It was this clash of cultures that had brought me both the greatest joy in my life and the greatest despair. And now it was all about to end in the most horrifying way imaginable. Even worse, there'd be no way for Teuila to know what had become of me. She'd have to live the rest of her life thinking her lover had abandoned her without even saying goodbye after her friends returned to pick her up. There would literally not be a single human remain left of me for her to put the clues together. I closed my eyes and said a prayer, asking God to make the ending quick and to look after Teuila.
But just as I began my supplication, I heard the loud shouts of tribesmen approaching from the woods. I opened my eyes to see scores of painted warriors closing in on the men around the fire as they flung arrows and spears in their direction. The local group turned to face the attacking horde, hurling their own spears in self-defense. Within seconds, the attacking group had closed in on the surprised tribesmen, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with their makeshift axes and knives.
My eyes suddenly flung open when I recognized Teuila's father grappling with one of the tribesmen on the dusty ground. They rolled side-over-side a few times in the sand until Te's father gained the superior position. Then he raised his adze over his head and slammed it down, splitting the other man's skull in half.
Suddenly I heard the sound of another warrior's scream, and I looked up to see the crazed face of Manaia running toward me holding a flaming spear. Just as he reared back to fling the spike toward my helpless body, his face contorted in agony and he flopped to the ground with a large arrow sticking into his back. Standing a few feet behind him, Teuila stood wearing a lopsided grin. She nodded toward me, then she reached behind her back and grabbed a series of arrows from her quiver, felling the few remaining warriors still standing from the other tribe.
Within minutes, the battle was over as the warriors from the other clan lay sprawled on the ground around the fire with one or more stone objects embedded in their lifeless bodies. Te's father lifted himself off another dead tribesman, and after satisfying himself that the threat from the other side had been neutralized, he noticed Te' and approached her with an angry expression.
"O lau o fae inerti?" he shouted, acting surprised to see her.
"Mea tau!" she replied, holding her bow up and pointing toward the tribesmen she’d killed with her arrows.
The chief nodded in appreciation, then he recognized Manaia's figure lying on the ground and turned him over. Manaia groaned as he reached around toward the arrow still embedded in his back. Teuila's father said something to him, then turned him over on his stomach to inspect the wound. Then he grasped the shaft of the arrow and pulled it out of Manaia's shoulder and flung it onto the ground. He motioned to one of his men to bring him a tapa-cloth sling and Manaia sat up gingerly, placing his injured arm in the pouch. He glanced up at Teuila, pinching his eyebrows suspiciously, and she looked away from him disdainfully.
Te' strode up to my stake and began loosening the binds holding my hands behind the pole, but she paused when her father barked a command to her. She protested whatever he was saying, then he stormed toward me and pulled her hands away from the pole.
"What's going on?" I said, peering into Te's eyes. "What is he saying?"
"He wants to leave you tied up until he figures out what to do with you. He doesn't want to take any more chances that either one of us will run away."
"Oh Te'," I suddenly cried, overwhelmed to see her again. "I thought I'd lost you forever."
"Not as long as I live and breathe," Te' said, clasping the side of my face with her hands and kissing me firmly on my lips.
For now, at least, we were together again. But from the angry look on her father's face, I had no idea for how much longer it would last.
28
For the next fifteen minutes, the chief huddled with Teuila and Manaia as they gestured toward me in a heated discussion. Manaia seemed particularly agitated, pointing back and forth between me and Teuila like he was blaming us for the interclan rivalry. He walked over to where her father had discarded the arrow fired into his back and inspected it carefully, then he carried it back to the chief, shaking it angrily in Te's face. The chief muttered something to Teuila and she dropped to her knees in front of him, begging him to accept her version of the story.
Finally, he swept his hands in a dismissive motion and gestured to one of his guards to attend to me. The guard pulled a sharp adze from the side of his skirt and began walking toward me in a threatening manner. I could only assume from Te's anguished expression that her father had instructed him to kill me, and I closed my eyes, steeling myself for the worst.
At least it will be quick this time, I thought, tensing my body in anticipation of the final blow.
But instead, the guard circled around behind me and began sawing at my ties until my hands were free. I looked up at Teuila, breathing a sigh of relief, but she just peered back at me sadly, shaking her head. The chief said something to the guard and he pulled my hands behind my back and retied them, then he connected a longer cord, which he wrapped around his hand. Te's father pointed to three more guards and motioned toward the remaining villagers cowering in their huts, then he lifted his hand and waved it in a circle, indicating that it was time for the rest of us to return to the village.
The tribesmen got in formation behind the chief and the guard who was bound to me pushed me in the back with the butt of his adze, instructing me to join the line. Te's father said something to Teuila, then she led the way back into the jungle with the rest of the troop following dutifully behind. As Manaia took up the rear position, I looked back at the sad faces of the women and children peering on from the entrance of their huts and wondered what would become of them. The whole scene reminded me of something out of a Vietnam War movie, with me taking the place of the captured soldier having to do a forced march back to the prison camp.
* * *
By the time our band returned to Te's village, the morning light was beginning to stream over the lagoon and the women and children raced out of their cabins, overjoyed to see that their side had won the battle. The men were exhausted from the night-long march, but Te's father pointed to the middle of the square, motioning for them to begin work on something. The guard who was tied to me escorted me to the location where the chief had pointed and forced me to sit down in the sand. Then the rest of the group disappeared into the woods as they began hacking down trees and branches of different sizes.
When they returned, they dug four deep holes in the sand on either side of me, then they placed a long stake in each pit, being careful to shore each one up so that it stood firm and steady. I watched dumbfounded as they began erecting a webbed scaffold all around me from the smaller branches, tying the posts tightly together with cross-ties of threaded bark. As they scurried up and over the structure like spiders, Te' reached out her arm and held my hand while the wall slowly rose between us.
"What's happening, Te?" I said, horrified they was caging me up like an animal.
"My father doesn't trust us to be together," she said. "He plans to keep you in this enclosure under close guard until either your friends return or the next cargo ship passes by our island. He doesn't want to take any more chances that either one of us will escape before then."
I glanced up at the lattice of poles rising above me and noticed they weren't building any kind of door into the structure.
"Don't you think this is a bit extreme?” I said. “How am I supposed to go to the washroom?"
Te' frowned sheepishly as she pointed toward the back corner of my cage.
"There's a small opening at the base of your enclosure through which we can pass a bucket and plates of food. I'll make sure you're kept as clean and well fed as possible until the ship arrives."
I reflected back on the image of Nona carrying a bowl in and out of her hut while Te' was being held in detention. At least there she had the advantage of covered walls to protect her modesty.
"They w
ant me to do my business in plain sight of all the other villagers?" I said, hardly believing my ears. "Jesus, Te'—this is worse than a Turkish prison. At least there, you have a modicum of privacy."
Teuila squeezed my hand as she looked at me painfully.
"I'll talk to my father about placing a drape over your enclosure. I know it seems harsh, but he could have decided on a far worse course of action. As long as you're still alive, there's a chance we can find a way to be together."
I glanced behind Teuila and noticed Manaia conferring quietly with the chief as they watched us suspiciously.
"What about Manaia? Doesn't your father believe our story about him being a traitor?"
"Unfortunately not. He thinks Manaia comported himself bravely in battle and that his injury was further evidence he was fighting for our side."
I allowed a slight curl to form in the side of my mouth.
"So he doesn't know that you shot the arrow that injured him?"
"He has his suspicions, but there were a lot of arrows flying in every direction during the battle. My father is convinced that it came from one of the other tribesmen."
"And I suppose he also doesn't believe that Manaia was trying to kill me just before he was injured?"
"There were too many people running around, and he was busy fending off his own attackers. It's my word against his."
"And he believes Manaia over his own daughter?!"
"Unfortunately, he's already seen where my allegiance lies, which is with you. He has no reason to believe Manaia had any motive to betray his own tribe."
"So what happens now? What will become of you once your father gets rid of me?"
Teuila glanced down toward my feet as a tear dripped down her face onto the sand.
"He intends to marry me to Manaia tonight after everyone is rested, in celebration of our victory over the other tribe."
"Even though you've made it clear that you want nothing to do with him?" I said, shaking my head in dismay.
"It's no use. My father doesn't understand how two women can be in love the way we are. He insists on following the custom our tribe has practiced for hundreds of years. He expects Manaia and me to produce lots of babies and live happily ever after. He's convinced that once you're out of the picture, I'll regain my senses and settle in to a normal family life here in Anuta."
My face tightened into a painful expression as I peered into Te's eyes, realizing how hopeless our situation had suddenly become.
"Maybe he's right," I sighed. "Maybe I'm just pulling you away from what is natural and right. Maybe I'm just another Western intruder chipping away at your culture, leading you down a path of destruction and heartache, like the explorers did with the people of Easter Island."
"No Jade," Te' said, clasping my arms with both hands. "It's just the opposite. You've opened my eyes to the joy of true freedom and helped me recognize the opportunities outside my tiny sheltered island. It's my father who's been oppressing me and my people. I'm just expressing my free will and following my heart to be with the person I love."
"Oh Te'," I said, reaching between the poles and pulling her close to me as the last of the tribesmen stepped away from my completed cage. "I love you more than you'll ever know. I just don't see how—"
Seeing that my enclosure was now fully secured, Te's father stormed up the path and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from me.
"Alu mai te ai!" he shouted, glaring angrily at me.
As he dragged Teuila kicking and screaming back to their hut, Manaia locked eyes with me and sniggered a lopsided grin. I collapsed my body against the webbing of my enclosure and began sobbing, knowing I'd never have another chance to run away with my island girl.
29
After Teuila left, one of the tribesmen planted himself in front of my cage and stared at me impassively, while the rest of the village resumed their usual activities. Every now and then, some small children ran past my enclosure, pointing at me and giggling. Most of the men had retired to their huts to get some rest, but the women were busy moving about the courtyard with handfuls of provisions, preparing for the big celebration later this evening. I glanced in the direction of Te's hut and noticed her grandmother shaving some taro root on the porch, trying not to look at me. Her hut was surrounded on each side by a guardsman holding a spear. Inside, the dwelling was quiet and still, and I wondered if Teuila had been tied up again to prevent her escape.
So that's how it's going to be, I thought. The chief is going out of his way to keep the two of us separated and confined.
I looked at my guard and shook my head. I felt more exposed than ever with my bare breasts on display for everyone to see, like some kind of hooker standing behind the glass in Amsterdam's Red-Light District. I crossed my arms over my chest and sat down in the sand, and before long fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.
A few hours later I woke to the sound of chatter and noticed some tribesmen erecting a long trellis-shaped structure in the middle of the square. A band of women followed closely behind, decorating the lattice with garlands of flowers. My skin felt hot from the overhead sun beating down through the open bars of my cage, and I pressed my fingers against my flesh realizing I was beginning to burn. I picked up some sand from the base of my pit and tried to coat my body with it, but it just fell off my skin like dry confetti. Peering up at the sun, I estimated it was around noon, and I wondered how these people expected a pale white woman to survive all day long, exposed in the tropical sun. It had also been almost thirty-six hours since I'd had anything to eat, and I clutched my stomach from the gnawing feeling in my gut.
Te's father disappeared into their hut, then a few minutes later he came out carrying a few bowls and some folded objects. He spoke with Nona and pointed in my direction. Nona placed some items in one of the bowls, then she took the materials from his hand and began walking toward me. Upon reaching my cage, she bent down and slid one of the bowls through the narrow hole at the bottom of the enclosure.
When I saw that it was filled with fresh fruit and vegetables, I picked it up and gobbled it down like I'd never seen food before. Nona nodded toward me and passed a hollowed-out coconut shell filled with water through the bars and I emptied it in three gulps. As my stomach began to settle, I looked at her and smiled, placing my palms together and bowing to thank her for her act of kindness. Even though I knew she couldn't speak English, I hoped she'd be able to share some news about Te'.
"How is Teuila?" I said, pointing toward her shack. I swiveled my wrists together in a shackled motion. "Is she tied up?"
"Eh le lelei," she nodded, recognizing her granddaughter's name. Then she placed her hands over her heart and spread her palms in my direction. "Na te misia oe."
I choked up understanding her meaning and swallowed hard, knowing that Te' was thinking of me. I looked at the other materials she'd placed on the ground outside my cage and recognized some woven mats similar to the ones Te' and I had made to line the floor of our treehouse.
"Are those for me?" I asked, motioning to the mats.
She nodded then said something to my guard, and he unfurled the mats and threw them over the top of my cage like two long table runners, one on each side. Nona straightened the leafy curtains until they extended all the way down to the base of my enclosure, then she slid one of the drapes aside so we could see each other.
"Mai le Teuila," she said, pointing to my newly created canopy.
I returned Nona's gesture, placing my hands over my chest and extending them toward her in gratitude.
"Thank you."
Then she picked up the last object on the ground, which looked like a small hollowed out stump. She placed it between her feet and half-squatted over it, nodding and pointing to me. I nodded back, understanding her meaning, then she pushed it through the little hole at the bottom of my cage and rearranged my curtains so that I was almost completely covered.
I placed my hand over my heart again and blew her a kiss, then she walked slowly back in t
he direction of Te's hut. As I watched her walk away, I reached out and rubbed a piece of the leafy matting between my fingers. The strands were still bright green and pliant, like they'd been recently harvested, and the weaving pattern was exactly the same as the one Teuila had shown me days earlier. I leaned my body forward and closed my eyes, breathing in the fresh scent of the pandanus leaves. For a moment, I imagined I could smell Te's scent on them too, and I wondered if she'd had a hand in making them. Either way, I was grateful she'd sent them to me as I sat down in the dark shade of my little hut and finished off the rest of the food Nona had brought me.
At least they're not going to let me starve out here, I thought, grimacing at the makeshift toilet bowl. Looking after my other personal needs is going to be a whole other nightmare. But the shade from my leafy umbrella was already starting to cool the inside of my cage, and I soon fell asleep dreaming of making love to Teuila on the floor of our treehouse.
* * *
I awoke many hours later to the sound of singing and chanting coming from the courtyard. I pulled my curtain aside and saw the villagers seated in long rows on opposite sides of the floral-decorated trellis leading toward a giant bonfire burning in the middle of the square. The flames reflected off the face of Te's father sitting atop his chieftain's chair, flanked by his children sitting squat-legged on the ground beside him. As the tribesmen hopped and skipped around the fire, the women and children sang gleefully at the top of their lungs.
Standing stoically in front of the chief with his arms folded over his chest, Manaia peered expectantly down the path in the direction of the trellis. He wore a long grass skirt like the other tribesmen, but unlike the rest of the bare-breasted warriors, he wore a beaded vest festooned with brightly colored sea shells and an elaborate feathered headdress. Posing like a flamboyant peacock, he looked ridiculously overdressed for the occasion. But with his exaggerated sense of self-importance, it seemed to fit his personality perfectly. I fingered the unicorn-shaped shell that Teuila had reclaimed from the sand of the other village, wishing it were a dagger I could throw at him instead.
Polynesian Pleasure Page 13