Eastern Polynesia

Visit of N.Z. Flagship—Raiatea’s Firewalkers

From Our Own Correspondent

PAPEETE, August 13.

H.M.S. Diomede left Tahiti on July 23, after a stay of several days in the group. Part of this time was spent at anchorage in the lovely bay of Openohu, island of Moorea, op posite the residence of Lord Hastings, where the officers were entertained with true island hospitality by Major Doug

las, the present tenant of the house.

At Papeete, the July celebrations were extended for another day by Gov ernmental decree, in order that the ship’s personnel might have the op portunity to participate.

In connection with the Diomede’s visit, it is worth noting that Admiral Blake, while the guest of Mr. H. Guild on a fishing expedition, succeeded in landing a good sized sail fish. For this he merited, and received, the congratu lations of all our local sportsmen.

Extension Of Hotel Tiare

In order to cope with an increasing number of visitors, M. Ravnek, the aff able proprietor of the Hotel Tiare, has leased a large 14-room bungalow situ ated nearby, which formerly belonged to the Compagnie Navale et Commer ciale de l’Oceanic.

For many years the destinies of this hotel were presided over by the famous Lovaina, until she succumbed during the great epidemic of 1918, and she ran it in a way that no one since has been able to emulate. Many guished persons have sojourned here, including, Somerset Maughan, Freder ick O’Brien and a host of others, and they all paid tribute to Lovaina, who created an atmosphere about the place that time has not been able to entirely dispel.

Something of that lady’s gracious genius still pervades the wide veran dahs, where Papeete’s cosmopolitan in habitants still gather, as of yore, for 11 o’clock dejeuner, and linger on about their wine till 2 p.m. or later. For here one may command a four-course meal for as little as ten francs, and have the wine and accessories thrown in for a few francs more.

The exterior surroundings of the hotel remain the same as 20 years ago.

There is the ancient screen of coffee bushes laden down with berries, be tween the diners and the street, the same old garden of odorous tropic blooms, and the same old breadfruit trees, from which, upon occasion, a ripe fruit crashes to the roof and mo mentarily puts a stop to the buzz of voices going on below. The serving women, brown and bouncing, carry in the viands from the same promiscuous kitchen; all this is as it was in Lo vaina’s day. It is true that an increas ing number of motor cars honk along the road outside, but that is all there is to remind us of the passing years.

The rest remains.

Whatever the exigencies of a modern tourist traffic may demand in the way of hotels, one thing is certain, Tahiti’s oldest hostelry will never lack patrons, for Papeete without its Hotel Tiare could never be the same to the old timers. Mr. Ravnek promises to be a worthy successor to the lamented Loy aina, and everybody wishes him well in his latest venture.

Strange Ceremony Attracts

Tourists

|Four months ago an enterprising theatrical promoter from Chicago vis ited Tahiti with the idea of exploiting in America the ancient ceremony of fire-walking, but the stringent immi gration laws in that country prevented the final realisation of his plans.

His preliminary efforts were entirely successful, however, in that he was able, with the help of some local experts fluent in the native tongue, to revive the almost extinct cult of the “Umu ti,” which since the advent of Christi anity has been sternly repressed by the missionaries as a relic of heathen ism and superstition.

Fortunately, there still exists in the island of Raiatea a middle-aged native last of an unbroken line of priests (Tahua) who refuses to renounce his ancestral gods, who carries with great dignity the knowledge handed down and carefully guarded through the ages, and who may be persuaded, upon occasion, to wield the sacred Ti for the benefit of visiting white people.

Briefly, for space will not permit of a full description, the performance con sists of walking barefoot across a pit filled to the brim with white hot stones and stepping out unharmed at the other side.

The Umu (oven) may be of any size.

One this writer saw in 1914 and walked across unscathed, was fully 18 feet in diameter. Tons of firewood are needed to fill the pit and heat the volcanic stones to the proper degree of inten sity. When all is in readiness the priest appears with his wand of sacred leaves, prepared with appropriate rites the day previously, and kept for a whole night in the temple (Marae).

In a long incantation he now in vokes the ancient gods, the presiding genii, and the spirit who enchants the flame, waving his wand the while from side to side. Any who please may now follow him across the flaming pit, but beware of looking backwards, lest the spell be broken and the feet get burned.

Scientists have so far failed to find a satisfactory explanation of this strange ceremony, which is naturally most impressive when performed at night. Visiting tourists who have been recently privileged to see it in Raiatea have returned to Tahiti well pleased, and expressed the opinion that this alone was well worth the trip.