The Marquesas: The Islands of Mana

Imagine huge volcanic mountains escalating from the deep Pacific Ocean, and uneven ridges snaking towards the water, creating valleys of lush tropical forests where waterfalls shower into pristine pools and rivers.  Imagine colorful and tidy towns, with streets lined with fruit and plumeria trees, where women walk with flowers wreaths on their heads and men are fiercely adorned with tattoos.  This is the Marquesas, and it is every bit and more of how I imagined the South Pacific to be.

The Marquesas archipelago are made up of 7 main islands: Nuku Hiva, ‘Ua Huka, ‘Ua Pou, Tahuata, Fatu Hiva, Hiva Oa, and Puamau.  Within the two weeks we spent exploring, we visited Hiva Oa, Tahuata, Fatu Hiva, ‘Ua Pou, and Nuku Hiva.

Hiva Oa

We made landfall on Hiva Oa on July 3^rd, after spending 16 days crossing the Pacific Ocean.  Hiva Oa is the second most populated island in the Marquesas, although you couldn’t tell from looking at it.  We anchored off the peaceful town of Atuona.

I woke early the second morning dying for some sort of exercise.  In the middle of the bay, about ¾ of a mile from where we were anchored, there was a small island.  I decided it would be a good workout to paddle around the island and back to the boat.  It was a bit of a unnerving paddle towards the island.  The water was deep all around me, and in the back of my mind I kept thinking of the massive sharks that live in these waters.  About half way to the island I saw a fin pop out of the water in front of me.  My stomach tightened and panic flooded me…sharks!  I immediately turned around and started to paddle as fast as I could back to the boat, when suddenly, the unmistakable black and white vision of a manta ray swooped underneath the paddleboard.  I was so thankful that the “fin” I saw was actually the tip of one of its wings!  I turned back around and began to paddle after it, only to discover two of them, gracefully swopping back and forth beside each other feeding.  They were so large and so beautiful.  I could hardly believe my eyes!  They slowly made their way towards the island, and to my surprise, they joined a group of 20 manta rays, feeding off the point of the island.  I gleefully watched as they swam amongst the paddleboard, so close I could touch them, and clearly not caring that I was there.  I suddenly realized that I could be in the water snorkeling with them, so I paddled back to the boat to alert the others.

In the water we all went, to have one of the most beautiful experiences.  The manta rays are gentle giants.  They can have a wingspan of nearly 12 feet, and when they swim at you with their mouths open, it seemed as if they could quite possibly swallow you hole.

We spent 5 days in Hiva Oa, and each day we swam with the manta rays.  The second day we swam with them was the best, as the water was crystal clear, and there were easily over 100 giant manta rays circling us while feeding, so close we were able to “pet” them as they swam by.  There were so many, that it was difficult to dive down in fear that we would run into one.

Another highlight of Hiva Oa was spending a day driving around the island.  The roads were very windy and many parts are not paved, so it takes a while to go anywhere.  We drove to the picturesque town of Puamau, where we walked around Iiona, one of the best-preserved archaeological sites in French Polynesia (according to Lonely Planet). 

 

Puamau

These archaeological sites, called “marae” in Polynesian, are all over the Marquesas and were places where religious and social ceremonies were held.  Among the most fascinating rituals carried out at the marae were human sacrifices and cannibalism, which were performed as revenge over feuding tribes.  Aside from thinking those eerie thoughts while walking around the marae, it was fun to stand next to real tikis!  

Tikis are believed to carry the spirits of ancestors.  Historically, Marquesan priests would bestow the tikis with a supernatural power, called mana, to keep order amongst the tribe.  The mana could be good or evil, and its still taboo to Marquesans today to touch these tikis for fear that misfortune would come to them or their families. 

Tahuata

            Tahuata is only a short hop from Hiva Oa, and is the smallest inhabited island in the Marquesas.  This island proved to be very special for Marques, as it is where he got his Marquesan tattoo.

            We arrived in Vaitahu after an amazing swim with a pod of dolphins. 

We read about a man named Felix, who was an excellent tattooist living in Tahuata.  So after we anchored, we went to search for Felix.  The town, while very beautiful, was very sleepy, and we didn’t see too many people out and about.  Luckily, we bumped into a woman who spoke some decent English.  We asked her about Felix, and she called him up and told us he would be picking us up in 5 minutes.  I couldn’t help but laugh at how easy it was!

The Town Church

Felix, also known as “Fati”, drove us up the mountain to his wife’s house.  It was a ordinary house, with a huge patio that had amazing views of the surrounding valley and mountians.  There was a bed on the patio, where his wife was sleeping.  She didn’t wake the entire time we were there.  Marques explained to Felix how he wanted a manta ray, with various Marquesan designs inside.  Felix seemed to understand and began to free hand draw the tatooo right on Marques.  But rather than drawing a manta ray, Felix drew a sea turtle, and inside its shell were various symbols representing Marques and the Marquesas- the wind, sun, moon and stars, waves, a manta ray, a shark, and the Marquesan symbol.  It was a one of a kind, beautiful design.  

