VIDEO OF THE WEEK: OUR BLUE CANOE, TRAVEL THE POLYNESIAN WAY

Coming 2013... in the meanwhile enjoy the trailer... tradition meets modernity, the journey.

A PHOTO GALLERY OF THE HEIVA I TAHITI 2011

Traditional sports - Tu'aro Ma'ohi

Photos @ Chris Claverie

Photos @ Pierre Lesage

Dancing - Ori Tahiti

Photos @ Elsa Fernicle - Gregory Boissy - Teava Magyari - Matahi Vairaa

Singing - Himene

Photos @ Elsa Fernicle

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: MOENA BEST FEMALE DANCER 2011

A video of Moena Maiotui, best female dancer of the Heiva i Tahiti 2011... Enjoy!

MUST SEE IN TAHITI: THE MARKET OF PAPEETE

@ Hinarai Rouleau & Dominique Morvan

Even if you are only spending a day on the island of Tahiti before flying to another island, you must visit the market in Papeete. It is THE must see, must do, cannot be missed activity and you cannot say you have been to Tahiti if you have not visited Maparu a Paraita.

Sunrise on the market

@ Ty Sawyer / Tahiti Tourisme

Papeete's market is the heart and soul of the city. Literally it is situated right at the center of the city and it is easy to access. It comes to life very early in the morning (from 6 am) and closes around 6 pm. There you will experience a total immersion in Tahitian authenticity. It is a place where you will encounter the joie de vivre and legendary warmth of the Tahitian people. Rich in colors, smells and emotions, the 100 years old market is the historical, cultural and social centre of Papeete.

Photos bloggers' own

Around the market, you will find women making colorful flower leis and crowns. In Tahiti & her islands, women adorn the most exquisite flower crowns as a way to enhance their beauty. The enchanting beauty and bewitching fragrances of tiare, frangipani, orchids, miri (basil), moto'i (ylang-ylang), and dozens of other flowers will transport you exotic valleys and you won't resist the temptation to buy a beautiful lei or crown. Don't hesitate a second, they have an amazing smell and will odorize your room or bathroom with intoxicating scents. And ladies, the crowns are absolutely divine to give your holiday a touch of exoticism. 

                                                     

           

Outside the market you will also find vendors selling pareo and textiles in every color of the rainbow. Prepare for a new explosion of colors as you enter the flower market, red, white, green, purple, pink... the best collection of tropical flowers. The sensory overload continues as you will go through the fruit and vegetable stalls which offer pungent exotic smells and piles of tropical fruits, from bananas to pineapples, breadfruit, lime, mangoes, ginger, sweet potatoes, guava, taro, etc.

On the other side, the stalls of fish: tuna, bonito, mahi mahi, swordfish as well as smaller multicolored lagoon fish; so many different varieties that you won't be able to remember them all, as well as sea shells (shrimps, sea urchins, clams, lobster... ).

@ Ty Sawyer / Tahiti Tourisme

On the ground floor, you can also find stalls selling every souvenir you can imagine, from mono'i to the famous grass skirts that dancers wear, shell necklaces, woven pandanus mats and baskets, etc. On the second floor, you will find more souvenirs and arts & crafts, as well as a few very talented and renowned tattoo artists, so if you want to buy a few wood carvings, pareos, handcrafted local textiles, woven hats, a ukulele or get a more permanent souvenir, all shopaholics and visitors in search of authenticity will find a world far from our busy modern lives.

Facts:

The best day to visit the market is early on Sunday mornings; this is when the market really comes to life as the hundreds of people rush to buy local produce.

Beware, credit cards are not accepted at the market, so be sure to bring cash with you!

Finally just let your senses guide you, you'll be surprise to realize that inside the market, time stops and you will not realized you have actually spent hours exploring. On your way out, have a fresh coconut to quench your thirst!

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: TAPA DANCE

The legendary Tapa Dance was banned by the missionaries when they first arrived in Tahiti & her islands. In this provoking dance, the beautiful vahine arrives wrapped in a tapa fabric which she unrolls as she dances until is bare breasted with a small pareo (sarong), her hips moving to the sound of the drums.

This video is a beautiful modern performance of the legendary dance, it shows a silhouette of the dancer against a white background...timeless

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: CELEBRATING CULTURE

@ Greg Nagel

Great shot from the Heiva I Tahiti 2009 capturing the energy and movement of polynesian dancers...something for the ladies.

HEIVA I TAHITI: POLYNESIA CELEBRATES JOY

@ Heiva Nui

The Heiva i Tahiti, celebrated every year during the month of July is more than just a festival, it is the pinnacle of cultural effervescence in French Polynesia.

The Heiva drags us back to the roots of Polynesian tradition, where legends and myths were born, and, for a moment, the entire population is invited to celebrate the revival of our culture.

From ancient times...

The arrival of the first Europeans and missionaries in the 18th century marked the decline of Polynesian art forms from the carving of tiki, to tattooing and dancing. Indeed, the dances were perceived as erotic and labelled as debauchery and prohibited in the name of  "teaching the untutored savage...and civilise and elevate him in the scale of humanity".  Undeniable sign of two completely disparate cultures coming together but also the announcement of the colonial reign and domination.

"A Dance in Otaheite" (Tahiti, Captain Cook's voyage) engraved by Heath after a picture by Webber, published in The Geographical Magazine, 1793 

At the beginning of the 20th century, tahitian dancing progressively makes it resurgence although the vahine are still prisoners of long missionary dresses and in 1881, the first Heiva i Tahiti takes place.

Tahitian woman in festive costume c. 1906

The resurgence of traditions marks the beginning of the Polynesian enlightenment, the resurgence of Polynesian arts with a contemporary twist. Two cultures had met, one trying to annihilate the other, but failing, and one culture was born which is a modern blend of both.

...to modern times.

@Greg Nagel Photography

2011, 129 years of celebrations, dances, singing, legends, spear throwing, stone lifting, canoe races, games and competitions will take place for the greatest pleasure of all. The Heiva and its palette of warm colors, the Heiva and its explosion of sounds... the meeting of creativity and tradition, passion and conviction, power and grace.

 @ T. Salmon / Tahiti Tourisme

 

                                  @ Grégoire Le Bacon / Tahiti Tourisme           @ Florian Cherreard / Tahiti Tourisme

 @ Florian Cherreard / Tahiti Tourisme

Bodies are submitted to the most demanding exercises, whether it is the gracious undulations of the dancers moving to the cadence of the music, the percussion musicians playing to a furious rhythm, the powerful bodies of the athletes, modern warriors showing their strength, ability and precision.

                               @ Lucien Pesquiz / Tahiti Tourisme                       @ T. Salmon / Tahiti Tourisme

                            @ Raymond Sahuquet / Tahiti Tourisme                    @T. Zysman / Tahiti Tourisme

@ Gregory Boissy / Tahiti Tourisme

The Heiva tells a story and in the gestures of the dancers, legends are reborn. Between seduction and decadence, the ballets are spectacular; they tell the past and the present of the Polynesian soul, traditions on a live canvas of modernity.

@Greg Nagel Photography

An outburst of emotions, effervescence, enthusiasm, frenzy, pleasure, passion, excitement, the Heiva celebrates the beauty of life and the joy of living of an entire population.