B98735210103_009.pdf
- Texte
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Bulletin
"EEL
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Son ÉTÉ
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ie
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ÉTUDES OCÉANIENNES
S
N°
9.
DÉCBIBRE 1924
Anthropologie :— Ethnologie
Histoire
—
des
Institutions
—
Philologie,
et
Antiquités
populations maories.
Littérature et Folklore.
Astronomie
—
Océanographie— Sciences naturelles.
Tourisme.
IMPRIMERIE
A
DU
GOUVERNEMENT
PAPEETE
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D'ÉTUDES
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9.
—
décembre 1924
s o :m: im:
i :k,:ej
Sciences naturelles
Maladies et Médecines à
.
Fiji (suite
et fin).
Abbé Rougier
Océanographie
Croissance des Coraux
O. Walker
Littérature
Le
lyrisme des Tahitiens
E. Ahnne
Folklore
La
plonge à Hikueru
Afaiau the Hermit
A.
»
Monsord Reklaw
Philologie et Histoire
Migrations polynésiennes
E. A.
Littérature
Sonnets tahitiens
F. V.
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Spécifques
vénries lDaonite Rhumatise pus urinaes (cika)
Ulcères Migraine Coup res Calmant. Arrête Voies Yeux Tonique Gravel Diar hée Dyspe si Diar hée
C
MàFéedeicjint.s
Mal dies
fietn.)
(Suite
FRICTONS. GADPÉ
détanmcentioesé.CCDFAFCÉATRT::OH:ePOPLhTLISIDSMUtNME..ED,dGDéemnnosvuiigbntdt,,BNdtUAicTDreéngNAsaOr.,M"dlPd"É'LDAaICLRnNveTusECTESSY
dNIo.ep—mlanstes
Article
Muotdilees
signfie le noms noms
Pour
Les Les
G
D
F
G
T
D
D
D
G
D
D
Parties Feuiles Feuiles Feuiles Fruits Feuiles Fruits Ecorce Feuiles Racines Ecorce Feuiles Ecorce
Scientfque
Jus
anthropgum conyzïdes
obliqua lAulsnophaitla
Français
Tahiten
pudica fructiosm trifloa
Mimosa Noth pax Adenosma Pometia
Solanum Ageratun
Ficus
DTIS:ANE. fBijpsreonence étaohtines frapsnoçrinit Fijen
T
F
géante Piment deBouc
Banyan Fougère
Gros
Oraa
Oporo
Baka
Bal bal Boib da Bor dina
Nom
Batimdr a
Herbe
SPoehensaitvvre
Boteb kor Bulibswaro Moce Danidani Daumole uawser
Boro
Bulei
Go
Spécifques
enfats
Dysentrie Rhumatise dEnetérsite Tonique
D
C
Muotidlees
Parties
Scientfque
Français
F
D
D
îruit
D
T
D
D
D
poisn depeau purgatif eeménagotu deenfasts Antisyphlque Apéritf-Tonque dMtêaeuex
mâchées Fhuavielec
Abcès
Apéritf Réevulstif Foul res Mal dies Toeniqute Résolutif Calmant Résolutif Tonique Coup res Migraine
D
C
D
C
D
D
pouse
Sève
Abrus
Robert Tamnou
Réglis e
Tamanu
Pitp io
Deniose
Dilo
Eulaia Psidum Acalypha Cas ia
sauvge
Dirdamu Dranivud
Roseau
Goyavier
Acacias
Tiani a
Drou
Evuevu Gasau Guava
Eugenia
Katiqa
Morenda Aleurites Ipomea
Jam alc JMûdeavrier Bancoulier Bat rant
Ahia
Kalbucidm
C
T
D
D
D-T
Feuiles Feuiles Ecorce Feuiles Feuiles Feuiles Ecorce Feuiles Ecorce Ecorce Ecorce Ecorce
