Heiva and Vaka Ariori

Heiva (pronounced hay-va) means festival. And the Polynesians have never needed much of a reason for a festival. Traditionally, the change of seasons, harvests, marriages, births, and other social rites would spawn a heiva. There would be dancing and singing, canoe racing, heavy stone lifting and javelin throwing. The dancing in particular was well known for its sensuality and sexual overtones, as fertility was (and is) very important in their culture.

After the Christian missionaries arrived in the nineteenth century, much of the native culture was suppressed. Tattoos were banned. Worship of pagan gods ceased. Women were no longer allowed to go topless. Cannibalism was prohibited (a good thing). And heivas were also suppressed, particularly the sensual dancing.

Just as we have our Fourth of July to celebrate our independence from Great Britain in 1776, the French have their Bastille Day, July 14^th, to celebrate the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the beginning of the French Republic. Well, since this is French territory, it did not take the Polynesians long to turn Bastille Day into a great big heiva. Here, it begins in June and runs through late July. This year is the 128^th celebration. These are definitely a partying people.

But Heiva is serious business too. It has become a way for the Polynesians to rediscover and preserve their culture and maintain island-to-island connections, as well as island-group-to-island-group connections. The competition between the groups and their islands is quite intense. When we were in the island groups of the Marquesas and the Tuamotus, we saw canoe teams practicing nightly for their competitions in Tahiti. Even here in Taravao, we saw a canoe team from the island of Raiatea practicing in the Bay, just meters from our boat. We also saw dance troupes practicing for their competitions in each of these groups, so we knew what awaited us if we were in Tahiti in June and July.

On Saturday June 26^th, the day our dinghy got a tear, we joined a Dutch couple for a special Heiva event in the town of Paea. There, the ancient Marae Arahurahu has been restored and was the site for the reenactment of an ancient ceremony; the Vaka Arioi. (See blog post Ma'ae Iipona, Hiva Oa, April 17, 2010 for a description of a marae—ma’ae in Marquesan – they are the ancient temples of the islands’ original inhabitants.) Back in the day, as it were, the Arioi were an order (or brotherhood) of initiated singers and dancers who traveled from island to island and village to village to entertain the people during their annual rites. They are believed to have originated on the sacred island of Raiatea and existed only in the Society Islands (i.e. Tahiti and the surrounding leeward islands.) This tribal group had license to give visual representation to many of the deeply-felt urges and inclinations of the various other islands’ tribes or peoples, and were able to mock the gods (after paying them obeisance) without retribution. In other cultures, these might have been called vaudevilleans, and they exist in various forms throughout history (like jesters in a court).

In the reenactment we experienced, a Vaka Arioi (group from the Arioi order) have come from Raiatea to pay tribute to the Arii Nui (High Chief) of Tahiti and to present him with red feathers which were the highest form of adornment. Food and gifts are offered. A special drink made from ‘ava roots is presented to the royal court and also offered to the tiki god at the highest tier of the marae. A special chant is sung during the ritual, and having dispensed with the formalities and acknowledgements, then the celebrations begin.

Different dance troupes come out to perform for the chief, his court and the people. The drummers never stop. There is a man who can actually blow one conch shell that isn’t drowned out by a dozen drums. The singers really get into it. The dancers dance likes it’s the end of the world, and their costumes are amazing.

In video footage I will try to post later, you can see how fast these women can move their hips, and, to say the least, it is quite mesmerizing. I’m sure all males in the audience would agree! And, the dancing leaves no doubt as the purpose of men and women in life. I kept thinking this is the Tahitian version of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On!”

I will post other photos as the month progresses, but hopefully I have reassured family and friends that we are not working on the boat all the time nor only watching World Cup Soccer matches. We are lucky to be “stranded” here in Tahiti during this special celebration called Heiva.