Child of the Dawn

by Coleman, Clare;

But the people of Tahiti would survive. She had assured herself of that much. The sons and daughters of her great ancestors would live on....

  Tepua returned slowly to herself. She was still filled with Purea's feelings—the warm weight of the golden-eyed animal in her arms, the overflowing affection and friendship for the stranger who had gone, the sparkling beauty of Matavai Bay.

  The vision was gone and might not come again. But one day she hoped to see an infant in arms who would grow up to be the proud, strong vahine ari'i, a great woman of Tahiti.

  I will be old and faded, a grandmother. Yet, with the help of the gods, I will be able to teach her, to prepare her, for what is to come.

  With that last thought came contentment. Tepua reached out and caressed her own child. Then she drew the wrap around her and drifted into dreamless sleep.

  AFTERWORD

  The "discovery" of Tahiti by the outside world occurred in June of 1767. H.M.S. Dolphin, under the command of Samuel Wallis ("Tapani Van"), cruised around one side of the island and eventually entered Matavai Bay. Our knowledge of what happened in the following weeks comes from the logs and diaries of the Englishmen. One can only speculate about the Tahitian side of the story.

  The interactions between Englishmen and Tahitians described in this work of fiction are based on the historical records, though certain incidents have been combined for brevity and dramatic effect. The actions and attitudes of Tutaha, however, come from the novelist's imagination. History does not tell us why this powerful chief remained in the background, allowing Purea to appear to be the "queen" of the island. We do know that a strong political rivalry eventually developed between Tutaha and Purea, and that Tutaha was not shy about presenting himself to Captain Cook in 1769.

  The impression that Purea made on Wallis had a surprisingly vast impact on the outside world. Wallis's accounts of this gracious "queen," along with his descriptions of her island, captured the public imagination. In France, influential writers pointed to the seemingly freer and happier way of life in Tahiti as proof that European society was unnatural, contrary to man's innate virtue. Though some of their conclusions were based on misunderstandings, there is no doubt that they helped bring on the French Revolution.

  The ensuing history of Tahiti is too complex for any summary here. Suffice it to say that though Wallis claimed the island in the name of King George III, England never planted a colony there.

  GLOSSARY

  aahi: albacore. There were specific names for fish of different sizes, such as aahi perepererau for young ones, aahi araroa for the very largest, etc.

  aha-tu: a prayer used to invoke the sennit-curse. An enemy chief or warrior slain in battle was sometimes made into a "sennit-man" by winding cord around the contracted body. Once the ceremony was completed, the curse fell on the whole family, which soon became extinct.

  ahu: stone platform, sometimes built of layers in pyramidal fashion, typically placed at one end of a marae. This was not an altar, but a sacred resting place for spirits that attended the ceremonies.

  ari'i (ariki): a chief, or a person of the ruling class.

  Arioi Society: a cult devoted to worship of Oro in his peaceful aspect as

  Oro-of-the-laid-down-spear. In this role he also served as a fertility god.

  Arue: one of several ancient districts of Tahiti that adjoined Matavai Bay.

  ava: a relative of black pepper. The roots and stems were used to make an intoxicating, nonalcoholic drink. (Known as kava, and still popular today in the Fiji Islands and elsewhere.) Piper methysticum.

  Blackleg (avae parai): the highest rank in the Arioi order. Members were distinguished by heavy tattooing on their legs.

  breadfruit: the staple food of ancient Tahiti. A single tree can produce hundreds of pounds of fruit. When eaten baked, its flavor and texture resembles that of yam or squash. Artocarpus incisa.

  candlenut: oily nut of the candlenut tree, Aleurites molucanna. The shelled seeds were strung on a coconut-leaf midrib and one was set afire, each nut burning in turn, to light the interior of a house.

  Eimeo: the island known today as Moorea, about eleven miles northwest of Tahiti.

  fai: the art of making string figures, popular throughout Polynesia; "cat's cradle."

  fanaunau: Term applied to Arioi who were parents, and thus banned from participation in the activities of the sect.

  fare-hua: "house of the weak." A temporary shelter where a mother and child were ritually secluded after birth.

  fau: headdress worn in battle by distinguished men. The hollow crown of canework sometimes towered two or three feet above the head.

  fe'i: mountain plantain. Bears small bananalike fruits that tum reddish yellow when ripe. Eaten cooked. Musa fehi.

  gorget: a decoration hung around the neck for battle or ceremonies. Made of stiff matting, it had the shape of a half circle and was often decorated with feathers, shells, and fringes of white dog hair.

  Ha'apape: an ancient district of Tahiti near Matavai Bay and the present capital, Papeete.

  hanihani: caressing, love-making.

  Hina: A goddess thought to reside on the moon, spouse of Ta'aroa, mother of Oro.

  Hiro: legendary hero and trickster known for skill at navigation, canoe-building, and prodigious appetite.

  hotu: a large tree of the Brazil-nut family. The seeds were used as a fish poison. Barringtonia.

  ironwood: a hardwood tree with many uses. Casuarina.

  iti: little.

  maeva: hail!

  mana: sacred power, which was considered capable of transmission by touch. Humans as well as objects possessed

  mana to varying degrees.

  marae: an open-air place of worship, usually a rectangular courtyard bounded by low stone walls, with an ahu at one end.

  mam: a narrow piece of cloth worn by men about the loins, made of bark-cloth or finely plaited matting.

  Matavai Bay: choice of anchoring place of first European visitors to Tahiti, resulting in the development of the present capital of Papeete.

  maii: a tree whose berries were an ingredient of the Tahitians' crimson dye.

  Ficus tinctoria.