pilufera inophylum precatoius Heprnealtadi japonic pomiferu Wilkesan obtudifla dMenetliacsutloania MJalmcbeonssia YOnitcoenasrpus "Wosltraigsutlonai citrfola Triloba pescar fWœiesttirdmaia Bropuasyrnifeetia
Euphorbia Calophyum
D
C
du Feuiles Feuiles Ecorce Feuiles Jeune Feuiles Tout Feuiles Feuiles Feuiles
Tahiten
Nom
D
Eménagoue Diarhée Dysentrie Pleurésie Coliques Eclampsie
Tout Huile
Jean Bois
Fijen
Yeux
Kaumoce Kaunisga Kavika Kaukaro IKedrvia
mit
Nono
Tiairi Pohue Oaoa Aute
Kura
Lauci
Lavere Matiavi Masi
Benit
odrat decuman vulgaris
Cona ga Citrus Citrus
v
-
Pampleous Citronier
Motoi
Mavunitoga Mawm a Moamoa Moksoi Molikan Molikur
Spécifques
D
Muotdilees
Parties
Scientfque
F
C
fruits
T
F
C
D
D
Nom
D
Ch
D
D
D
D
D
D
fDeuils
feuiles
peurgattif Yeteux Dysentrie Eménagoue. Eménagoue
Abcès Abcès Vomit f Oreil es
D
Ch
D
Ch
cuite
D
D
racines fuiles
Feuiles Ecetorce Divers Feuiles Feuiles Feuiles Ecorce Ecorce Feuiles Barbes Feuiles Feuiles Raetcines Feuiles Feuiles Feuiles Feuiles Pulpe Fleurs dEceorcse des Feuiles Feuiles Feuiles
Lait
equistfola
limonu Thepsopulneiaa nucifera Casurina vulgaris
Papaya
Huit
HLaeprovrteyai
Français Limonier deRose defArebrre Pap yer
Fijen
Yeux
D
D
Citrus Cocos
Tahiten
violent)
Rhumatise urinaes Eménagoue Antisyphlque Rdé'tuenrinioen Calmant (poisn Tonique Asthme Ulcvéènrreiess Diaphorétque Tonique
peau
Migraine deMal dies Pan cée Coup res Vermifuge Calmant Tonique Voies
Bois
Coco
Miro
Haari
Molikaro Mulomulo
Nia
Toa
Nok nok
Maïs
Qiqila Roqa Rorogo Salato
Agolchœ bonducela Dracsoynltvmeetlr catp alt tilace-us lactria terminals vitens glabr macrohizn
Mays Excœari Cœsalpin Termila Diosc rea Peritum Cerbera Dracena Ventilago Pongami
Zea
Iita
Oleti
Jus
Cadoque
Bad mier
Igname Bourao
Puat uma
Autar a
Uhi Fau
Tamoce
Saucaw Segai Sinudamu Sinuga Tar vau Tavola Tot dro
Sila
Soni
Uvi Yau
Arum
Pongame
Ti
Yasa
Vasili
Ver ver Vesiwai Yesiyesi
Spécifques
violent)
(poisn
T
Muotdilees
Parties
insta é calmnt
Dmâchées
Migraine Intesins Vomitf Migraine Gravel Coup res Coliques Calculs Diurétque Purgatif Dyspe si Narcotique Calmant Réesoluttif
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
feuil s fruits pilée graine
D
Ecorce Jeunes Fruits Feuiles Feuiles des Feuiles Feuiles Ecorce Demie Ecorce Racine Feuiles Feuiles
Jus
Scientfque
cariosu Speciosa pelta panicult Abelmochus ulignosa insular tyglium mythiscu Tahitens
Pand us Baringto a Ipomea Bat as Hibscus Dalbergia Pharbits Groton
Français
Pand us Bocnareét
Tahiten
Paeore Hutu
Croton
Fautia
Piper
Premna Iitsiea
Kava
Ava
Avaro
Remarqu:
/re
Fijen
Nom
Yobo
Yoivoi
Vutrak "Wadmu ("WWaakuvii) Wakiwaki Sobiw Tuva
Wa
Wa
Wavuti WirWir Yalu Yaqona Yaro Yaumica
ldMPa"lu'érqiiclvmeIa"vetuênrrbtes
poulnea, bonducela pilufçra
Thesp ia s.my Cœsalpin Euphorbia
Zea
dDDlsaeronruty :paulivauanntteexss conyzïdes, pudica. pomiferu. cpaeprse
qnuotee Fijens, Ageratum Mimosa Psidum Ipomea
Je
.
