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1. De
schaduw van de Godheid
Polynesians also believed that birds (especially white ones) were
shadows of the gods, and every island group identified their many
different birds with their representative deities. For example,
in Tahiti the
brightly colored parakeet was the shadow of the powerful god Tü, the
god of stability.
Robert
D. Craig: Handbook of
polynesian mythology,2003
2. De
jacht op de rode veren
Polynesians also used to hunt birds, not for food, but for their
colorful feathers.
Feathers
were generally considered sacred and were used in religious
ceremonies
and for
human ornamentation. When praying, priests held sacred feathers
upright
to the skies to attract the attention of the gods, either a single
feather
or a
wooden wand with numerous feathers attached to its end. Religious
clothing
was
adorned with colored feathers from various birds and fowl. It was
only
the high
chiefs, however, who could afford such feather ornaments, for it is
said
a single
feather was worth the price of an entire hog. Some chiefs sent
messengers to remote islands far distant from home in order to hunt
or trade for these feathers. On the messengers’ return, the chiefs
had various types of clothing decorated with the feathers.
Craig:
Handbook of
polynesian mythology
To
Melanesians and Polynesians,
red feathers
were also of great value for decoration and trade. The magnificent
red musk parrots
seen in Fiji are also found in Tonga, but they did not get there
naturally, they were kidnapped by the Tongans. At the time there was
a vibrant trade in the
parrots' red feathers,
which were used by Fijians to decorate the edges of fine mats for
Chiefly occasions. The Tongans also valued them, and used to sail in
their double-hulled canoes to Fiji in order to obtain them. Some of
the parrots were spirited away and released in Tongatapu, the trade
in which Fiji had a commanding role in the Pacific was thus
undermined. Once they were more widespread in the islands, they
survive today only on the ancient island of Eua. The use of
red feathers
for decoration spread all the way from the Solomons north to Hawaii,
and as far east as Tahiti. Small parakeets with
red plumage
such as Fiji's kula
parrot were also popular
and traded through the islands. today these parrots and parakeets
have become scarcer and
dyed chicken feathers
now decorate fine mats.
(gekleurde kippeveren!!!)
Further
to the west of Fiji, in the Santa Cruz Islands,
red feathers
carried an even greater value, and were bound into a fascinating
story of wealth, spirits, the exchange of wives, and prostitution.
Red-feather money is only made
on Santa Cruz island by a few specialists whose perceived knowledge
of the correct taboos and easily offended spirits that guard the
forest traditionally gives them the exclusive right to manufacture
currency. First a bird-snearer must fashion small perches covered in
sticky latex which he positions in a suitable tree, attaching a
nectar-rich flower which is hard to resist or a live bird as decoy.
Concealing himself behind a blind of palm leaves, he chirps on a
special whistle made from a tree bud, so attracting the males to the
sticky perch and capturing them.
Most
birds die once the
red feathers
have been plucked from them, but in Hawaii, (...) it as considered a
great skill to remove them delicately and release the birds to grow
a new set.
Menfolk
of the Reef and Duff Islands in the eastern Solomons would
traditionally sail south, trading their women to Santa Cruz for
feather money, which they were themselves unable to make. The
feathers were bound into belts up to ten metres long using the
plumage of over 300 birds. In the past those women sold as
concubines would fetch ten times as much as brides. The women
themselves of course, derived no benefit from the trade. Concubines
lived in the men's meeting house, and the purchaser could purvey
them as prostitutes, deriving high income from their services.
Feather
money is still used occasionally for trading pigs, or even canoes.
Inflation is negligible, because its value declines with age. The
colour of the feathers fades even if they are wrapped in leaves and
placed near smoky fires, and moths and mould also take their toll.
http://www.janesoceania.com/tahiti_origin/index.htm
States
of spirit possession often symbolically bridge otherwise opposing
aspects of identity (Mageo 1991; 1996b). The most famous possessing
spirits during colonial times in Samoa were ta¯upo¯u who had been
abducted by other spirits and who contained both sides of girls’
contradictory identities in their own persons. On the one hand, they
were prototypical pre-Christian ta¯upo¯u: they were beautiful girls
from illustrious families. Like legendary chiefs, spirit girls
glowed red and often had fair reddish hair; they could become
scarlet-headed
parakeets, whose red feathers
once made fine mats sacred (Krämer 1949 [1923]: 16A-17; Mead 1929:
269).
