Ma’ae Iipona, Hiva Oa

Yesterday, we booked a driver to take us on an all day tour of the island.   The arrangements were easy.  Our taxi driver from the dinghy dock to the town, Marie-Jo, turned out, in addition to running a taxi service, to run a laundry service and excursion tours.  Her husband Jean was our guide for the day.  A lovely French couple, joining their daughter who was vacationing from Bora Bora (who knew one took vacations FROM Bora Bora?), joined us for the day.

Our main destination was the Me’ae Iipona near the small town of Puamau.  It was a three-hour drive over a mix of paved and dirt roads, up and down and around points of land, to get there. Along the way, we stopped at one breathtaking view after another, as well as several of the small fishing villages that punctuate some bays at the bottom of a valley.  (Several hundred years ago, each tribe “owned” a valley – separated from their “neighbors” by the steep slopes of the mountains.  I say “neighbors,” because these were war-like people at the time, and raided each other routinely, killing and eating their victims.  The Marquesas were the last bastion of cannibalism  – more later, when I describe the Me-ae.)

 The island is covered in steep volcanic mountains that are covered in lush green and the shore is lined with jagged black basalt cliffs and has many inlets reflecting the path of the once flowing lava.  The ocean breeze and higher altitude of the mountains kept the air cool and it was scented with the fragrance of the flora.

There were peaks that stood out alone, ridges that curved in semi circles reflecting the craters that they once were, and many hairpin turns along the way.  We were told that about 2,000 people live on the island in total, and so the occasional small village would appear in a valley along the shoreline.  It is easy to imagine how the original Marquesans, though living on a small island, could be relatively isolated from each other.  Even today, the road is not completely paved and requires a four-wheel vehicle to navigate.  The paths within the villages are used by people, horses and goats.

We visited a small farm where bananas were dried and sold in small bundles that would last for two months.  Bananas are in abundance here, but they are one fruit boaters tend to avoid because they go bad quickly on boats and they often have gnats.  Drying seemed a good solution.  Fish was also drying, and we decided we’ll try this the next time we have a fresh catch.

We stopped at a beach at the end of one of the bays, inhabited by a few dozen people living in well-appointed houses, and making their living off copra and fishing, where the sand was black and the shore was lined with small black basalt rocks that were speckled with bleach white coral fragments.  It wasn’t just the beauty of this place that captivated us; it was the peacefulness, remoteness and the absence of man made noises.  We all could have stayed the rest of the day.  But there was more to see.

Just above the town of Puamau, we arrived at Me’ae Iipona.  A me’ae is a ceremonial site used for rituals, celebrations and human sacrifices.  Iipona has the largest tiki in all of Polynesia.  (Tikis are carved stone statues of and to the gods.)  The story behind this site is that that the Naiki tribe captured the chief of a neighboring tribe, they sacrificed him and then ate him.   In revenge, the neighboring tribe routed the Naiki and they were vanquished.   (Some went to neighboring islands; eventually, some sailed to Easter Island (!), where there are tikis that sit among the larger stone statues as a result of this extraordinary migration by outrigger canoe.)  The conquerors then transformed the defeated chief’s residence and properties into a ma’ae.  Today, the Polynesians seem among the most gentle people on Earth.  It’s hard to imagine that they were warring cannibals not that long ago.

The ma’ae is where the chief and priest of the village would live; little of consequence could happen in these villages without the blessing of both, whether it was the cutting of a tree or the taking of a harvest or a marriage.  Offerings to each were the norm; including crops, fish, and, yes, the occasional human.  The ma’ae consists of several platforms, each higher than the next, with the sacred tikis on the top level.   The chief kept his hut there, as did the priest; a fire burned continuously, tended by one of the lower caste members of the tribe.  This site is unusually large and well-preserved; others are scattered throughout the islands, and every village boasted a ma’ae.  In addition, this site has a number of smaller tikis, including a rare prone tiki, with a llama carved at its base.  Llama?

After the ma’ae, we were treated to a wonderful lunch in Puamau.  The restaurant, owned by a young couple, was delightful.  The wife served shrimp and rice in a coconut sauce, raw snapper in grated mango, warmed papaya, guava and banana, and breadfruit.  All washed down with fresh mango juice.  Meanwhile, the husband played an electrical piano and sang Marquesan and French songs.  It was perfect.   A local woman came by as we ended the meal; legend has it that her great-grandmother was married to Paul Gauguin.  I think Mr. Gauguin had many wives when he lived here.

While eating, several people passed by on horseback, which is still a primary means of transportation.  Jon could not resist photographing this young boy on his way to the beach with his boogie board.  This was a holiday week for the school kids and they all seemed to be enjoying it.  We were told that the kids only have one month of vacation in the summer, but that they get one week of school off about every month and only went to school Monday through Thursday.

The drive back to Atuona was just as beautiful and took the rest of the afternoon.  We were all tired, but those who rode in the back of the truck were particularly exhausted as they had the bumpiest ride.  This morning we awoke to a small rain shower followed by a rainbow over the bay and nearby mountain.

It was the perfect goodbye gift for Stephen and Guita, who left us today.  They are going to spend a week in Nuku Hiva before flying to Tahiti and then back home to California.  Jon and I will go south to Fatu Hiva for a few days before heading north to Nuku Hiva and perhaps catching up with them before they are off.  It’s hard to believe that our 3 months together is over.  It passed so quickly and we’ll miss them.  They were wonderful shipmates.  Now, Jon and I will be on our own as we head downwind to the Tuomotus, Tahiti, the Cook Islands, and beyond.