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 DAVID
MARAE RECORDING FOR POSTERITY
Everyone seems to know David Marae, the RFO journalist whose voice
and image have been on the local airwaves since 1976. Back then,
there was little telephone service between the islands, so he would
read messages to distant loved ones over the air: “Mama is in the
hospital, but she’s fine,” or “I sent you a package, pick it up
when the boat comes in next week.”
Marae went on to become a newscaster, then
began producing documentaries. Five years ago, he launched “Matahiapo”
(“The Elders”), a monthly broadcast featuring interviews with aging
residents throughout the islands. To date he has cajoled nearly
100 people into dredging up near-forgotten memories of the ’30s,
’40s and ’50s, a period when arranged marriages were still common
and schools were often an hour’s canoe ride away.
“So little about that period was written
down,” he says. “So I’m trying to gather as much information as
I can before it’s too late.” In the Marquesas, a woman told him
that when people married, it was customary for the bride to walk
over the bodies of her parents and her in-laws. In Protestant Rurutu,
he learned that cooking on the Sabbath was forbidden until the 1970s.
Everywhere, he carefully records everything he can about traditions,
beliefs, daily habits and even local remedies. “It would be a shame
to lose that knowledge,” he says. “My mother treated us with her
own medicines, and they always worked!”
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 TITAUA
PEU TACKLING THE TABOOS
Titaua Peu simply couldn’t stand the silences anymore. “There were
so many subjects that were taboo, that people just wouldn’t talk
about,” she says. So she did. What’s even more impressive, this
26-year-old Tahitian gave voice to all these issues in a work of
fiction, something quite rare in a culture that has no literary
tradition. Published in April 2003, Mutismes has sold 3,000
copies, making it a bestseller by Polynesian standards.
Set in the years leading up to the anti-nuclear
riots that engulfed Papeete in 1995, the book takes a no-holds-barred
look at social problems such as domestic violence and alcohol and
drug abuse. It also shines a revealing light on the profound culture
shock experienced by Polynesians since the arrival of the Europeans,
and the difficulty that many young people today have in terms of
knowing who they really are, where they really belong. “For the
longest time, no one dared talk about ‘the others,’ about their
presence here,” says Peu. “We were the colonized, and we were mute.”
Education, she believes, is the best weapon
for change. “I will never be the battered woman my mother was; I
would never accept that,” she says. “I think many of the women in
my generation feel the same way. And of course we can’t undo 150
years overnight, but now that people are learning about their history
and culture, they are becoming proud of their roots, they are losing
their complexes. And the words are coming back.”
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 FRANK
MURPHY GOING FOR GREEN
Frank Murphy’s dream is to see French Polynesia become an eco-tourism
destination. “It would be a great way to protect the natural and
cultural heritage of these islands, and it just might be a good
marketing tool to boot,” he says. A California native with degrees
in biology, environmental studies and geography, Murphy first became
familiar with Polynesian environmental issues in 1992, when he took
over as manager of UC Berkeley’s Richard B. Gump Research Center
on Moorea.
Five years later, he left scientific research
to launch the adventure tourism company Tahiti Outfitters, leading
small private groups or directing field-course trips for universities.
“I admit it, I hit ’em pretty hard with the educational aspect,”
he laughs. Recently, he helped arrange an expedition for the National
Geographic Society, taking a crew to Rangiroa, the country’s largest
atoll. They set off in sea kayaks and camped for a week on deserted
islets, or motus. Between fishing, snorkeling and scuba-diving,
Murphy briefed them on island formations, coral bleaching, the effects
of sea-level changes.... “They were just blown away by everything
they saw here,” he says.
Murphy is now once again lending his talents
to the Gump Station, where as Facilities Manager he is overseeing
the construction of a botanical garden and a cultural/educational
center. He’s also lobbying for an eco-tourism association in Moorea,
the second most visited island after Bora Bora. Hotels and other
businesses would have to sign a charter to uphold minimum standards
and perhaps contribute to local conservation projects. “Who knows,”
he muses, “if the concept works here, it just may spread to the
other islands.”