Jeannette Mageo:
Zones of ambiguity and identity politics in Samoa
Traditioneel lied: RARI NO TE FAUFE'E
Girls
singing this rari gracefully imitate the flight of the various birds,
the raging sea, rain, sunshine, thunder, and winds, with their hands
and arms. Most of the words containing
r
are Tahitian, inserted for the sake of
euphony. The booby, faufe'e, and pigeon mentioned in the song are
common in the Marquesas today, but
the
ku'a
is a reference to the famous
red parakeet,
the scarlet
feathers of which were so
highly prized by Polynesians. The Samoans journeyed to Taveuni,
Fiji, and the Marquesans, according to legends, travelled as far as
Rarotonga for ku'a feathers. The ku'a is also a symbol of divinity.
Faufe'e
tu'u mahoa pu. -- The faufe'e flies in the sunlight, wings
motionless.
Kena
tahu'i 'u'u tau 'a'a te vai. -- The tempestuous booby dives into the
waters.
'Upe te
ku'a te mai'u'u -- The wild pigeon and the ku'a claw
Ke te
tai, te ua, ma te ouma'i, -- In changing sea and rain and hot
sunshine,
Me te
fatuti'i, me te kohu. -- Midst thunder through the mists.
Topa me
te tiu— -- The northeast wind strikes—
Paka'a
tahi au 'a reva atu! -- Madly I dart away!
Hau tere
auriri'i! -- Faster fly the birds!
Hau tere
auriri'i! -- Faster sings the song!
Hau tere
auriri'i! -- Faster fly the birds!
Kohu
auriri'i, te kohu auriri'i! -- Birds in the clouds! Birds in the
mists!
Te kohu
ru'u tu, kohu ru'u tu! -- Song of clouds, song of mists!
Tu'u
tau'u te ona 'i Fatu'uku, -- My fledgling flies to Fatu'uku,
Ona hei
rei rahi, -- Flies straight into my famous song,
Ru ru'u
u rahi hu'u tu! -- Wings sprea
AIKANAKA-KAHA‘I CYCLE Maori
The
episode, in Kaha‘i's quest after his father, of the destruction of
the spirits who fear daylight by trapping them inside a house is
referred by Von den Steinen to stories of expeditions from the
Marquesas islands undertaken after
the red (kula, kura,
ula) parrot feathers, so highly
prized for ornament, upon one of which trips Hema is supposed to
have lost his life. The Marquesan journey to Aotona after bird
feathers is to the Cook group thirteen hundred miles to the
southwest from the Marquesas. The story is here connected with Aka
or Aka-ui (Laka), grandson of Tafa‘i, who goes after the feathers to
adorn his son and daughter when they arrive at puberty.
*
THE
KANA LEGEND
On a
voyage in the ship Aere the sailors throw him into the sea in his
sleep, but his brothers pull him in and he kills with his spear
Rua-i-paoa the man-devouring beast (pua‘a) which has been ravaging
Ra‘iatea. On a second
expedition after
parrot feathers he attacks the
Hi-van warriors and finally leads his brothers against the giant
billfish of Hiva who has overcome Borabora, kills him and the chief
Tu-tapu, and takes back the chiefess Te-puna-ai-ari‘i to the chief
Ta‘ihia of Tahiti.
Martha
Beckwith Hawaiian
Mythology 1940
Ten days
afterwards they left Maketu, twenty in number, ten of the rank of
chiefs, and ten men to carry food. When they reached the small lake,
discovered by Ihenga, he said to Kahu "You are the Ariki of this
lake."
Hence
the song of Taipari
By
Hakomiti was your path hither
To
Pariparitetai, and to that Rotoiti of yours,
Sea
discovered by Ihenga,
Thereof
Kahu was Ariki.
Thence
they went on to Ohou-kaka, so named by Kahu from a
parrot-feather
hou-kaka, which he took from
the hair of his head, and stuck in the ground to become a taniwha or
spirit monster for that place. When they reached the place where
their canoes had been left they launched two, a small sacred canoe
for Kahu, and a large canoe for the others. Then they embarked, and
as they paddled along coming near a certain beach, Kahu threw off
his clothes, and leaped ashore, naked. His two grandsons,
Tama-ihu-toroa and Uenuku, laughed and shouted "Ho! ho! see, there
go Kahu's legs." So the place was named Kuwha-rua-o-Kahu. In this
way they proceeded, giving names to places not before named, till
they reached Lake Rotorua. They landed at Tuara-hiwi-roa, and
remained there several nights, and built a whata, or food-store
raised on posts; so that place was named Te Whata.
Edward
Shortland:
Maori Religion and Mythology
[1882]
In the
myths and legends of the Hervey Islands, Vatea is located near the
beginning of their national existence. First of all the Hervey
Islanders place Te-ake-ia-roe (The root of all existence). Then
there came upon the ancient world Te Vaerua (The breath, or The life).