les
f
2me
Remarque:
Dans le livre de Léon Ma. Guerero " Medicinal Uses of Phi-
lipine Plants" je relève six plantes auxquelles est attribuée la
même vertu qu'aux Fijis :
Ipomea pes Caprae.
Zea mys.
Psidium Pommiferum.
Terminalia catappa.
Thespesia populnea,
Ageratum conyzoïdes.
3me Remarque :
Un missionnaire de
Chine, le Père C. Desaint, a publié en 1876
(Compiègne, Impr. F. Valliez) un recueil des plantes médicinales
employées par les Chinois. J'y relève les suivantes qui le sont
aussi par les Tahitiens et à peu près pour les mêmes maladies :
Abrus precatorius
Ficus tinctoria.
Calophillum inophillum
Plumbago zelanica.
Achirantes aspera
Citronùm Limonum.
Carica papaya.
Euphorbia (diverses).
Dracontium polyphillum.
Thespesia populnea.
De
ces trois remarques je conclus que si des peuples si éloi¬
gnés et si différents sont d'accord pour reconnaître la même
vertu curative aux mêmes plantes, ce fait prouve leur valeur
réelle et leur étude s'impose.
»,
Chapitre III.
Article
unique
J'estime
un
que
De la Flore thérapeutique talii tienne.
:
cette Etude serait incomplète si je ne donnais ici
résumé de divers travaux
tienne.
Le premier
sur
la Flore
thérapeutique Tahi¬
ma connaissance, fit un travail aussi sérieux
cette Flore, fut le Dr Jean NADEAUD, méde¬
de la Marine. 11 fit imprimer le fruit de ses ex¬
plorations, recherches, analyses et fines observations, dans un
qui, à
que précieux sur
cin et chirurgien
opuscule intitulé " PLANTES USUELLES DES TAHITIENS"
( Imprimerie de la Faculté de Médecine, Montpellier 1864).
Nadeaud y donne l'usage que les Tahitiens faisaient de chaque
plante utile à quelque chose : nourriture, boisson, parfum, tein¬
ture, cordage, etc., mais il s'est surtout appliqué à noter leur uti¬
lisation en thérapeutique. Tout mal avait son remède, remède
-empirique, bien entendu.
J'extrais de son étude la longue liste suivante :
,
Spécifique
Artocarpus incisa
Amarantus gangeticus
Achyranthes aspera
Anthrophium Plantagineum
Adenostama viscosum
Alstonia costata
Bohemeria interupta
Bryonia huehue
Byttneria
Urétrite
Aerofai
Racines
Antisyphilitique
Mave
Racines
Feuilles
Atahe
Roa
Huehue
Colocasia macrorrhiza
Coco nucifera
Niu
Cardiospermum Halicacabum
Diurétique
Contusions, Entorse
Ecorce et feuilles Embarras gastrique
Asthme et Bronchites
Feuilles
Yaianu
Cardamine sarmentosa
Colubrina Asiatica
plaies
Suc et pousses
Sommités
Uru
Oronau
Patoa
Cyatula prostrata
Cassyta filiformis
Gerbera manghas'
Cratoeva religiosa
Chancres et
Upootii
Fleurs et racines Migraine
Racines
Prurigo, Eczéma
Ecorce
Entorse, Contusions
Suc
Engorgements
Jus
Excipient de presque
dicament
Ape
Toroura
Tainoa
Reva
Sommités
Urétrite
Racines
Astringent
Purgatif
Puaveoveo
Tutu
