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Although
regrettably, oral tradition does not give us any precise in information
about the ancient Polynesian's knowledge of astronomy, meteorology or
navigations, we know that their conception of the relative movement of the
stars was very accurate. The also knew that if they traveled continuously
in a region of trade-winds, the wind direction would vary from North-East
to South-East. These depended on the season, and certain times of the year
were more propitious for long voyages. They had also noticed the
correlation between the winds and the direction of the swell and they were
able to guess that land was near by noting changes in the breakers and
where they came from. The sailors had an innate sense of direction and
navigated by the sun and stars, knowing for example, which island could be
found in the direction of which star.
It has been established that the
Polynesian's ancestors came from the archipelagos of South-East Asia.
Thanks to archeological discoveries, such as The Lapita pottery, it has
been demonstrated that these people were already in Fiji, Toga and Samoa
between 2,500 and 300 B.C. For a very long time, and even up till
recently, experts thought it was mere chance that had led them to sail to
the East to colonize these islands : the Society Island first and Easter
Island a few years later. In actual fact, the theory of a one-way voyage
undertaken by chance, rested on the usual idea that it was impossible for
them to choose a destination, as they had no instruments, no compasses and
no knowledge of latitude and longitude.
Now
that the striking difference between the astronomy of the temperate zone
and that of the tropical zone has be established, we are able to envisage
a navigation by the stars completely opposed to that of northern
latitudes, in the equatorial zone traversed by the Polynesians. So what
was beyond the powers of European civilization became possible here.
Because the equatorial sky was characterized by large trails of stars, the
sailor could link the island he wished to reach with a constellation. So
we must conclude he was acquainted with that island, hence the
"return trip" theory. A first voyage of exploration would be
carried out to discover what island might be suitable for settlement, then
its direction in relation to the stars was memorized and finally, they
went back to fetch families, animals and plants to make an attempt at
living there. These voyages must have lasted several centuries. As they
embarked on longer and longer voyages, they improved their canoe-building
and food-preservation techniques. In 1976, a reconstituted double canoe
attempted to sail from Hawaii to Tahiti, and its success proved that this
type of craft is capable of keeping to a prescribed route by beating to
windward. If these canoes had only been able to sail in a leeward
direction, or merely drift along, there would probably have been no
Polynesian settlement before the arrival of the Europeans. The
canoes
Of
all the artifacts of Polynesian culture, the canoe was probably the
most essential, for without it, there would not have been island
populations as we know them today.
There
is very little known about how the vessels that let these migrants
travel across the Pacific were constructed, what they were made of,
and what shape they had. We can only suppose that these early
navigators sailed these seas, like their descendants, on
double-canoes or outriggers. On the other hand, from the time of the
discovery of Tahiti in 1767, Europeans were able to give the first
descriptions of what they saw. All these voyagers were struck by
what an important role the canoe played in the daily life of the
Tahitians.
It
was indispensable for fishing, for getting from one island to
another and for fighting wars. These small craft, built with stone
age tools, were remarkable for their seaworthiness and the
techniques of their construction.
Ancient
canoes can be classified according to their design and their means
of propulsion: double-canoes and outriggers with paddles or sails.
Modern
shapes, inspired by European boats, are also shown in subsequent
illustrations. The vaa, a small single canoe with outrigger and
paddles, 5 to 9 meters long, is used for short trips and coastal
fishing. The hull is hollowed out from a single tree trunk (like the
tamanu) and the outrigger is on the left. The vaa motu, a canoe with
an outrigger and a sail, I 0 to 13 meters long, is used for fishing
and brief voyages. The hull is carved out of one or two trunks and
at least one row of boards is spliced above the flat sides. The
forward horizontal beam of the outrigger supports a narrow platform
allowing a man to act as a counterweight if necessary. The type of
sail varies according to the archipelago.
The
tipairua, or double-canoe with sails, used for transport, also known
as pahi, when used for voyages, can be up to 25 meters long. This
"catamaran" with one or two sails is manned by from four
to twenty men, according to its size. We know it was this type of
canoe that was designed for making long voyages of discovery. There
was room for about sixty passengers and their provisions on board.
The
double-canoe with paddles. With the exception of the tira, used for
fishing, this category was restricted to war-canoes. The pahi
tamaiare divided into two groups: those with a round bottom intended
only for war, and others with a "v-shaped" bottom destined
for either war or voyaging.
Canoe-building
All
the materials used, from the framework to the sails, and of course
the ropes, were of vegetable origin. The
illustrations at the end of this text explain the use and
preparation of these materials for the different parts of a
prototype canoe. As there were no metals, they used wooden, stone,
shell, and animal and fishbone tools to carry out the work.
The
trees that were hollowed out to fashion the hull or part of the
hull, had to be tall and very straight. Today we can only surmise
what these trunks must have been like, as trees of this stature have
been completely wiped out. The tamanu, which was used both for masts
and planking, is not a very tall tree today, and there are few
stands of tou left. The aito is too hard and too heavy to make
hulls, the maiore and the purau are not strong enough although their
wood is used for making canoes - at least those of traditional
design. The pandanus tree is the only one used regularly today in
the same way as it was in the past.
