Rikitea Cultural Festival – Gambier Islands, French Polynesia

LEADING UP TO THE FESTIVAL

Wow, it has been a mad week for the crew of Spirit of Argo.
At the start of the week I was recovering from a pneumothorax aboard s/V Clair de Luna off Tahiti, in the Society Islands.  Then I had the madness of a flight back to the island of Rikitea, in the Gambier Islands 1000nm southeast.  The rest of the week has been filled with the activities of Rikitea’s first Cultural Festival.
You all know about my ‘near death’ experience and all the remarkable people that helped to save me.  Special thanks to Edd and Judi for putting me up in Tahiti until I was strong enough to fly back.  I have hinted how my human almost did not get me on the plane back to the Gambier Islands, but I will save that story for anouther time.  I am just grateful I made it back and every day I get stronger and fitter.
You would think that the humans would whisk me off to a nice beach to recover, but alas no.  They wanted to remain at the Gambier’s largest village to attend the islands first Cultural Festival.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE FESTIVAL

The village of Rikitea had been working hard for months in preparation to host the 4 day festival and it’s visiting participants.  The festival was planned for the Easter holidays so the closed schools could be used as dormitories.  Cooking facilities were set up beside the fair grounds to feed everyone, including the audience.  No small feat!

The fair grounds themselves were completely transformed.  Tasteful substantial wooden structures were built around a main arena to house arts and crafts venders, flushing bathrooms and the dignitaries seating area front and centre.  Temporary tents were set up for change rooms and to shade the food, dispensers and diners for the many meals provided.  Multiple areas were set up for the musicians and singers, but the main stage was the sand filled central dancing area.

THE FESTIVAL ACTIVITIES

The festival started with a parade through town to the grand opening of the new fair grounds.  Participants came from all the archipelagos.  We were fortunate to have visited many of the  islands represented on our travels so far .  The exceptions were Hao, an atoll in the southern Tuamotus, we hope to visit as we head north out of the Gambiers.  And Tubuai, in the much harder to visit Austral Islands situated in the extreme southwest of French Polynesia.

The dancing group from Hiva Oa, Marquesas, were especially popular with the women.  Even the grand mothers would swoon as the muscular men paraded by in their grass skirts.  I will do my best to down load at least one picture.  You will have to be patient for enough internet to send the dance video.  But I am confident you all have a good imagination!

The next 3 nights were filled with hours of music and dancing.  Two or three groups representing their islands talents a night.  A mixture of visually stunning choreography, story telling and silly fun.   Dangerous fire routines, spectacular costume changes and the hillarious costume failures.

A huge lunch buffet was put on for everyone, including the audience, every day. The scale of the corodination was amazingly done with the ever present Polynesian smile and helpfulness.  We got to try lots of new dishes and our fill of poisson  cru.

We attended the final days closing ceremony expecting a load of boring speeches and gift giving, but found it was instead a ‘all hands aboard’ dance party and one of French Polynesia’s famous underground oven bakes.  All the participants got back into costume, put on a short routine and then got the audience up to do it with them.  Culminating in everyone up on the ‘dance floor’ dancing to the beat of the drums.  With their appetites stimulated each participant provided a ground oven baked delight from thier home island.  Wrapped in carefully crafted banana leaf parcels, different meats were slow cooked, with traditional vegetables, in underground pits.  The roasted dishes were served up with a range of fish and other vegetables side dishes.  A real feast to finish off!

If Rikitea plan to make this an annual event, I can see it becoming very very popular.  I am glad we got to see it in it’s most intimate form.  Wish you were there to enjoy it with us.