We waited patiently & after 5 minutes were almost the last people standing around the dock. One of the staff members was about to drive off with his family, when he stopped to ask what tour we were waiting for. We should him our itinerary & he called the St. Regis concierge from his cellphone. While on the phone with the concierge, our taxi finally appeared. We hopped in and went to pick up the other members of our excursion (2 Australians staying at the Sofitel) & met our guide in front of Kaina Hut (the restaurant we ate at a couple nights back). He hopped in the passenger seat of the cab and introduced himself as Tama (he's a Frenchman with Moroccan roots that now lives in Bora Bora).
Tama told us we were in for quite an adventure on our full day hike (I was psyched for the hike! Curt needed some convincing on this excursion, but I won out since we both agreed that once on our catamaran Curt was going to veto a lot of excursions). Our first stop was to the supermarket to pick up sandwiches for lunch & plenty of water. We had a perfectly clear day for a hike (it wasn't too hot either). He suggested we try a local style sandwich (chicken in an oyster sauce wrapped in a steamed bun), but we could also opt for a ham sandwich (which was very European on a giant baguette). Curt & I picked up 2 of the local sandwiches & 1 baguette (we knew from our Half Dome hike that we'd need to keep our bodies fueled). We had taken 4 half bottles of water from our hotel room, so we just picked up one giant water bottle. Curt packed it all away in our backpack (he insists on carrying the backpack because he says it's heavy & I'll complain half way through - in actuality I don't mind the extra weight since it's essentially an extra workout).
Our driver dropped us off to our starting point. Tama asked us all to sit down & explained that we were in the Valley of the King. He would then launch into a full history lesson that lasted about 45 minutes. Of course being the history geek that I am, I was soaking in every word he said & asked numerous questions.
Tama is an absolutely fascinating man. He was born in France & his parents were from Morocco. He said he's probably one of the only Muslims in Bora Bora (he no longer actually practices - he drinks beer, eats pork & worships nature). He is a certified archeologist & botanist & studied in Tahiti. He explained that since Tahitians are lazy the universities make everything a competition. The top graduate in the program gets to pick which island they want to do research on (and also give guided tours during the high season to make cash for doing research in the low season). Tama graduated top in his class & chose Bora Bora (1. it has the highest amount of tourism 2. there is only 1 guide for the whole island - many of the smaller, less appealing for archeological dig islands could have up to 4 guides 3. it's Bora Bora).
Tama told us that the first Tahitians settled in Bora Bora in the 600's B.C roughly (they are descendants from Malaysians). The king and his people lived on the mountain, farmed the land & practiced pagan worship (roughly 20,000 people lived on the island). Contrary to what many believe the Tahitians were not fisherman living on the beach initially. Once the French missionaries took over everything would be altered permanently.
The king initially resisted the take over. The missionaries set up a small town on the beach, while the king & his people stayed in their mountain villages. The Tahitians started dying rapidly. The contracted the flu from the Europeans and since the Tahitians don't believe in burying their dead in the ground the bubonic plague broke out once the bodies started to accumulate (their dead are buried in caves on the mountain, but once they were full they had no choice but to stack them up). Their initial number dropped from 20,000 to 6,000 people (roughly the same number of Tahitians live on the island today).
The king begged the missionaries to explain what was happening to his people. The missionaries told the king that his gods were not as good as their "white" god. If they moved down from the mountain, the missionaries god would protect them. The king moved his people to the beach & the missionaries forbid anyone from going on the mountain (Tahitian people still consider it taboo to go on their mountain as they fear that Tupapau - a ghost made up by the missionaries - will do harm to them & their families).
I was stunned to find out that the islanders still believe in Tupapau and don't use all the resources their mountain can offer them (coffee plants, banana plantations, papaya orchards, pineapple fields, ginger, etc...). The French missionaries have done such a diservice to the Tahitian people. They are so dependent on Westernization that they don't even know how to live on the land their ancestors thrived on. Tama said many locals complain of poverty due to the decline in tourism. He yells at them and calls them Bounty (like the candy bar - dark on the outside & white on the inside). They have completely allowed the French government to keep control of them and have lost touch with their roots (essentially living like a Frenchman only without comparable salaries).
Tama has begun converting families & has begun to teach the Tahitians about their past (they don't know anything about their ancestors - only what they French missionaries have taught them). Children don't even learn about their own culture, geography or ancestors in school. They are taught all about France's history, geography & culture. It really is sad to learn that the only thing the missionaries didn't strip from them was the Polynesian dance (the missionaries never figured out that through their dance they could still teach each other how to make thatch roof huts, hunt for fish, etc...). Now, Tama teaches at the primary school 1 day a week & teaches the students about their history, brings them up on the mountain and sometimes has the kids help him with a dig.
The missionaries destroyed all the temples they found on the mountain, but didn't realize there were many more hidden in the forest (eventually completely consumed by the vegetation). Tama began his research on Bora Bora in 2005. Since then he has discovered 5 temples, the tomb of the king, 21 villages & continues to excavate new areas of the mountain in the low season.