Then came the god time--Te Manawa roa (The long ago). Then their
creation legends locate Vari, a woman whose name means "the
beginning," a name curiously similar to the Hebrew word "bara," "to
create," as in Gen. i. 1. Her children were torn out of her breasts
and given homes in the ancient mist-land, with which, without any
preparation or introduction, Hawaiki is confused in a part of the
legend. It has been suggested that this Hawaiki is Savaii of the
Samoan Islands, from which the Hervey Islands may have had their
origin in a migration of the Middle Ages. One of the children of
Vari dwelt in "a sacred tabu island" and became the god of the fish.
Another sought a home
"where the red parrots'
feathers were gathered"--the
royal feathers for the high chiefs' garments. Another became the
echo-god and lived in "the hollow gray rocks." Another as the god of
the winds went far out "on the deep ocean." Another, a girl, found a
home, "the silent land," with her mother. Wakea, or Vatea, the
eldest of this family, remained in Ava-iki (Hawaii), the ancestral
home--"the bright land of Vatea."
W.D.
Westervelt:
Hawaiian Legends of Old
Honolulu [1915]
It is
tempting to speculate that, if Burotu was indeed an important centre
of the Polynesian
red-feather trade,
one of the reasons for the decline may have been that the kula was
hunted to extinction. It is inexplicably absent from Totoya (Clunie
1984:58), and from certain other islands in Lau, such as Cicia and
Vanuabalavu, though present in Matuku (Moseley 1944 [1879]:255;
Beckon 1989). It is also tempting to speculate further that Matuku
may have been an early
source of feathers of
Prosopeia splendens (Rinke
1989), the Kadavu musk-parrot, which is the only Fiji parrot with
bright red feathers, the others being maroon or yellow, and bears
the appropriate name k-kula (k being generic for "parrot"). Fiji
parrot feathers
were also sought after by Samoans and Tongans, in addition to those
of the kula lory (Clunie 1986:150). Although the Kadavu musk-parrot
is not found on Matuku today, an unspecified musk-parrot was present
as far east as Lakeba up until at least 2250 B.P. (Best 1984:530).
It is possible that the Lakeba parrot became extinct through a
combination of over-exploitation for the red-feather trade, and loss
of habitat after extensive burning of inland forests for farming
that occurred about 2000 B.P. (Best 1984:563), resulting in a long
period during which Lakeba was sparsely populated (Best 1984:643).
Subsequently, Matuku and the other islands of Yasayasa Muala were
resorted to, until the parrot again became extinct.
Paul
Geraghty: Pulotu,
Polynesian homeland (The
Journal Volume of the Polynesian Society, 102, 1993)
In using
the terms "religion" and "sacred" in this context the Polynesians'
concepts must be understood. These people as exemplified in Hawaii
attributed a divine origin to their kings and venerated them as gods.
This did not imply that humans were raised to the heights conveyed
by our ideas of divinity, but that gods, to Polynesians, were little
more than human.
Gods
were present in many shapes. In human form they differed from people
only in substance and in unlimited supernatural power. They
inter-married, among themselves and with humans, and begat children.
The distinction between kings and gods was the matter of mortality,
but the transition from immortal gods to mortal kings in the line of
divine descent, has not been satisfactorily explained.
*
The
sacred colour was primarily red, as was the sacred feather .
The Polynesian
red-feather cult had reached
the height of its development in the Society Islands at the time
they were first explored by foreigners.
Red feathers
had then become the necessary medium
for invoking the great gods, particularly that of war. All prayers
in and out of the temple were said over a small
bunch of red feathers
held in the fingers. The god himself could be implanted in
red feathers
by contact and prayer, and his presence might thus be simultaneously
transferred to hundreds of homes, while his image remained in its
place in the temple. The war god was also worshipped in bird form in
Samoa and in bird form or effigy in the Society Group, and similar
conditions might have been noted in other islands. Effigies of birds
were found about the tombs of the Society and Marquesas Islands, but
this may have been the effect of a form of bird-totemism which was
prevalent in Polynesia. A tern cult was observed in Easter Island,
and, as is reasonably shown by Balfour, seems to have been evolved
from a frigate-bird cult analagous to that in Melanesia.
*
The
girdles were emblems of royal investiture, equivalent to the crowns
of monarchy, but as fetishes were far more potent because they
imbued the wearer with power direct from the god. By inference,
their use was limited to certain pure lines of purported divine
ancestry.
*
During a
ceremony at Tahiti in preparation for war, the sash and the
representation of the god Oro were wrapped up in similarly shaped
bundles and laid side by side on the altar. There was as much
veneration paid to the sash as to the idol, which latter was merely
an uncarved log of wood with
red feathers
attached. On the accession of a new king, the heir was invested with
the sash by the high priest. As the priest girded on the emblem, he
prayed that the king's influence might be extended far over the sea.
