Post #741454 by Club Nouméa on Sat, Apr 18, 2015 6:33 AM

The Road to Tohua Koueva

The road of up Pakiu Valley featured various things that caught my eye, including this crumbling old paepae, which nonetheless had some very nicely executed carvings:

Another structure that caught my eye was this traditional house:

With its shutters, high ceiling, and air space under the eaves, it shows what houses in the islands looked like in the early 20th century and was one of the very few homes of this kind I saw while I was in French Polynesia. These days, homes in Taiohae are built from concrete with glazed windows, aluminium joinery, air conditioning and so forth.

I noticed there were a few large stone tikis on various properties as I headed up the valley:

The turn-off is unprepossessing, but it is signposted:

Before long, I came to a ford over a stream, along with two pigs and a cock:

This pig was very friendly and was clearly hoping it was feeding time, but he was tethered to a post so did not get to say hello.

I got a bit wet and muddy crossing the ford, but with scenery like this, who cares?

There were homes tucked away in the trees, and shortly after taking this photo I was stopped by a woman who popped out of a gateway and asked if I was going to Tohua Koueva. When I answered "oui", she warned me not to miss the turn-off to the left a hundred metres up ahead where there is a banyan tree as it was unsignposted. I thanked her and went on my way. As I was struggling up the muddy slope I heard her turn to her husband and say "wow, that Hawaiian guy is really tall!" I am 6 foot 1, but as I was only wearing a red Hawaiian shirt, I am not sure that makes me a Hawaiian. :)

There was the banyan tree, as the lady told me:

I said "bonjour" to the grazing horse giving me a sideways stare as I took the turn-off.

Before long I was at the site's entrance, where I said "bonjour" to the two groundsman cutting the grass with scrubcutters:

The signposts were nicely carved:

Just beyond the gate was this stone fellow with an odd expression:

Soon the first of the site's reconstructed paepaes was visible:

Tohua Koueva was a substantial site of habitation, being the base for the war chief Pakoko until 1845, when the French raided it, killed him, and the site was laid waste, eventually returning to the jungle and becoming overgrown. As part of the Marquesan cultural renaissance that occurred from the 1980s onwards, it was resurrected and painstakingly cleared and restored for use as a cultural site, and is where Nuku Hiva's biggest festivals are held every other year, attracting dance troupes and other traditional performers from far afield.

All of the structures and carvings on the site are contemporary.

This paepae shows the need for rethatching every few years that is a necessity with traditional roofing materials due to the island's humid climate:

What really caught my eye was the cute little guy to the right:

Although the paepae's posts were noteworthy too:

Other paepaes had their thatch intact:

Closer examination showed that the thatch actually consisted of strips of recycled plastic material.

This paepae looked like it was still being built:

There was a higher level terrace up behind these stone walls:

Time to explore...

This is the main performance area when the cultural festivals are on, with a large banyan tree down one end providing the focal point; people sit in these paepaes:

Under the plastic thatch, the posts on them feature a range of styles:

Beyond the performance area was an isolated paepae that drew my attention:

It was sheltering various works-in-progress, although I did a real double-take as I drew closer to the central stone carving by the steps:

It's Gollum from The Lord Of The Rings! Proof that Marquesan carving styles are not standing still and local carvers are seeking inspiration in unlikely places....

A close-up of a couple of posts still being worked on:

Down the other end of the performance area, I found this lonely stone tiki:

Being exposed to the elements, he had gone quite mossy:

Like this Easter Islander across the way from him:

It was a very peaceful location and I sat for a while taking it all in while I had a drink.

As lunchtime was approaching, then it was time to head back down to the bay through the passageway between the stands:

In the last instalment, we travel to the most remote parts of Nuku-Hiva: Taipivai, Hatiheu, and beyond...

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Toto, j'ai l'impression que nous ne sommes plus au Kansas !

[ Edited by: Club Nouméa 2015-04-18 06:50 ]