It was as this point that Tama brought us into his jungle. He pointed out the taboo line (not an actual line but where there is no longer a road and only his foot trail - we've never hiked without an actual dirt trail). Tama told us currently 25 Tahitians come with him on Sunday to gather food for their families to live on during the week (nobody will go up there without Tama because they fear Tupapau). 25 people out of 6,000 actually use all the wild fruits, vegetables & wild animals to help reduce the cost of food bills (everything on the island is obviously imported from New Zealand). A couple of the families have begun to sell the Bora Bora fruit in town. I'm amazed that only 25 people (this includes children) will go into the forest for free food - instead they'd rather struggle to keep up with the increasing prices at the supermarket. Tama told us that he doesn't buy much at the supermarket anymore & lives off what he gathers.
Tama taught us about all the plant life around us. The giant leaves pictured with Curt & the Aussies above are the only type of leaf used to make the roof on Tahitian villas. We learned the the flower at the end of the banana actually holds thousands of small banana flowers (once a petal falls off it reveals the next bunch) & the bananas won't grow to full size until the flower fall/is cut off. I love learning about different cultures and was so inspired by Tama's anthropoligical lifestyle.
We continued on our hike & came up upon a cement water system. We learned that the American soldiers built this system (which the Tahitians stopped using after the American's left because they didn't understand how to maintain it), as well as the main road (the only asphalt road in Bora Bora). Tama told us that the Tahitians hate the French (if they could survive without the system in place & depend on their ancestors skills I bet they would revolt to take back their land), but love Americans. Americans did a lot of good for the Tahitians while stationed here in WWII. The French continue to reap the benefits of tourism industry in Bora Bora, while the locals struggle on a daily basis (the French don't even put money back into the island to repair schools, roads, etc...). He told us that if a Frenchman is walking around town at night he will most definitely get beat up, but if an American was walking around town at night nobody would bother him.
US bunker from WWII
We began our 15 minute hike to Tama's first major archeological site (on our way we saw coconut groves, papaya groves, coffee trees & found ginger). **Remember the Tahitians have been afraid to go on the mountain, so when Tama first began exploring the forest he spent a lot of time with his machette cutting out trails & clearing areas. He stumbled upon a Tahitian temple on his way back from a hike. He moved some leaves out of his way & it gave way to a wall (definitely not a natural wall as it was smooth and had coral mixed in). Tama began to clear away the area & discovered it was in fact a traditional temple complete with a perfectly in tact altar. The floor of the temple was made of volcanic ash stone & the walls were made of huge sections of coral.
Tama's trail (really just a worn down footpath)
You can see ginger roots in the center of the dirt
Coffee tree - Tama explains how all of this grows wild in the forest & the Tahitians don't use any of it
Coffee tree & vanilla vine
At the temple site, Tama showed us where the ceremony tattoo stone was buried (tattoos were forbidden once the missionaries took over - they felt it would give them too much freedom to return to paganism). We saw the outline of what would have been the priests home (which is very close to the temple, so that he could guard it from evil spirits). Next to the priests house there is the site where the king would lay for 1 year after death (for mummification) before being taken to his tomb (they kept the body so that they could see the tattoos of their ancestors - tattoos on the front of the body represented the person's life & achievements while tattoos on their back represented the achievements of their ancestors). I was completely blown away by this temple.
Coral inside the temple walls
Ceremonial tattooing stone - you can see the circle where the ink would be placed
the perfectly preserved altar
The Australian woman asked if the Tahitians sacrificed at this temple because she heard they did a lot of sacrificing. Tama explained that the missionaries informed people that the Tahitians were savage & sacrificed humans, so that they could justify needing to convert them to Christianity. He said they did not sacrifice & the only offerings that were made were by the family chosen by the king on a weekly basis to feed the priest because he was single and had no wife to cook for him (the family would take half and give it to the priest & put the rest of the meal on the altar as an offering to the gods).
The stones are the remains of the priests hut.
The missionaries also told stories of seeing the Tahitians having massive orgies in the temple. Tama told us this was another lie because women were forbidden to enter the temple. The entire temple was considered sacred & clean. Since they had no way of determining when "Aunt Flo" was visiting they didn't allow women in the temple because menstruation was considered dirty and their temple was sacred/clean.
Tama launched into a story of how Tahiti TV filmed a documentary of the site after it's discovery. While filming the director asked him to show how he clears an area to begin a dig. He began cutting away at vegetation with his machette & WHACK... the metal of his machete came into direct contact with a massive stone. He cleared away the plant life & found what he calls the "artifact," which learned was a guardian. This statue is placed at the foot of the kings resting place (right next to the priests house) to guard the king from evil spirits.
Tama shows us how the statue takes the shape of a human like form without eyes, ears & a mouth.
**It reminds me of the ancient fertility statue - only much larger & sans ta-ta's.
Tama demonstrates how the statue is sitting in true lotus form - he points out markings which show the legs & arms.
