How Tahiti Became
pp. 44-45 · Read in the full issue
French
Influence of Chief Tati
HERE is an interesting fragment of history, showing how Tahiti became a French possession. Nearly all British books of re ference present Queen Pomare as harassed and finaUy overwhelmed by French intriguers.
ActuaUy, the Queen was but a catspaw in the struggle between two religious groups.
The Protestant missionaries—prejudiced, grim and utterly intolerant—got control of the court, and used their power to keep out the Roman Catholics. Their regime was such that France, then officiaUy Roman Catholic, was compelled to intervene. It is the same story—Hawaii, Rarotonga, Tonga—wherever the Protestant missionaries have interfered in politics and sought to control Pacific Islands Administrations ... It lately has been a subject of comment that the Methodist Church, in Tonga to-day, is exercising too much influence in the functions of govern ment.
By Our Tahiti Correspondent.
AT a ceremonial assembly, under the presidency of the Governor of French Oceania, on the re-convening of the Tribunals of the Colony after the mid year recess, Monsieur Cambazard (Judge of the Tribunal) delivered an oration in memory of a great chief and lawgiver of the Tahitian nation—Tauraatuai patea.
The latter was high chief of Papara and overlord of the pow erful Teva clan, inhabiting the southern coast of Tahiti Nui and the leeward districts of Taiarapu. His insignia as high chief of Papara was the Maro-Tea (girdle of yellow feathers); second only in rank and honour to the Maro-Ura (red feather girdle), the sacred insignia of highest royalty. To history he is known by his shorter name of Tati.
Tati was born in 1770. During the years when Tu (Pomare First)—al ready master of the northern districts —was waging war to extend his author ity over all Tahiti, Tati was compelled to seek sanctuary in Ra’iatea. Not withstanding these wars, and his exile, Tati gave his allegiance to Tu’s son, Pomare Second, and joined with the high chiefs of Ra’iatea, who aided Po mare in re-establishing his authority on Tahiti after his defeat, and flight to Moorea, in the year 1808.
The battle of November 12, 1815, at Punaauia —in which the worshippers of Oro, under the leadership of Opuhara
(Tati’s younger brother) were over whelmed—finally broke the power of Pomare’s enemies, established him as paramount ruler of Tahiti, and de stroyed the last vestiges of the ancient religion. Tati was reinstated as high chief of Papara.
In 1818, when Pomare 11. wrote the first book of laws for the kingdom, Tati was his assistant and chief advisor.
Pomare 11. died in 1821. His two sur viving children, a son and a daughter were minors. The power of the sever had not yet been firmly estab lished and a strong hand was required to consolidate the kingdom.
The crown was offered to Tati. He refused it and united with the mission aries in placing the son of Pomare II on the throne as Pomare 111. The boy king did not live long, and was suc ceeded by his sister, who reigned as Po mare IV., for fifty years. At her ac cession she was but 14 years of age.
During the first years of her reign, there raged about her a constant battle for power and influence between the chiefs, the missionaries and the foreign trad ers, who had established themselves on the beach at Papeete.
In the second year of her reign, in 1828, there arose in Tahiti an heretical sect—described in the old missionary dictionary as “a party formed in Tahiti who professed to improve upon received Religion, and to be given to extraord inary prayer; they discarded some of the essentials of Christianity, and were immoral in their conduct”.
This sect, named Mamaia, spread rapidly throughout Tahiti and the ad jacent islands, especially Moorea and Taiarapu, the peninsula of Tahiti. Their objective was to abolish the new laws and customs introduced by the mission aries and to revive the primitive prac tices of pre-European times. The in fluence of their leaders over the young Queen was becoming so great that Tati, in 1829, voiced his opposition, in her presence, before the council of high chiefs.
The influence of the Mamaia lead ers continued, however, until, in 1831, Tati, together with three other power ful high chiefs—Hitoti, Tetuannua and Paofai—seized Papeete and compelled Pomare IV. to dismiss her evil counsel lors. The Mamaia were finally broken up and scattered by the power of Tati and his allies, at Taiarapu, in 1832.
As time passed, and relations with European influences grew. Tati foresaw that new conceptions of the powers and
responsibilities of the Queen’s govern ment were necessary. Heretofore, the different chiefs had retained a large measure of their independence. A quar rel of chiefs of neighbouring districts could be fought out between themselves without involving the central authority at Papeete. This matter of the respon sibility of the whole kingdom for the acts of the sub-ruler of any of its parts, was brought to bear upon the Queen’s government in 1835, by an incident where an English ship—the “Truro”— was attacked in the Tuamotu Islands, a part of Queen Pomare’s hereditary dominions.
Following the dispersal and extinction of the Mamaia sect, the Protestant Missionary influence gained ascendancy in the councils of the kingdom. Laws were instituted to prevent any religious teaching in the islands other than the established Protestant creed.
When, under these laws, two Roman Catholic missionaries (Pere Caret and Pere Laval) who had landed in Tahiti in 1836, were expelled, and the French warship “Venus” under the command of Dupetit Thouars came to make protest against their deportation, Tati, before the council of the realm summoned to deal with the situation, warned his hear ers of the troubles which would come upon the kingdom if its policies were di rected by both civil and religious au thorities.
A treaty with France was signed by the Tahitian Government. Scarcely had the “Venus” departed, however, than the Tahitians, disregarding the wise coun sels of Tati, enacted a new law inter dicting the establishment in the king dom of any religious organisation other than that of the Protestant faith.
On learning of this, King Louis Philippe despatched the “Artemise”, un der Commandant Laplace, to inquire into the causes of this breach of faith.
The queen summoned the assembly of the kingdom. In the speech in which Tati addressed the conclave, he made no mention of the deeper causes which had influenced the policies of the Tahi tian Government, as he had on previous occasions. But, exposing the evils which would come upon the realm as conse quences of bad faith, he sought the ex pression of the true mind and inten tions of the assembly. In the end. the obnoxious law was repealed. That was in 1839.
In 1842, Tati despairing of unity and tranquility for the kingdom under the existing regime, exerted the whole power of his influence on the Queen to force her to the decision of placing her realm under the protection of France. Dupetit Thouars—now on admiral —was again at Tahiti, armed with power to impose stern measures. He found it necessary to suspend the power of the Queen. Re bellion flamed up.
There were few French troops in the garrison under the command of the Governor, Bruat.
The high chiefs, Tati, Hitoti, Paraita, Arato. Pu. and Mare, stood with the Government to put down the rebellion.
The war continued until 1847 when order was finally restored. Queen Po mare. under the protection of France, was reinstated on her throne.
Tati was now an old man, but he continued to serve his country as presi dent of the Judicial Council until his death in 1854. He had lived to see the fulfilment of his labours —the establish ment of unity, peace and equity in his native island.