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 RATARO
MAKING NEW MARQUESAN
MUSIC
He may not be a household name outside French Polynesia, but his
music has been heard in some 20 million American homes. Indeed,
Rataro (like Cher, he goes by only one name) composed the soundtrack
to the hit TV series “Survivor: Marquesas.”
Born on the island of Ua-Pou, Rataro spent
his childhood among the artistic community, learning traditional
Marquesan songs, dances, sculpture and tattooing. As a very young
man, he decided to do whatever he could to preserve the archipelago’s
cultural heritage, which he rightly viewed as “endangered.”
Moving to Papeete to study nursing—a profession
he still practices—he fell in with a group of Tahitian performers
and began writing music for them. Then he launched his own singing
career. His recording debut, “Mélodies des îles Marquises,” was
a triumph, garnering him a top prize at the annual “Heiva Upa Rau”
Polynesian music awards in 1990.
Rataro’s lyrics are directly inspired by
the local practice of ancestor worship, while his music—which he
describes as “a different kind of melody, deep from the heart”—blends
traditional sounds with a modern beat, creating a sort of Polynesian-European-American
fusion. This mesmerizing mix has made him a superstar in the islands.
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 TUMATA
ROBINSON TAKING DANCE
A STEP FORWARD
Nothing about Tumata Robinson’s life has been ordinary. At age 2,
her American father—a shipbuilder who set a world record for circumnavigating
the globe in the smallest craft—took Tumata and her sisters on a
16-month scientific mission to Thailand aboard his 70-foot sailboat.
Her ailing Polynesian mother, who was of Chinese and Thai origin,
stayed behind in Papeete and died while the family was away.
The rest of Robinson’s childhood was divided
between her father’s private atoll (now an international sanctuary
for scientific research) and Tahiti, where she and her sisters led
a regimented existence of chores alternating with correspondence
classes. “My father was very strict and we led a very secluded life,”
she says, “but he did let us learn Polynesian dances, and sometimes
we even performed in public.”
Dance has remained a passion. She formed
her own troupe in the mid-1970s, when this traditional art form
was enjoying a comeback, but had to abandon it a decade later for
lack of funds. She then discovered a talent for jewelry making,
coming up with iconoclastic designs combining shells, semi-precious
stones and pearls. These unusual pieces now sell for as much as
$1,500.
In 1997, she found her way back to her first
love when she began designing costumes for the renowned O Tahiti
E group. Soon after, she joined forces with two friends—choreographer
Lorenzo Schmidt and artistic director Teki Villant—to start their
own company, Les Grands Ballets. “We wanted the freedom to be more
creative, more innovative,” she says. The troupe has wowed audiences
at home and abroad with its novel mix of contemporary and traditional
choreography, imaginative costumes—many of which include Robinson’s
jewelry—and gorgeous young dancers. “Four of our male dancers recently
put on a promotional performance in LA,” she relates. “All the women
went nuts!”
Some cultural purists find the show a bit
too Las Vegas, but Robinson shrugs off the criticism. “The idea
of dance as a profession, as something with artistic value, is still
pretty new here.”
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 JULES
WONG ROCKING THE BOAT
Born in Tahiti to an ethnic Chinese family, Jules Wong studied in
the United States where, “seduced by the lifestyle,” he has remained.
Yet he has stayed close to his family, which owns the Aranui, one
of the cargo ships, or goélettes, that sail from island to
island loaded with everything from candy to car parts—items that
are often exchanged for local products such as copra and vanilla
(bartering is still common in places where there are no banks).
When the Wongs’ shipping company experienced
financial difficulties in the early ’80s, it was Jules, a marketing
whiz, who came up with the solution: Why not carry tourists, who
up to that point had limited opportunities to discover French Polynesia’s
more remote islands?