He asks both couples why we chose Bora Bora for our honeymoons. We all said the same thing (it's supposed to be beautiful, there's great sea life in the reefs, etc...). He told us that we could get that at any island, but we chose Bora Bora because it's "the honeymoon" location. This dates back to when the kings still ruled the Tahitian islands. Many traveled to come & touch the kings guardian. It's said that honeymooners would come to touch the guardian and if the guardian of the king liked you, he would protect your family always. Many couples made a pilgrimage to the guardian so that their new families would be protected from evil & they would prosper. **We obviously had no idea about why people originally sought out Bora Bora as a honeymoon destination, but we definitely rubbed that artifact to make sure that our new family would always be protected.
We ate our lunch on the outskirts of the temple & headed off to find the King's Tomb (after spending a year outside of the temple, the kings body is taken to the tomb). I was expecting a very traditional tomb, but was surprised to learn we were actually going to see a tree. The Bunyon tree has roots that grow down to the ground & once connected with the Earth will entomb whatever is on the inside. When you see the picture below you will feel transported into Pandora (Avatar reference).
Tama told us that James Cameron modeled the Tree of Life after this exact Bunyon tree. Cameron had spent 8 years researching the culture, forests and stories of the indigenous people that lived in many of the Polynesian triangle islands. He was fascinated with the Tahitian islands & sought out Tama's professor to assist him with his research. He asked the professor to show him the largest Bunyon tree in all of the islands. Fortunately for Tama & James, the largest Bunyon tree had just been discovered a month prior in the Bora Bora mountains.
Tama said James Cameron spent a couple months going into the forest with him. He was fascinated by this tree. He modeled the Tree of Life not only physically to match up to the real one, but also portrayed how the great ancestors were connected to the tree. All great kings used Bunyon trees as their tombs, as it would reconnect them with their land. The roots that grow towards the land are said to connect people to the past of Bora Bora.
Tahitians believed much of their strength was in their hair (which is why the warriors had very long hair). They would touch their hair to the roots to make a connection to their ancestors (I hope you're all seeing scenes from Avatar play in your mind because it was taken straight from Bora Bora's history). Warriors would come to the Bunyon tree before a battle to get centered & gain strength from their ancestors.
Notice the exposed root hanging down on the left side of the picture
Up close & personal with the king - I climbed back as far as I could before the roots become to densely packed together (which is where the royalty rests).
Making a spiritual connection
When we signed up for the hike, I had no idea that we'd be learning so much about the ancestors of Bora Bora (I figured we'd hike, see lots of fauna and get great views of the island). I could have never imagined the beauty that we were privy to. We've actually been to the "tree of life!" I connected my hair to roots of the tree and you could really feel the serenity, peace, connection with the past when you stood here. It was an incredible place to visit & the feelings that rushed through your body were unimaginable.
It was at this point that I turned to Curt & said this is my absolute favorite excursion (1. because I'm a huge nerd & love learning about the past 2. the forest is full of the most amazing discoveries that very few people have ever seen in person).
pineapple grove
the big mountain - Cameron used this in Avatar as well
the tiny green leaf was replicated in Avatar - it closes when you touch it
wild pumpkin patch
Tama told us that James Cameron used other elements from Bora Bora in Avatar. The white bird with the long tail is an actual bird that lives at the top of the mountain (Cameron made it bigger for the film, but it was modeled after the Bora Bora bird - I couldn't get a clear picture because it was flying so high in the sky).
He also modeled plants after ones found in the forest. You may recall when Jake (main character) first enters the forest and touches a plant that folds up when you touch it, well it actually exists. It's much smaller in real life (Cameron changed the color, enlarged it a bit & changed the shape, but the premise comes from this plant). It was really cool to touch the leaf & watch it fold up. It reopens a few minutes later.
We continued on our hike. For about 30 minutes we hiked straight up a mountain. When we got to the to we could see all of Bora Bora ( you could even see other islands out on the horizon). I still can't get over how the locals never see Bora Bora from here or get to experience what we just did. Hopefully one by one Tama will convert the families & teach them how to live off their land again.
We got back from our hike at about 4PM. We jumped straight into our lagoon to cool off from a long day of hiking. We had a few hours before dinner, so I multitasked (caught up on blogging, tanned & sipped on white wine). Curt thought this was hysterical & wanted to prove that even while blogging I'm enjoying all that Bora Bora has to offer.
Blogging away on our diving dock
Beautiful sunset
We headed to dinner at 7PM. Tonight's dinner was a traditional Polynesian feast complete with Polynesian dancing & a fire show. The food was so tasty & a welcomed change from heavy French dishes we'd been indulging in.
The show was absolutely awesome. After listening to Tama speak about the culture all day, we knew what to look for in the dance moves & could actually see the women telling a story with their movements. The women pulled guests out onto the grass to dance with them. I was chosen to go dance & Curt captured me making a fool of myself on video (thankfully it was with my HD video camera so I can't post the video up here - it needs to be converted).
What a long but fabulous day!!!
Stay tuned to hear about our last full day at the St. Regis before heading off to our catamaran.
No comments:
Post a Comment