Ua Huka Mini-Festival 2013

Every four years, the Marquesas Arts Festival takes place on one of the six islands in the archipelago. This is the “real thing”, attracting troupes from all over French Polynesia and the rest of the Pacific and visitors from all over the world. The next Arts Festival is in Hiva Oa in 2015. Because four years is a long time (or for other reasons), a mini-festival is organized in between, so every two years there is a big event everybody talks about. We lucked out with our timing - 2013 was the year of a mini-festival – but not with the location. This year’s festival, attended only by Marquesan groups, took place in Ua Huka, the most eastern island of the Marquesas with the worst anchorages.

Mark and I joined about 24 other sailboats in the bay of Hane, a local record the locals were very proud of, until it meant that the pirogue races were cancelled: too many obstacles for the rowing contest. As happens a lot in these islands, the wind was fluky and couldn’t behave for four days in a row, so chaos ensued in the harbor, when almost everyone was on the festival grounds, located between Hane and Vaipaee. Unmanned boats ventured in different directions. There were a few near misses (we were lucky to be on board and be able to start the engines to avoid hitting another boat) and a couple of collisions. We moved Irie to a safer spot in the afternoon of day 1, before hitching a ride away from the waterfront.

The festival itself was unbelievable, impressive, awesome, touching and spectacular. The costumes, the dancing, the singing, the drumming… Neither words nor pictures can do it justice. Maybe, just maybe, I might be able to post a few videos in the future. But, I know I have promised this before. The internet situation in the Pacific is just excruciating and useless for “heavy” stuff.

The first evening, the groups of Ua Huka, Fatu Hiva and Nuku Hiva performed. The second evening, it was time for the delegations of Ua Pou, Tahuata and Hiva Oa to dance, sing and drum. On the third and last day, all the six troupes showcased a dance following the theme “the challenge”. We were mostly impressed by the convincing show of the Cannibal group of Ua Pou. For lunch that day, there was a communal and free kai kai with traditionally prepared food provided by the different islands. In between, artisans created stone and wooden tikis and stands made sure nobody went hungry or thirsty. Alcohol was prohibited on the grounds and unavailable on the island during the duration of the festival. Not only was the event very cultural, but it was as social as we have encountered in French Polynesia so far, with fellow cruisers we met weeks, months and years ago! There was a lot of catching up to do…

Here is a selection of pictures:

Wood sculptor from Nuku Hiva

One of the modern tikis decorating the grounds

Two artisans from Nuku Hiva (the one on the right a regular at "our" Snack Vaeake) creating a stone tiki

Taro ice cream with Marie: colorful and flavorful!

Afternoon at the beach with friends - hammock time!

Covering the umus (traditional underground ovens for cooking)  after filling them with pigs and root vegetables

The first step to the cooking process in an umu - hot coals

 

Day 3 of the festival: the pirogue (canoe) is almost finished

And so is this tiki - filing the important parts...

Preparation of the kai kai - the food fest for all

Every group has their own drums and drummers

The "Cannibals" Ua Pou performance (next six pictures):
 

One of the gifts brought to and for Ua Huka: the tallest drum ever!

After about 24 hours, the goodies come out of the six umus - time for kai kai! (which is when my camera battery died)

Last evening's beach BBQ with fellow cruisers

Nuku Hiva to Ua Huka: The Toss Up

(By email)

The mini-festival in Ua Huka Mark and I talked about visiting for months started on December 18^th. We really wanted to go – it is one of the reasons we stayed in the northern Marquesas – but we said it would all depend on the weather, as always. We waited in Anaho for a favorable weather window, as close to the starting date as possible, since Ua Huka does not have any good anchorages. The expected and usual (for this season) northeast winds never came. It was the day before the festival and we were facing 15 knots of wind from the east, needing to sail… east! All sailors know what that means: tacking back and forth into seas and wind and doing twice the distance. Not a great prospect.

Luckily, we had an alternative. Cruisers we know would visit Taiohae on Nuku Hiva with their 60 foot motor catamaran to pick up guests and we could get a free ride to Ua Huka! Once there, we were offered sleeping quarters on Gypsy Blues, the sailboat of our friends René and Cheryl who we hadn’t seen in 1.5 years. An easy way out! We wouldn’t have to worry about the trip, about the crowded anchorage, about getting to shore safely or about our partly deteriorating anchor chain which could be an issue in deeper water.

We left Anaho, on the north side of Nuku Hiva, at 6am on December 17^th under sail, to see what it was like out there. We were willing to give it a try getting to Ua huka on our own and worst case scenario was that we could just fall off and easily coast to Taiohae for our ride the following day. After three hours of tacking, we only made 4 miles in the right direction, only doing 4.5 knots and being obstructed by adverse current. Mark calculated that we would have to do 60 miles instead of the 32 “direct” miles and that we would not get to Hane during daylight hours. It was hard to believe this early on. What to do? Keep on going and having our own home and freedom, or, have a pleasant ride to Taiohae, catch up on a few things and taking the easy way out?

We had been to Hane before, we had a track, the moon was about full, we had time and we could use a bit of real sailing practice, so… we kept going. What followed – as expected – was a tough and frustrating sail, made harder and  more complicated by the fluky winds and many squalls, who would first suck the wind away (less than 10 knots) and then spill it heavily back on us with 20 knots. When the breeze had a slightly northern tendency, we tacked south, when the wind then fluctuated a bit to the south 5 minutes later, we tacked the other way once more. We did this many times; all the while putting a reef in and taking it back out again. Around 4pm, we reached the coast of Ua Huka and for a while we were hopeful about beating nightfall and making it in only a few more tacks, only for the wind to change direction and velocity yet again.