Feuilles et écorce Mâturatif,
Ecorce
tout mé¬
diurétique
Racines et écorce Scrofule
Feuilles
Vinivinio
Blessures
Panacée des maladies stomachales
Dichrocephala latifolia
Taatahiura
Erythrina indica
Atae
Employé
Ficus tinctoria
Mati
V
Tohe tupou
Tiare
Tianiana
figues
Péritonite, Rhumatismes
Racines
Fleurs foulées
Dysenterie
Migraine
Purgatif
Burao
Fleurs
Graines
Ecorce
Emollient
Feuilles
Bronchite
Geophila reniformis
Gardenia tahitensis
Hernandia Sonora
Hibiscus tiliaceus
ïpomea turpethum
Inocarpus edulis
Jambosa (eugenia)
Killingia monocephala
Iimnophila serrata
avec Inocarpus edulis
Ecorce
Taurihau
Mape
Ahia
Mou upoo
Pudioru
nui Ecorce
Racines
contre Nohu
Antisyphilitique
Piqûre du poisson Nohu
Entorses, Contusions
Emménagogue
Leucas deeemdentata
Niuroahiti
Ecorce
Lepidium piscidium
Nau
Mou upoo nui
Meia
Mara
Tamore moua
Ava
Feuilles
Tonique
Contusions, Coupures
Ecorce
Entorses
Mariscus umbellatus
Musa paradisiaca
Nauclea rotondifolia
Ochrosia tahitentis
Piper methysticum
Polygonum imberbe
Pisonia brunoniana
Plumbago zelânica
Tamore
Puatea
Avaturatura
Tronc
pourri
Ecorce
Ecorce
Racine
Sommités
Abcès
Hémorragie, Eczéma
Embarras gastrique
Système veineux
Urétrite
Feuilles
Diurétique
Ecorce
Vésicant
(A) Ce poisson est le Synanceja Brachio (Cuvier) dont la nageoire dorsale est
sonnée.
.
•
(A)
empoi¬
—
Noms scientifiques
Noms
tahitiens
Physalis parviflora
Tupere
Premna tahitensis
Pomaderris ziziphoïdes
Philantus virgatus
Avaro
Moemoe
Sorocea mati mati
Matimati
Siegesbeckia orientalis
Amia
Solanum viride
Talinum patens
Oporoiti
Toi
9
■—
Partie utilisée
Fruits
Feuilles
Ecorce
Spécifique
Abcès, Conjonctivite
Otalgie, Névralgie
Maladie de peau
Ecorce
Suc laiteux
Feuilles
Diurétique
Inflammations
Emménagogue
Fruits
Suc et Feuilles
Feuilles
Calmant
Thespesia populnèa
Thespesia populnèa
Aturi
Miro
Miro
Terminalia
glabatra
Tephrosia piscatoria
Urastigma prolixum
Autaraa
Hora
Feuilles
Feuilles
Oraa
Racine
Vermifuge
Purgatif
Vandelia crustacea
Vandalia crustacea
Haehaa
Plante
Urétrite
"Wickstroemia forsterii
Oovao
Plante
Panacée
Xilosma suaveolena
Pi-ne
Ecorce
Plaies
Suc des
cules
pédon¬
Conjonctivite
Migraine
Contre Myriapodes
Bronchite
Haehaa, Matataura
Vertu de la
ments
Plantes que
donne
digitale
empoisonne¬
contre
Ed. Butteaud dans sa " Flore Tahitienne " (1882)
employées en médecine par les Tahitiens.
comme
Fleurs, bourgeons Abcès, Abortif.
Feuilles
Blennorrhagies
Fragoea Tahitensis
Purau
Ahia
Tiare
Nono
Pua
Cordia Subcordata
Premna Tahitensis
Tou
Ecorce
Avaro
Hybiscus tiliaceus
Eugenia Molluccensis
Gardenia Tahitensis
Morinda Citrifolia
Plumbago Zeylanica
Piper methysticum
Curcuma longa
A va turatura
A va
Bromelia Ananas
Dracœna Austraiis
Fara papaa
Ti
Fleurs et feuilles Plaies.
