Book Reviews

Noteworthy look at French Polynesia

Three books published on various aspects of French Polynesia in recent months are all noteworthy in their different ways.

Rapan Lifeways by F. Allan Han son is the first book in English (and only the second in any language) to be published about the island of Rapa, the southernmost outpost of French Polynesia.

Archeologie d’une vallee des lies Marquises by Marimari Kellum- Ottino is unusual for two reasons.

One is that the book is a French translation of a text that has not been published in its original langu age, English. The other is that the authoress, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.

Medford Kellum, of Moorea, was born and brought up in the South Pacific, and is therefore one of the very few “native daughters” to achieve the dignity of authorship. (Rosalind Young of Pitcairn Island; Teuira Henry and Queen Marau of Tahiti; and Johnny Frisbie of the Cook Is lands are some who come to mind.) Lumieres sur Tahiti is notable in that its author, Aime Grimald, is a former Governor of French Polynesia and High Commissioner for the Paci fic in Noumea—a brand of French man not usually addicted to literary endeavours on the Pacific.

For English-speaking readers, Han son’s book will, of course, have most appeal. It is the work of an anthro pologist with the University of Kansas, who spent 12 months on Rapa in 1963-64. The book is sub titled “Society and History on a Polynesian Island”, and for an an thropological study it is agreeably readable.

The background to Hanson’s study is a fascinating one in many ways.

For a start, Rapa is 700 miles south south-east of Tahiti and 300 miles from its nearest neighbour, Ra’ivavae It is only four by five and a half miles in extent, but its volcanic peaks rise to more than 2,000 feet.

Rapa’s two present-day villages are situated on either side of a deep, well-protected bay, and, being sur rounded on all sides by mountains, they created the impression, in Han son s eyes, of a “self-contained uni

verse” where the world beyond sel dom came to mind.

When Captain Vancouver dis covered Rapa in 1791, it had a popu lation of about 1,500, and by 1826, it possibly had 2,000. However, in creasing contact with the outside world from that time onwards brought several devastating sicknesses, which, by 1867, had reduced the Rapans to a miserable 120. Since then, the Rapans have slowly increased again, and in 1964 their numbers stood at 362.

Because of its well-protected har bour, the Great Powers became in terested in Rapa about this time last century as a coaling station between New Zealand and Panama, where the building of a canal was mooted.

In 1867, the Australian Royal Mail Company actually established a coal ing station on the island and tried to persuade the British Government to declare a protectorate over it. But the French got wind of what was going on and sent a warship from

Rapa, and some of its people. It's still a lonely island.

Tahiti to establish a French protec torate.

About 20 years later when the pros pect of a Panama Canal was revived, the British Government nearly agreed to the French annexation of the New Hebrides in exchange for Rapa, but was dissuaded from doing so by the Australians and New Zealanders. Sub sequently, France decided to turn Rapa into an outright possession, and Governor Chesse sailed down from Tahiti to raise the French flag. How ever, the king and chiefs told him bluntly that they didn’t want either the protectorate flag or the Tricolor, and it was only after a threat of force that they gave in. But not for 10ng...

When another French Governor went to Rapa from Tahiti about seven years later, he found the islanders, as he himself expressed it, “in open revolt against the government of France”, and more threats were needed to bring the recalcitrant islanders to heel. The Rapan mon archy was thereupon abolished and native laws were superseded by the French civil code.

Despite all this, the French never had needed to use Rapa because the opening of the Panama Canal did not turn it into the strategic stopping place that was envisaged. As a result, it has, as Hanson puts it, “remained a lonely island, commercially and politically of little importance; an island from which one can see passing ocean liners, but where as late as 1964 three months might elapse with out a visit from the outside world”.

Islands such as Rapa are becoming pretty hard to find these days; and probably even Rapa won’t remain as it is for too much longer.

If it does change, though, the world —thanks to Hanson—will still have an excellent portrait of what it was like in the good old days of 1964.

Life, then, was divided into two simple sides —the food side and the belief side, and all human activities revolved around one or the other.

Marquesas

Towards the end of 1924, the then Director of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Dr. Harold Gregory, pulled aff an agreeable, money-saving coup.