Wong had the ship retrofitted to carry 36
passengers. Only seven signed up for its maiden voyage in 1985,
but by the second trip, that number had jumped to 27. Travelers
were swept away not only by the beauty of the landscapes and the
richness of local cultures but also by the atmosphere aboard the
Aranui. Its crew members were renowned for their charm, often spontaneously
joining the passengers after the day’s work and providing evening
entertainment.
Since early 2003, the Aranui III, a larger,
more comfortable vessel, has been carrying more than 200 passengers
to the Tuomotus and the Marquesas. But even with this increased
capacity, you still have to book a passage months in advance. It
may be quicker to fly, but Wong’s Aranui remains the most authentic
way to go island hopping.
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 PAULINE
YOUSSEF TENDING HER GARDEN
Pauline Youssef has often been honored for her many achievements.
Over the years, the campground she started on family property in
Bora Bora has morphed into a vacation village, then into villas
and finally into the three-star Hôtel Maitai Polynesia, making her
the only Polynesian woman to head a hotel business. A few years
ago, Youssef—who remembers as a child having only banana leaves
to use as a raincoat—also launched a landscaping company, which
has proved equally successful. But what she seems most proud of
these days is the blue flag waving on the beach at her hotel.
“That’s the EU’s pavillon bleu; it
means that the water in the lagoon is clean,” she says. A few years
back, that wasn’t the case. Since then, the government has invested
massively in new water treatment systems and has overhauled trash
pickup and recycling. “More hotels mean more people and that can
mean more pollution,” she says. “But it doesn’t have to be that
way. Tourism is a fact of life here—it’s the price we must pay so
that the younger generation will have job opportunities and be able
to live well. But tourism has to go hand-in-hand with preserving
the environment.”
Now that these major projects are in place,
the local environmental protection association headed by Youssef
is working to sensitize residents to the importance of keeping their
island as beautiful and clean as it is in the imagination of people
around the world. Among her most recent initiatives is an island-wide
garden competition, which has been a great way to get her message
into neighborhoods. Kids too are targets: Her latest project is
a drawing competition on the theme “Bora Bora, my flower garden.”
“Children are a great way to get to parents,” she laughs. “Once
they learn new habits at school, they go home and tell their parents
to do the same.”
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 MAREVA
GEORGES GETTING EXPOSURE
Last January, ELLE magazine ran a 16-page spread shot in the Tuamotus.
One of the shapely models sporting swimwear and black pearls was
Mareva Georges, former Miss Tahiti (1990) and Miss France (1991).
But this beauty also has brains: the shoot was her idea, just one
of the initiatives launched by the production company she founded
last year. Now a Santa Monica resident, Georges jets between the
U.S., French Polynesia and Europe, chatting up magazine editors,
filmmakers and tour operators, selling them on the idea of working
in her beloved homeland. “I had to leave this place to realize how
truly special it is,” she confesses.
And she is getting results. An Italian fashion
magazine recently shot a major spread in Moorea, she is organizing
a yoga retreat in Taha’a, and ELLE plans to come back for four more
articles. But what she really wants is to snag a Victoria’s Secret
fashion show. “That would be such great exposure for French Polynesia,”
she says. “Millions and millions of people watch those shows!”
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 AIU
& EMMANUEL DESCHAMPS
A PASSION FOR POLYNESIA
Neither of the Deschamps has a drop of Polynesian blood, but they
couldn’t be more attached to their adopted home if they did. Aiu
spent part of her childhood here, and her family’s love affair with
these islands goes back to 1904, when her grandparents arrived from
Brittany. Their first job consisted of sailing a schooner from island
to island, buying and selling goods. Later, her grandfather would
help pioneer the cultured pearl industry. Their son-in-law, Jacques
Boullaire (Aiu’s father), made several long visits to the islands,
and his drawings, engravings and paintings are still considered
the best renditions of Polynesians’ daily life, gestures and attitudes.
The Deschamps initially met and lived in
France, but 20 years ago Aiu convinced her husband to start a new
life halfway around the world. Aiu, who inherited her father’s artistic
genes, pursued painting and now sells her Polynesian-themed works
in Tahiti galleries. Meanwhile, Emmanuel became involved in various
business ventures and worked to promote tourism. A decade ago, he
launched Editions du Motu, a publishing house specializing in travel
and art books related to French Polynesia.
“These islands are so rich—in beauty, history,
culture—yet there were virtually no guidebooks out there,” he says.
“We wanted tourists to understand what an amazing place this is,
from so many points of view. We are also very interested in art
and thought it was a shame that no one was publishing books on local
artists.” The couple has collaborated on several guidebooks—last
year, they spent months exploring and sailing in the Marquesas to
prepare their latest title—and Aiu recently penned Une Vie d’exception
aux Tuamotu, a riveting account of her grandparents’ experiences.
Rigorously documented, it weaves together the romance, adventure
and hardship of life in turn-of-the-century Oceania.
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 ANDREAS
DETTLOFF
SUBVERTING TRADITIONAL
IMAGES
If you’re looking for pretty pictures of Polynesian vahines,
Andreas Dettloff is not your man.
Born in Germany and educated at the prestigious
Dusseldorf art academy, Dettloff—a.k.a. Dr. Tattoo—moved to Tahiti
in 1989 and began teaching photography and drawing at the Papeete
Cultural Center. During the past decade, he has developed a body
of work that explores—with humor, irony and an occasional touch
of the macabre—the clash between cultures and ways of life. Of particular
interest to him are issues of Tahitian identity, the various stereotypes
projected upon the islands by romantic Westerners (the tropical
paradise, the noble savage), and the most modern form of colonialism—that
of the mass market.
In true Dada fashion, Dettloff revels in
strange juxtapositions: “Ceremonial” coconut-shell masks, for example,
are reminiscent of the skulls traditionally used in ancestor worship—but
those sacred objects certainly didn’t sport Mickey Mouse ears or
Coca Cola logos. Western icons too are ripe for transformation—his
Barbie dolls are adorned with traditional Polynesian tattoo motifs,
which he also carves into old car tires.
While Dettloff clearly enjoys being provocative,
he hopes his work is good for more than just a laugh. Indeed, he
hopes to encourage Polynesian artists to transcend the conventional,
take risks and bring into being new forms of art without turning
their backs on their heritage.
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 YVES
LEFÈVRE DIVING WITH SHARKS
Ask Yves Lefèvre about his early role models and chances are he’ll
mention Jacques Cousteau. Indeed, like so many children of his generation,
the 41-year-old Lefèvre was fascinated by the legendary captain’s
televised voyages.
Lefèvre himself first strapped on scuba
gear at age 13—in a swimming pool—and was immediately smitten with
the sport. In 1983, he shouldered his backpack and took off for
the atolls of French Polynesia, returning to Rangiroa in 1985 to
found the Manta Ray Club.
At that time, there were few opportunities
to dive in the Tuamotus. Soon divers from around the world, drawn
by the reputation of the area’s spectacular fauna, began flocking
to the Club. Lefèvre then launched a new concept: undersea safaris
allowing divers to safely discover the Pacific species that migrated
through Rangiroa, notably dolphins, manta rays and six or seven
kinds of shark.
In recent years, Lefèvre has sought to learn
more about the large cetaceans of the Austral archipelago. Since
1997, he has been organizing dives in the clear waters off Rurutu
to observe the humpback whales that migrate there between July and
October. He also launched a production company with Christian Petron,
photography director of Le Grand Bleu and Atlantis.
As chief undersea camera operator, he has already made two movies:
Le lagon des raies manta, filmed in Rangiroa in 1997, and
La danse des baleines in Rurutu in 1999. s
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