Fruits
Piqûre de
Ecorce
Fractures
_
?
?
?
?
?
Racines
Rea
Syphilis
?
?
Fruit vert
?
Abortif
?
.
Il est inutile d'attirer l'attention de
guêpes
d'entre
nous qui vivons de¬
puis des années parmi les Polynésiens, sur l'efficacité de certains de leurs
remèdes. On a dit avec raison que plusieurs tiennent du prodige.
L'auteur de cette étude a voulu provoquer et aider de nouvelles recher¬
ches et expériences d'hommes compétents sur les vertus curatives de nos
précieuses plantes et peut-être rendre ainsi service à l'humanité entière.
C'est pour cela également que j'ajoute en Appendice la " Flore Tahitïenne", comme la mentionne Mgr. Tepano JANSSEN dans son Diction¬
ceux
naire.
Emmanuel ROUGIER.
—
Flore tahitienne
mentionnée dans le Dictionnaire de Monseigneur
Tepano Janssen (1898).
Noms tahitiens
Noms scientifiques
Achyrantes aspera
Aerofai
Astelia richardi
Anae
Aretu
Crossostilis biflora
Commersonia echinata
Cucurbita multiflora
Noms scientifiques
Andropogon tahitensis
Alstonia costata
Abelmoschus moscàtus
Atahe
Fautia
Anthrophium plantagineum Mave
Nahe
Angiopteris evecta
Oaha
Asplenium nidus
Papapa
Andropogon acicularis
Acrostichum
aureum
.
Pihaoto
Abrus
Pitipitioo
Aleurites triloba
Tafili
Tiairi.
precatorius
Alyxia scandens
-
Noms tahitiens
Mori
Mao
Aroro
Aito
moua
Haahape
Mamau
Mou
Mouharii
Toroura
Rimuahu
Tiatiamoua
Upaupatumuore
pentaphylla
Dicrocephale latifolia
Desmodium polycarpum
Dracontium polyphyllum
Alphitonia zizyphoïdes
Amaranthus gangeticus
Acrostichum repandum
Adenastemma viscosum
Uu
Balanophera lungosa
(Huamati
Upootii
Yaianu
Patara
Taatahiara
Tiapipi
Dracœna terminalis
Teve
Ti
Bambusa arundinacea
Ohe
Dodonea viscosa
Apiri
Barringtonia speciosa
Hutu
Toatoa
Bauhinia
Pine ?
Elatostemma sessile
Eleusine indica
Boehmeria platyphylla
Bixa orellana
Broussonetia papyriferà
Buettneria tahitensis
Vairoa
Eugenia Malaccensis
Ahia
?
Erianthus florid uluS
Aheo
Oronau
Euphorbia tahitensis
Ërythrina indica
Erythrina tahitensis
Atae
Tupu
Fleurya interrupta
Iriaeo
Futu
Tutuilaruaa
Fitchia nutans
Fitchia tahitensis
Ficus tinctoria
Anei
Colubrina asiatica
Canaxalia littoralis
Aute
Cardiospermum haliccacabum Vivinio
Cardamine tormentosa
Titipatoa
Tainoa
Cassyta filiformis
Patoa
Cardamine sarmentosa
Fenia
Carumbium nutans
.
Cyathodes tameiameiae
Cyrtandra biflora
Cyathea medullaris
Cypéracées
Cyperus pennatus
Cyatila prostrata
Davallia gibberosa
Davallia elegans
Dendrophtoe forsterianus
Diascorea
Toi
Byronia tahitensis
Calanthe gracillima
-
10
Calophillum inophillum
Colocasia macrorrhisa
Casuarina equisitifolia
Cenchrus echinatus
Cerbera tosterii
Chicocca barbata
.Cordia subcordata
Cœsalpinia Bonducella
Cordyle AustraMs
Crateva religiosa
Centhoteca lappacea
Fragrea herteriana
Freycunetia demissa
Geniostoma rupestre
Geniostennua rupestre
Ati. Tamanu Geophila reniformis
Gleichenia dichotoma
Ape
Tamaomao
Atoto
Oporovainui
Toromeo
Mati
Pua
Farapepe. Ieie
Faipuu
Atoro
Tohetupou
Anuhe
Toa. Aito
Grevia malococca
Haupau
Piripiri
Guettarda speciosa
Gossypium religiosum
Vaivai
Reva
Helmia bulbifera
Hernandia peltata
Toroea
Tou
Tatara
moa
Ti
Puaveoveo
Oheohe
Hibiscus
rosa
sinensis
Hypolepis repens
Ipomea turpethum
Ipomea pes caprae
Tafano
Hoi
Tiamina
Aute
Maanana
Taurihau
Pohue
11
noms scientifiques
ïnocarpus edulis
Jasminium didymum
Kariwia samoensis
Kyllingia monocephala
Lagenaria vulgaris
Laportéa photiniphylla
Lepidium piscidium
Lepinia tahitensis
Noms
,
Mape
Tafifi
■Huehue
Hue
Aaia
Toroire
Lycopodium cernuum
Lygodium scandens
Maratia elegans
Premna tahitensis
Pseudomorus brunoanus
Mehomeho
Ofepara
Oplimenus setarius
Panax tahitense
Pandanus odoratissimus
Paritium tiliaceum
Paritium tricuspe
Panicum sanguinale
Paspalum scorbiculatum
Pemphis acidula
Peperomia leptostachia
Peperomia reflora
Phylantus tahitensis
Phylantus simplex
Phylantus manono
Physalis angulata
Physalis parviflora
Piper methysticum
Avaturatura
Metuarimu
Maire
Tamore. Pitorea
Momea
Atiuaea
Polypodium nigriscens
Rimarimatafai Rhus tahitensis
Meryta lanceolata
Nephrol epis exaltata
Nephrodium patens
Ochronia parviflora
Ophioglosum reticulatum
Puatea
Puruhi
Roa
-
Melastoma tahitense
Nelitris fructicosa
Pisonia brunoniana
Pogomia nervilia
Mapua. Puai- Procris pedunculata
Para
Motuu
Metrosideros Collina
Morinda citrifolia
Morinda forstera
Mucuna gigantea
Nauclea Forsterii
Avaavairai
Ofeo
Uramoae
oru
Lomaria procera
Luffa insularum
tahitiens
Piper latifolium
Pittosporum tahitense
grandis
Pipturus argenteus
Plumbago zelanica
Polypodium augustatum
Polypodium pustulatum
Polygonum imberbe
Harato
Nau
Leucena forsterii
Limodorum fasciola
Noms
Pisonia
Mouuponui
Niuroahiti
Iimnophila serata
Noms scientifiques
tahitiens
Leucas decemdentata
—
Piarautahi
Araiha
Avaro
Matimati
Metuapuaa
Âpapa
Reynaldsia tahitensis
Yipe
Solanum anthropophagorum Oporo
Santalum insulare
Scœvola kœnigii
Ahi
Naupata
Puarata
Serianthes
Nono
Tafifi
Siegesbeckia orientalis
Faifai
Amia Amiami
Schenidelia obovata
Rama
Sophora tomentosa
Sponia discolor
•Spondias dulcis
Pafatuaoao
Aere
Tutaepuaa
myriadena
Ahatea. Mara
Amea ?
Su riana maritima
Amoa
Talimum patens
Nuna
Tamore moua Tabernoemontana orientalis
Tiapoto. Au- Tacca pinnatifida
fenua
Tanghinia manghas
Terminalia catappa
Papapapa
Apape
Fara
Fau. Burao
Faupapa
Nanamu
Nonoha
Aie
Nohah
Tiapapa
Mahame
•
Tephrosia piscatoria
Thespesia populnea
Tournefortia argentea
Triumfetta procumbens
Urostigma prolixum
Yandallia Crustacea
Yeinmannia parviflora
Yaccinum cereum
Viscum articulatum
Wiestremia forsterii
Moemoe
Yponomea denticulata
Yxora fragrans
Manono
Tamanu farii Xylosma suaveolens
Ximenia elliptica
Tupere
Ava
'
DPI 1ST.
Vi
,
Ouru
Aturi
Faiete
Pia
Reva
Autaraa
Hora
Miro
Tahinu
Urio
Oraa
Haehaa
Aitamoua
Opuopu
Paifee
Ooao
Papati
Hitoa
Pine
Rama
Croissance des Coraux
Il
(1).
paraît pas déplacé de traiter, ici, une question qui in¬
particulièrement toutes nos îles d'Océanie, volcaniques
ne me
téresse
madréporiques.
Je veux parler de la croissance des coraux.
De quelle quantité s'accroissent nos récifs de corail dans un
certain nombre d'années ?
Voilà une question qui est de la plus haute importance pour
ou
l'accessibilité de nos ports, aux bateaux de fort tonnage.
Les atolls des Tuamotu qui ont des passes sont évidemment
de formation plus récente que ceux qui n'en possèdent pas, mais
appelés un jour, par la croissance constante
fermer complètement comme leurs aînés.
Il est vrai que, grâce aux très forts courants qui
sont
se
dans certains des lagons
comme, par exemple,
des coraux, à
se sont établis
et qui s'échappent au large par les passes,
à Hao, où le courant atteint quelquefois huit
nœuds, le travail de fermeture sera très lent ou presque nul.
Dans certaines îles, les habitants m'ont montré différents
points du récif où le débarquement se
faisait autrefois mais qui
aujourd'hui à cause de la fermeture des fissures,
comblées par le corail " vivant". (Ua tupu te toa. Le corail y a
poussé) disent-ils.
Pour les îles volcaniques qui sont entourées de récifs, nos
passes risquent moins de se fermer, à condition toutefois que
les rivières, en face des embouchures desquelles elles existent,
continuent à déverser leurs eaux au même point, et ne soient pas
taries par un défrichement irrationnel de leurs rives.
Il faut pour conserver nos passes que nos cours d'eau soient
protégés contre le vandalisme des propriétaires qui, ne compre¬
nant pas leur propre intérêt, abattent, pour en faire du charbon
sont délaissés
,
(1) Cet article n'a aucune prétention scientifique. L'auteur a simplement
consigner le résultat de ses observations personnelles aussi bien à
Tahiti que dans les nombreuses îles de l'Archipel qu'il a eu fréquemment
l'occasion de visiter. Il ne prétend point être infaillible dans ses conclusions
et il sera heureux si d'autres, mieux qualifiés que lui par leur préparation
scientifique, peuvent tirer quelque parti de ses observations, quoique ne par¬
tageant pas toujours sa manière de voir.
voulu y
—
13
—
ou du bois à brûler, les " Mape " séculaires et autres gros
qui croissent sur les berges, et qui non seulement procu¬
rent-de l'ombre à la rivière, mais maintiennent son lit en place.
Les Madrépores travaillent avec succès dans l'eau salée claire
et chaude (pas au-dessous de +200 centig.) et aussitôt qu'ils sont
dérangés par un courant d'eau douce et nécessairement plus
froid que la mer, leur travail cesse.
Mais il faut que ce courant soit bien déterminé et ininterrompu.
L'on entend souvent demander pourquoi nos barrières de ré¬
cifs, à Tahiti par exemple, sont interrompues par endroits, lais¬
sant ainsi la côte exposée aux assauts de la haute mer, tel les
"Pari" à l'extrémité de la presqu'île de Taiarapu, et la côte est de
Tahiti, de Mahina à Hitiaa.
A mon avis, cela tient à ce qu'aux Pari l'immense massif de'
plateaux qui constitue cette région, n'est pas, comme ailleurs,
découpé par de grandes vallées qui recueillent les eaux pour les
concentrer et les amener à-la mer par une seule embouchure;
celles-ci se déversent directement dans la mer par de multiples
petits ruisseaux et cascades, abaissant, sur une longue étendue,
la température de l'eau salée et faisant un mélange impropre à
l'existence des Madrépores.