One of the many tacks towards Hane; the sun is setting!

When 5:30pm approached, we were fighting the wind, the waves, the current … and time. We lost. But not by much. We pulled into Hane at 7pm, in the dark, after 13 hours of hard work and doing 70 miles instead of 32! We managed to plop ourselves in a tight spot in the middle of 22 sailboat (we were here by ourselves last time), a feat in itself. Mark and I were exhausted, had sore backs and ripped blisters, but there was a great feeling of accomplishment, especially because we beat the other – bigger – monohull that set out from Anaho, by two hours. We had been crossing routes all morning. The other two boats that had left that morning (from Taiohae) and arrived before us, had both motored the whole way. Irie did great. She was fast and strong, and we are very proud of her!

A crappy anchorage full of boats…

View of the busy bay from the back of a pick-up truck

Heiva – July Festivities in French Polynesia

Since Mark and I arrived in the Gambier Islands, the end of May, the two competing dance groups (troupes) of Mangareva, the main island, have been practicing for their big local festival in July. Every evening we were anchored in Rikitea, we could hear the drumming echoing over the bay, from two directions. We had dinner on Irie with live Polynesian background music, I did the dishes on the rhythm of the drums and we fell asleep imagining the band and the dancers, the now familiar beats fresh in our minds. A few nights, while being on shore in the evening, we checked out the rehearsals and they were impressive.

The Heiva festivities took place from July 5^th through July 14^th (Bastille Day in France and the day the Polynesians were allowed to start practicing their dances again after years of them being banned by the missionaries), right behind our boat. The first weekend, the weather was awful. Mark and I managed to make it to shore for the first evening, when the dance groups were being introduced. The event happened in a big hangar, where the impressive sounds were reflected on the walls for an even more imposing effect. The costumes were a bit weak, but the dancing was great. The following afternoon, the sun peeked out for a little while. Most cruisers went ashore for a private performance. One of the groups passed by all the houses and by a location for the boating crowd, to collect some money. The festival usually starts with this tradition, called “tapena”, but the weather was too crappy that first day.

Too much wind and too much rain made us miss out on the Miss and Mister Mangareva elections. We were all stuck on our boats until the following Thursday, when the dance competition started in earnest. That evening, both troupes performed the “Pe’I” dance, a typical Mangarevan dance where stomping on the ground with the feet is prominent. The dances are long and depict a story. The stage is decorated with replica huts and other props for the scenes, bamboo rafts and weapons are carried and the costumes are very exotic. It was an entertaining evening.

On Friday night, the Polynesian dances “Ote’a” and “Aparima” took place. The weather allowed both groups to dance and drum outside again. The costumes were amazing, the drumming fantastic and the performances incredible. It was a cultural experience pleasing all our senses. Taking pictures was hard again because of the low light, but we all enjoyed the performances a lot.

Saturday night, many people stayed home again, because of the cold and windy weather. In the hangar, the best female dancer, best male dancer and best couple dancers competed before the jury, as well as both bands. The effect indoors is very different from outdoors. The participants received a lot of applause, but the results would not become known until the following day. It was a short night, so Mark and I still managed to watch a movie warmly tucked in bed, while Irie bounced around at anchor. At least the wind produced enough electricity for our needs.

On Sunday, the 14^th of July (14 juillet), the closing ceremony started at 11 am. Together with most villagers, all dressed up, and cruisers, the sun was present for a few hours. Mark and I rowed ashore to give ourselves more flexibility in the shallows and heading back out later. Our sometimes unreliable dinghy engine could get us in trouble with the strong onshore wind. The female mayor gave a speech and both troupes showed more dancing and drumming. The award ceremony and prize giving went satisfactory according to our preferences and tastes; we mostly agreed with the jury. The event was concluded with free drinks and snacks, while a group of performers and locals spontaneously started playing music, singing and dancing. This is the only day in the year that alcohol is not frowned upon, but a real party never emerged. By 9pm, the Heiva festival was finished. Forget about fireworks. We have never been anchored so close to shore with festivities going on, while they were barely noticeable and we could sleep at night!

Being here for the Polynesian festival was great (although the one in Tahiti would have been more impressive and lively) and not to be missed, but the weather could have been better. The cost for this cultural experience – other than some cash to support the groups – was two pairs of flipflops, which were stolen from our beached dinghy last night. From now on Rikitea will be different, without the daily sounds of the drumming… and without shoes!

On the night of the opening ceremony - the presentation of the groups - many spectators received baskets of fruit as a gift

Friday night, both troupes competed with Polynesian dances

Posing with Deny, the very talended and creative leader and choreographer of our favorite group

Pictures of the Sunday closing ceremony:

The important people of the Gambier Islands

From L to R: flags of Mangareva, France and French Polynesia

The mayor (in white) gives a speech

Mark with the cutest puppy in town!

Winning band

One of the two troupes - they won  most individual prizes and best male costume

The dancers inviting some locals to join in the dancing

The second (and best) of the two groups

The Polynesian men in action!

Amazing costumes!
 

Male dancer

Female dancer

Pictures of the spontaneous dancing, drumming and singing of the Mangarevans, after the ceremony: