Verdant forests, rugged peaks, and turquoise seas. The Marquesas are one of the best known yet least visited archipelagoes in the South Pacific. The Polynesian discovery and settlement of these stunningly beautiful islands over 1000 years ago represents one of humanity's momentous achievements; and that was only the beginning. By the time Captain Cook reached these shores, Marquesan chiefdoms were distinguished by their monumental architecture, elaborate art, and a religious system in which important ceremonies demanded human sacrifices.

Tahuata is a volcanic island marked by rugged, mountainous terrain cloaked in tropical vegetation. There is no airport, so that we will fly to the neighboring island of Hiva Oa then take a boat to Tahuata.  We will be the only non-Marquesans on the island and we will live with Marquesan families in the village of Vaitahu.  The houses today are simple but clean, with corrugated aluminum roofs, indoor plumbing, gas stoves, electricity, telephones, and satellite TV.  But these are recent developments.  Time passed over the Marquesas for many years.  Cannibalism survived until the 1880s and it was a hundred years later that telephones and electricity were introduced. Marquesans are still self sufficient through fishing, hunting, and planting.  They are close to nature, and unlike Polynesians on more developed islands such as Tahiti and Easter Island, Marquesans know how to live off the land.  Marquesans retain many other aspects of their traditional life, including cultural practices such as gift exchange and a rich history of oral traditions.

 

 

Project Director: Barry V. Rolett. Dr. Rolett is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Hawaii and he also serves as President of the Andover Foundation for Archaeological Research. He is a specialist in the archaeology of Polynesia and southeast China. Dr. Rolett graduated from Phillips Academy Andover and Pomona College (1980).  He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1989 and joined the University of Hawaii faculty during the same year. He taught at Harvard University for two years (1998/99 and 2000/01) as Visiting Associate Professor of Archaeology.

Dr. Rolett first visited the Marquesas in 1981 during a year-long Thomas J. Watson Fellowship project that involved retracing Captain Cook's route through the South Pacific.  

STUDENTS.  Students can join the project for the entire 5 weeks, for intensive archaeological field training. We will select students based upon qualifications, interests, and potential to contribute to the success of the project.  You may be able to receive academic credit through your university.  Please contact Dr. Rolett for additional information.

Captain James Cook is credited with the European diiscovery of the Marquesas.  His visit  in 1774 lasted less than a week but it opened the  Marquesas to the Western world.

Honu, the highest ranking chief of Vaitahu during Captain Cook’s visit.  This portrait is by  William Hodges, the artist on Cook’s second voyage.

Cook anchored in the deep bay fronting Tahuata’s Vaitahu and Hanamiai Valleys.  Hiva Oa, the nearest island, is seen in the distance.

DATES

FRIENDS of AFAR

First Session:          June 28 through July 12, 2008                                
Second Session:     July 12 through July 26, 2008              

STUDENTS:  June 28 - August 2, 2008                              

LIVING CONDITIONS

Our headquarters are in the picturesque village of Vaitahu, on Tahuata (Gauguin lived and painted nearby on Hiva Oa). There are no hotels (just two local stores stocked with cold drinks, etc.). There is also essentially no service economy: no restaurants, taxis, or  professional tour guides. Our hosts are the 350 wonderful inhabitants of this unforgettable world. We'll live just a short walk to the beach, in a rented house with modern kitchen and toilet facilities (albeit cold water showers scarcely a problem in this tropical climate). We'll prepare our own breakfast and lunch, and for dinner our cook will vary meals of local vegetables and rice with fresh-caught seafood, along with fresh fruit and French baguettes.

One of our main goals is to give participants the experience of working in a remote area, on a project that brings indigenous peoples into the investigation of their own past.  You will be immersed in Marquesan society.

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to the usual swimming and hiking, other opportunities include:

 

Collecting sandlewood, which is usually only found on steep ridges;

Catching fish (with a bamboo pole or a hand-line) at night from the quai;

Collecting edible shellfish and sea urchins from the rocky shoreline;

Snorkeling and freediving for rare shells;

Spearfishing at night with underwater flashlights;

Catching freshwater shrimp at night from pools in the river at the back of the valley;

Learning to make leis and costumes using local flowers and leaves;

Learning traditional Marquesan dances with one of the village’s dance groups;

Learning to climb a coconut tree;

Learning to husk a coconut and grate the coconut meat that ‘coconut milk’ is squeezed from;

Making an earth oven for cooking Marquesan food;

Collecting ripe fruit from the back of the valley.  These fruits will be in season:  vi apple, mountain apple, oranges, Tahitian grapefruit, papaya, and bananas);

Learning to make breadfruit popoi using a traditional stone poi pounder;

And if you have strong legs, goat or pig hunting.  On a weekend, leave by speedboat at 4 AM for an uninhabited valley and return by noon.

 

 

 

CULTURAL EXCHANGE