Fati drawing the tattoo on Marques

We’ve always joked that turtles are Marques’ “spirit animal”, so it was a special coincidence that Felix drew the turtle rather than a manta ray.  Marques got the tattoo right on his ribcage, underneath his left arm, therefor it was 2 hours of a lot of pain.  He was covered in sweat, and clearly not enjoying it near the end, but he endured it bravely, and now has an authentic Marquesan tattoo that was skillfully and beautifully done.  Felix told Marques he has very strong mana.

The view from the "tattoo parlor"

Marques and Fati

Tattoos are prevalent in most Polynesian culture, but Marquesan tattoos were known to be the most refined and artistic in all of Polynesia.  Also unique to the Marquesas was the extent of their tattooing.  Marquesans would spend their lives covering their entire body with tattoos, even their faces, lips, eyelids, tongue and skulls!  Not only was tattooing a mark of attractiveness, but it also marked the passage from childhood to adulthood, it was how they identified themselves within their family and society, and acted as a protective barrier against evil influences.  The tradition of tattooing changed drastically in the 1800’s, when French missionaries banned many aspects of the Marquesan cultural, tattooing being one of them.  Sadly, most of the symbolic meanings of the ancient tattoos were lost.  Thankfully, since the beginning of the Marquesas Island Festival in the 1980’s, tattooing has made a comeback, and is again considered an important part of their culture and history.

Fatu Hiva

            Fatu Hiva is hand down one of the most gorgeous islands I have ever seen.  We sailed into the famous “Bay of Virgins,” which is known amongst sailors to be one of the most beautiful anchorages in the world.

 

            The village in the Bay of Virgins is called Hanavave, and is a beautiful little village.  There is a river that runs along the main street, with tropical flowers and fruit trees everywhere.  

We walked on the main road nearly to the top of the mountain and were rewarded with spectacular views of the valley and the town below.  

We hiked to a waterfall and plunged into a deep refreshing pool at its base.  With the tight schedule that we were on, we were only able to spend one full day there, but every second was magical!

‘Ua Pou

            ‘Ua Pou is geologically a really cool looking island.  It has huge spires protruding from the mountain.  Marquesan legend is that they spires represented famous warriors that were fighting to be the “King of the Mountain.”  Therefor, each spire is named after a warrior.  

 To get a closer look at the spires, we went on a 6-hour hike to the top of the mountain, amongst the spires, and across the island to a bay on the other side.  At the end of the hike, the beautiful Manfred Waterfall was waiting for us to take a dip.

            That evening we joined the rest of the island to watch the annual Mr. and Miss ‘Ua Pou competition.  The competition was full of traditional dancing and singing by various dance troupes.  There were four couples contending for the title, and they were introduced one at a time.  The three categories of the competition were traditional wear, swimwear, and formalwear.  The traditional wear was by far the coolest part.  The men and women wore outfits made entirely of plants, but the women’s dresses in particular were the most impressive.

 

            The night was filled with lots of eating, drinking, music, dancing and people watching.  It was a lovely experience to be a part of this community event.

Nuku Hiva

           

            Nuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquesan islands and exceptionally beautiful.  It seemed to have the highest mountains, the most dramatic cliffs and wild looking terrain.  We went on a gorgeous hike to one of the tallest waterfalls in all of French Polynesia called the Vaipo Waterfall, at 1,148 ft high!  

The hike took us through the gorgeous Hakaui Valley.  The valley was once home to King Te Moana and Queen Vaekehu.  The trail we followed though the valley was actually their “royal road”, and there were numerous archaeological sites that we passed on our way to the waterfall.

        

            One of the highlights of our entire time in the Marquesas was the night of our traditional Polynesian dinner in Nuku Hiva.  We often have agents in the various countries that we sail into, and they help us with many things, most importantly customs and immigrations.  Our agent for the Marquesas was a young man named Tuki.  Tuki was an amazing help and became a friend of ours while we were there.  

The two of us with Tuki

Lucky for us, Tuki was the leader of a traditional dance team that performs in competitions all over French Polynesia.  To help raise money for a future trip to San Diego, where they were to perform, his team and their families organized a private traditional dinner and dance performance for us.  It was fantastic!  We arrived to a pavilion along the water, where ticki torches were lit and everyone was dressed in tradional Marquesan attire.  Drums were beating, and the women were chanting as we were greeted with lovely leis.  

We were lead to a banana leaf covered pit, where a pig had been cooking for half the day.  We watched as the men chanted the “pig” song, and hopped around the pit digging away the dirt and clay to reveal the palm.  Then they carefully lifted the palm leaves to reveal the woven mats with the pork inside.  

Along with the roast pig, we had stewed goat, breadfruit, poke-poke (a gummy papaya in a coconut milk), crab, lobster in coconut milk, and some sort of local mussel thing.  Once the dinner was over, the dancing started.  It was so amazing and fun to watch.  They danced for at least an hour, and had many different dances, such as the priest dance, the bird dance, the pig hunt dance, and the warrior dance.  The girls and guys would take turns doing their dances, but they danced together a few times as well.   After the dancing ended, we all got pictures together, wished them luck on their competition, and returned to the boat.  It was a night that was truly special, and one that I will never forget.

I really loved the time we spent in the Marquesas-the beauty, the culture, the mana.  It was sad to leave, but there is a lot to look forward to.  Next up, the Tuomotos!