He persuaded the American owner of a magnificent 180 ft yacht called Kaimiloa, which had just arrived in Honolulu en route to Samoa on a

pleasure cruise, to provide free ac commodation and transport for five members of his staff who wanted to carry out scientific work in the South Seas.

Dr. Gregory’s coup had several in teresting and far-reaching conse quences:— 1. The Bishop Museum scientists, who included the now well-known Dr.

Kenneth Emory, were able to visit Polynesian maraes on several of the Line Islands that might otherwise have remained unvisited for years. 2. The owner of the Kaimiloa, Mr.

Medford Kellum, Sr., and his son, Medford Kellum, Jr., acquired an interest in Polynesian archaeology.

3. Dr. Emory was later able to make a study of the Polynesian stone remains in the Society Islands. 4. The Kaimiloa never reached Samoa. Instead, Mr. Kellum, Sr., be came interested in a vast agricultural property at the head of Papetoai Bay, Moorea, which happened to be on the market at the time, and in an ex pansive moment he bought it and gave it to his son. 5. Mr. Kellum, Jr., and his wife installed themselves on Moorea as tropical agriculturists, living in a pre fabricated house imported from Cali fornia, and raising a family consist ing of a boy and a girl. 6. The girl, Marimari, who was

born in Tahiti, grew up speaking Eng lish, French and Tahitian; and she acquired an interest in the same sub ject that had indirectly brought the Kaimiloa to Moorea Polynesian archaeology.

Now, 47 years after Dr. Gregory’s noney-saving coup, Marimari, who is Harried to a French anthropologist, Paul Ottino, has published her first najor work on her subject—a detailed study of the archaeological remains af the Hane Valley of Uahuka, Mar juesas Islands.

The study was done in 1962-64 and earned the authoress a Master of Arts iegree at the University of Hawaii.

Its English title is Sites and Settle nents in Hane Valley, Marquesas.

Governor’S Book

At first sight, Governor Grimald’s look, Lumieres sur Tahiti (Tahiti Brought to Light) seems not much lifferent from the many other coffee able books on the Pacific Islands hat have made their appearance dur ng the last two or three years. And, n fact, it isn’t. It is an attractively >ound volume, of 180 pages, contain ing 100 pages of text and 129 illus rations in colour and black and vhite.

The text is divided into six sec ions dealing with history, the various slands and archipelagoes of French tolynesia, their people, political de elopments in the 20th century, eco tomic and social development, and he development of air service and aurism.

What differentiates Governor Grim- Id’s book from others of the same ind is that his occasionally contains iformation that is not readily access es elsewhere. For example, he says hat when the nuclear tests are on at lururoa, 15,000 people are in French 'olynesia for the purpose, of whom 0,000 are Servicemen.— Robert ,angdon. (RAPAN LIFEWAYS. Little, Brown and ompany. Boston. SUS4.I6; ARCHEO OGIE d’UNE VALLEE des IL E S LARQUISES. Societe des Oceanistes [usee de I’Homme, Paris. 65 Prs ;

Umieres Sur Tahiti. A. Grimald, 28

venue Carnot, Paris 17. 55 Prs.). • A new journal is expected to lake its appearance on the Pacific slands scene next March under the tie of Pacific Perspective.

Its birthplace will be the Univer ty of the South Pacific and assist

ing at its birth will be Professor R.

G. Crocombe.

According to its editor, senior student Sione K. Tupouniua—it is “now in labour under the general guidance and leadership of Professor Crocombe’, and is aimed primarily at school teachers, church leaders, politicians and other leaders of opinion as well as academicians in the Pacific.

It will publish articles on matters of social, economic, political, historical, geographical and other current interests in the area. It will also publish summaries and reviews of books relevant to the Pacific.

Pacific Perspective, which will be published twice yearly, in March and September, is not formally linked Wlth the university but most °f those concerned with it are faculty members and senior students.

Articles in the first issue will in elude, “Preserving with Tradition?

The Future of Pacific Cultures”, by r. g. Crocombe; “Economic Plan ning—Tonga Style”, by I. Fairbairn; “Labour Trade in the Solomon Islands 1870-1911”, by P. Corns; “The Island State and the Interna tional Community”, by S. K. Tupou niua, and “Investment for Tourism in Fijian Land”, by R. Nayacakalou.