He then described the sacred nature of the girdle, concluding with
the words: "This, O king, is your parent," meaning, as Ellis stated,
that all the king's power was derived from the gods.
*
I have
shown that the making of feather girdles was a very sacred
undertaking. In Hawaii the manufacture of royal cloaks and helmets
was also conducted under the tabu, but as far as known, was not
accompanied by human sacrifice. The helmet was probably of greater
regard than the cloaks as it was to come in contact with the head—the
most sacred part of the body. The restrictions during manufacture of
feather garments were probably general in Polynesia, as implied by
the description of the mourner's robe in Tahiti.
John F.
G. Stokes: Notes on
Polynesian featherwork (The
Journal Volume of the Polynesian Society, Volume 34, 1925)
http://www.royalark.net/Tahiti/huahine.htm
Légendes Tahitiennes: Voyage à Vavau
Episode
3: la Malédiction
Laisser
les personnages agir: négociations, organisation de leurs défenses,
acceptation, préparation d'une expédition ... Si le chef de
l'expédition n'est pas parmi eux, des rumeurs bruissent que si
aucune solution n'est trouvée, tous les personnages non-ari'i seront
sur la liste des "poissons".
L'espoir
Que les
personnages la cherche ou non, une information viendra à eux par
l'intermédiaire du Tahu'a Pure de Ro’o. En raison de la filiation
des ari'i de Maha'ena avec Ro’o, il cherchera à les aider.
Voici
son récit :
"Dans
les temps anciens, il existait une deuxième passe dans le lagon de
Vavau. Elle se trouvait juste en face du
mataiena'a de Iti-aa (peu
de perroquets). Ce mataiena'a
s'appelait à
l'époque Nui-aa (nombreux perroquets).
Mais un jour son chef préféra garder la récolte de plumes pour se
faire une cape, plutôt que de les offrir à Ta'aroa. La réplique du
grand dieu fut terrible. Il maudit le mataiena'a entier et ferma la
passe avec trois énormes lances. Or cette passe faisait de ce
district un district important de Vavau. Aujourd'hui Iti-aa est
évité de tous et la malédiction perdure. Si quelqu'un parvenait à la
lever, la passe se rouvrirait."
La
malédiction de Nui-aa
Le
mataiena'a de Iti-aa (pas de perroquets) s'appelait autrefois Nui-aa
(beaucoup de perroquets). C'était un mataiena'a important de Vavau :
sa passe en faisait un
lieu de passage et ses
nombreux perroquets apportaient des plumes rouges
dont les ari'i des autres îles étaient friands. Mais un jour le
cupide ari'i nui de Nui-aa, Vara-te-tafoto, manqua à son devoir
envers le grand dieu Ta'aroa. Alors que la part des pêcheurs destiné
à être donné en offrande à Ta'aroa lui fut remis et il préféra en
faire un festin. Peu de temps après, il détourna également les
plumes jaunes destinés au to'o de Ta'aroa pour sa coiffe.
Le grand
dieu frappa. Il lança trois énormes lances qui barrèrent la passe,
fit mourrir Vara-te-tafoto et maudit le mataiena'a. La malédiction
fut terrible, les poissons évitent le lagon de ce district, les
femmes furent rendues horribles, les ari'i simples d'esprit et
les perroquets
disparurent de Nui-aa qui devint Iti-aa.
Il envoya également son nain noir et puant, Matiti-Tito pour
s'assurer de la pérennité de la malédiction.
Les
trois esprits gardiens: chacune des lances qui barrent l'ancienne
passe est protégé par un esprit gardien. Rapo, esprit serpent, Hati
- ratu, esprit
de l'aito et Maevarau-te-aa-'ino, l'esprit perroquet.
Maevarau-te-aa-'ino, l'esprit perroquet: esprit du bois, voix
audible, aime discuter et avoir le dessus dans la discussion, il
préfère les graines et les fruits aux plumes et à la viande, aime
être flatté.
Conclusie..?
Voorlopig….
Papegaaien worden niet gegeten, in Polynesië. Ze zijn heilig.
Hoe komt
Gauguin aan drie dode papegaaien op zijn altaar-tafel..?
Zelf de
nek omgedraaid..?
Het kan
hem bijna niet om de rode veren zijn gegaan: Het is de
Prosopeia splendens
die bovenal nagejaagd wordt, en bovendien, het is juist de kunst om
het beest in leven te houden.
Met rode
veren lijkt het tafereel dus weinig van doen te hebben.
Zet
Gauguin misschien een namaak ritueel op poten..?
Voor de
gelovigen inhet Westen..?
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Masker, 19de eeuw
Ill: Leon de Wailly
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