When
a large canoe was built, the task was entrusted to specialized
workers who had considerable social prestige. The high priests
supervised the undertaking and all the work was done to the sound of
invocations to the gods. A special shelter was constructed for the
hull and other components of the canoe, and alongside, the rigging
and sails were woven or plaited. When the finishing touches were
complete, the canoe was dedicated to one of the Gods. The launching
of the pahi was a public spectacle enjoyed by the king and all the
people living in the area. The leading craftsman invoked the aid of
the Gods for the occasion, and the canoe, pushed forward by its
builders, advanced to the sea over rollers made of coconut trunks.
If it was a question of the launching of a sacred canoe, bodies of
enemies were placed between rollers.
In
any case, the launching of a can6e was considered to be an
outstanding event and it was duly celebrated with magnificent feasts
and interminable ceremonies.
Voyage
The
Polynesians often spent several weeks or months at sea, covering
huge distances in their large voyaging canoes, heading into the
trade winds. Their life, therefore, was regulated by the various
tasks that guaranteed the group's survival.
Because
of the frequent leaks in the stitched planking of the keels, night
and day, the crew had to bail out the catamaran to stop the water
increasing the weight of the vessel. When they were becalmed, the
men had to anchor themselves to the floats keep the canoes moving by
paddling in the right direction. The woven sails, made of sheets of
pandanus, were easily damaged and they and their moorings required
daily maintenance.
Right
from the outset, stores of fresh, dried or cooked food were
collected, as well as animals and saplings of trees the voyagers
wished to take to their new island. So they gathered fresh or dried
coconuts, sweet potatoes, taro, bananas, sugar cane, mashed
breadfruit and dried fish from the lagoon.
While
some fishermen went about stocking up fresh fish, others did the
cooking on a fire kept alight permanently in a container of sand.
Some canoes even had real ovens capable of cooking several pigs.
Fresh water was kept in calabashes and, of course, coconut-milk was
used to quench their thirst as well.
Food
resources
We
have now seen how emigrants brought food and animals in common usage
with them, in spite of the distances they had to cover. These
plants, which formed an integral part of their diet, are on the
whole, still eaten today. So it was that breadfruit (uru), taro,
yams (ufi), sweet potatoes (umara), wild bananas (fei), sugar cane
and coconuts spread throughout the islands according to their
voyages, and it was the same process for dogs, pigs and chickens.
Before
metal was discovered, horticulturists and fishermen used tools made
from wood and stone. Shells, once they had been carved, were turned
into many different things: combs and fish hooks, adzes, gouges and
fruit-peelers.
Fire
was obtained by rubbing sticks together and food was steamed in an
earth-oven dug out of the ground and heated by volcanic rocks
covered with leaves and soil. The ahimaa is still used today.
As
they had no root vegetables in the Tuamotus, the islanders ate sea
birds' eggs and the fruit of the pandanus to supplement their fish
diet.
It
should be noted that Polynesians had no alcoholic drinks and the
only anaesthetizing beverage consumed was a drink called kava made
out of roots (Piper methysticum) which fermented when chewed,
because of the action of saliva.
Fishing
Anyone
wanting to take something from the sea had to get permission from
the local chief owning the adjoining land, and in return, the latter
received a share of the catch. He could also organize collective
fishing expeditions for celebrations, or forbid fishing, in order to
protect certain species or to build up reserves for a feast.Fishing
lines were woven by each fisherman and made from the bark of a bush
growing in the valleys. Three threads were twisted together and the
resulting line was remarkably fine.
The
hooks were usually carved out of mother-of-pearl and shaped with the
help of coral files. Their shapes varied according to the fish they
wanted to catch; little hooks made of shell or mother-of-pearl were
kept for fishing in shallow water. Big fish taken from the
barrier-reef were lured with large wooden hooks to which a sharp
point was added.
Another
type of fishing was practiced in the open sea on the initiative of
the local chief. This was fishing for tuna with live bait. It was
known as the " tira" method and they employed a
double-canoe with a long flexible rod up front.
For
bonito fishing they used bamboo-canes and a short line. The lures
fastened to the line were made of mother-of-pearl shaped like little
fish with a sharp point and pig hair at the tail end. This kind of
hook is still used today.
Nets
woven from bark-fiber were common throughout the whole of French
Polynesia.
Another
method still in use today is paralyzing fish by using crushed roots
or nuts (hutu in Tahitian). The fisherman waves these outside their
holes, and the fish stunned by the poison, which is harmless for
man, allow themselves to be harpooned.
Finally
we come to the turtle which differed from other food because of the
sacred nature it was accorded. Women were not permitted to touch
this royal dish. In the Tuamotus, this marine reptile was offered up
to the Spirits of the Ancestors before being consumed by the elders
of the tribe during ceremonies on the marae. The turtle's shell and
plastron were also used to make various tools and ornaments.
For
more general information
on French Polynesia, go to: |