  Matopahu: lit., "steep-sided rock."

  miro Tahitian rosewood, Thespesia populnea. Considered sacred, it was planted about the marae, and its boughs were used in religious ceremonies.

  motu: a low island created by the exposed part of a coral reef.

  nevaneva: an ecstatic frenzy said to be caused by a god possessing a dancer or actor.

  opu-nui: marae attendants. The name may be translated as "big-bellies" or

  "august stomachs," because these men ate food that had been sanctified.

  Oro: Polynesian god of war. Son of Ta'aroa and Hina. One of the major gods of Tahiti at the time of European contact.

  Oro-of-the-laid-down-spear: the aspect of Oro that presided over peace and fertility. In this aspect, Oro was the patron god of the Arioi.

  paeho: a weapon made of a length of wood with sharks' teeth bound along one edge.

  pahi: a vessel built by connecting two canoe hulls side by side with poles, usually with a platform mounted above the hulls. This type of craft was used on long voyages or for carrying large numbers of people,

  pandanus: a type of palm tree that bears fruits that look somewhat like pineapples. The tough, slender leaves make highly durable baskets and thatching.

  Pare: ancient district of Tahiti near Matavai Bay.

  Porapora: island known today as Bora Bora.

  Purea: (known in England as Oberea). The short name of Airoreatua i Ahurai i Farepua, the eminent chiefess who was thought by Europeans to be the Queen of Tahiti. At the time of first contact, there was no paramount chief of Tahiti.

  rata: the Tahitian chestnut tree, Inocarpus fagiferus. Today called mape. sennit: cord made from softened fibers of the coconut husk. Ta'aroa (Tangaroa): generally viewed as the creator god. Considered too far removed from human affairs to be addressed directly in most forms of worsh
ip.

  Taharaa: a prominent hill overlooking Matavai Bay, known in English as "One-tree Hill."

  tahu'a: specialist, healer, healing priest.

  tahutahu: witch-woman, sorcerer.

  taio: a sworn friend, joined with another through a formal friendship pact.

  Tane: a principal god of Tahiti, to whom many marae were dedicated. tone: man, husband, lover.

  tapa: bark-cloth, made by pounding the softened inner bark of the paper mulberry, breadfruit, or hibiscus tree. Cloth was often dyed or painted, the best colors being scarlet and yellow. Rolls of tapa were prized as gifts, not only for their utility and beauty but because of the amount of labor they represented.

  Tapahi-roro-ariki: legendary female atoll chief (lit., "Brains-cleaving-chief").

  Tapani Van: used here to refer to Captain Wallis of H.M.S. Dolphin, discoverer of Tahiti in 1767. (Note that the Tahitians called Captain Cook "Toote" because their language lacked the hard "c" and "k" sounds.)

  lapu: sacred, forbidden. Something that is restricted, taro: a widely cultivated plant of Tahiti. The root, when baked, tastes somewhat like a potato. The cooked leaves have the taste of mild spinach. Colocosia esculenta and Colocasia antiquorum.

  te: definite article, "the."

  te'a: a sacred archery contest, "the game of the gods."

  Tepua-mua: lit, "foremost flower."

  Tetiaroa: atoll located about twenty-five miles from Tahiti's northern coast. A popular retreat for chiefs and their retinues in ancient times.

  ti: small tree of many colorful varieties. Its leaves were used for decoration and in sacred rituals. Cordyline terminalis.

  tiare-maohi: famous Tahitian flower known for brilliant white petals in stellate formation and delicate fragrance. Gardenia tahitensis.

  Tupaia: a nobleman of Raiatea who served as Purea's advisor and high priest. Tutaha: political ruler of Pare and Arue districts of Tahiti at the time of European contact (1767). Son of the Tutaha who ruled during the time of our main story (c. 1710).

  umu: shallow pit used for cooking. Stones within are first heated'by fire. The food is then placed between the stones and covered to bake.

  Urietea: the island known today as Raiatea, located about 130 miles northwest of Tahiti. The center of the Oro cult was located here. Ruins of the great marae at Opoa can still be seen today.

  va'a: one-hulled canoe with an outrigger float mounted parallel to the hull.

  vahine: woman, wife, lover.

  SELECTED READING

  Adams, Henry Brooks, Tahiti; Memoirs of Arii Taimai, Gregg Press, Ridgewood, NJ, 1968.

  Danielsson, Bengt, Love in the South Seas, translated by F. H. Lyon, Reynal & Co., New York, 1956.

  Emory, Kenneth P., Stone Remains in the Society Islands, Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin No. 116, Honolulu, 1933.

  Emory, Kenneth P. and Honor Maude, String Figures of the Tuamotus, Homa Press, Canberra, 1979.

  Hawkesworth, John, An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere, vol. 1, London, 1773.

  Henry, Teuira, Ancient Tahiti, Bishop Museum Bulletin No. 48, Honolulu, 1928.

  Kane, Herb Kawainui, Voyagers, Bellevue, Washington, 1991.

  Moorehead, Alan, The Fatal Impact, Harper and Row, New York, 1966.

  Morrison, James, The Journal of James Morrison Boatswain's Mate of the Bounty Describing the Mutiny and Subsequent Misfortunes of the Mutineers Together with an Account of the Island of Tahiti, Golden Cockerel Press, Great Britain, 1933.

  Oliver, Douglas L., Ancient Tahitian Society, 3 volumes, University Press of Hawaii, Hawaii, 1974.

  Robertson, George, The Discovery of Tahiti, edited by Hugh Carrington, Hakluyt Society, London, 1948.

  All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 1994 by Clare Bell and M. Coleman Easton

  Cover design by Open Road Integrated Media

  ISBN 978-1-4976-2190-9

  This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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