Pour la côte est de Tahiti, le cas n'est pas tout à fait le même.
A Hitiaa, les grandes rivières sont nombreuses et débitent beau¬
coup d'eau, ces rivières traversent avec beaucoup de sinuosités
•des plaines formées d'une couche d'alluvion d'environ deux à
trois mètres d'épaisseur, répandue sur d'anciens bancs de co¬
raux. A une époque très reculée, les récifs étaient plus rappro¬
chés, et soit par des glissements de terrain, soit par l'apport des
rivières, l'espace entre les récifs et la plage s'est comblé et les
Madrépores ont été obligés de recommencer leur travail plus au
large. x
Dans cette couche d'alluvion, les eaux des rivières se sont
creusé de nombreuses infiltrations (1), ce qui fait que les plages
de bois
arbres
à Hitiaa, dans la propriété do M. Temarii Nadeaud, un puits
du sol,'appelé "Oo" par les indigènes,
fond duquel, sur un lit de corail dur, pas¬
sait une nappe d'eau très claire avec un courant très prononcé vers la mer.
Des nato, oopu et chevrettes y foisonnent, et tantôt disparaissent pour y
revenir de nouveau. Ce trou, qui en somme est un trou-regard d'une rivière
souterraine, se trouve à plus de oO mètres de la rivière " Vaihi " et à plus
(1) J'ai
vu
naturel formé par un affaisement
d'environ 3 m. de profondeur, au
de 300 mètres de la
mer.
Les " Oo" sont très nombreux à Hitiaa.
—
14
—
actuelles sont littéralement criblées de
petites ouvertures d'où
sourd l'eau.
Du côté des falaises de Faaone et de Tiarei, le cas est le même
qu'aux " pari ".
A Papenoo, la rivière qui recueille les eaux d'un bon quart
de l'intérieur de l'île, est cause de ce que les récifs de coraux
font presque totalement défaut sur une grande étendue delà
côte.
Plus
près de Papeete, la baie de Matavai se trouve dénuée de
récifs, sans dout£ parce qu'autrefois la rivière de Haapape s'y
jetait, après avoir parcouru la Pointe Vénus dans toute sa lon¬
gueur et fait un tournant brusque vers l'Ouest à l'endroit de son
embouchure. Le courant d'eau douce partant de la pointe et
longeant parallèlement la côte, de Taharaa à Arue, a empêché
les récifs de se former jusqu'en d'ici de Taharaa. (i)
De ce qui précède, nous pouvons conclure qu'il est possible
de réglementer la croissance des coraux ; c'est-à-dire provoquer
leur croissance en détournant les courants d'eau douce, ou l'ar¬
rêter en amenant les eaux à un point déterminé. (2)
Pour continuer les études sur la croissance des coraux, il
existe des données précises qui pourraient être d'un grand se¬
cours aux personnes qualifiées pour cette étude.
Le navire Dolphin, commandé par le capitaine Wallis qui dé¬
couvrit Tahiti en 1767, s'échoua au mouillage dans la baie de
Matavai. Le banc qu'il toucha fut appelé par lui " Dolphin Rock "
(1) En 1767, lorsque le Capitaine Wallis aborda à Tahiti pour la première
fois, il mouilla dans la baie de Matavai, dans laquelle, comme je l'ai dit plus
haut, se jetait alors la rivière de Haapape.
L'embouchure de la rivière était située à l'endroit couvert actuellement pair
le marais qui existe entre le phare et l'église Saint-Paul, et formait un vé¬
ritable lagon d'eau douce, lequel servait, au roi de l'époque, d'abri pour sa
flotte de pirogues de guerre.
Depuis, au début du siècle dernier, la rivière a quitté ce lit, pour prendra
celui qu'elle a actuellement et se jeter dans la mer à l'est du phare, dans le
domaine de M. Deflesselle.
(2) J'ai souvent entendu attribuer aux vents régnants l'absence de récifs
la côte Est de Tahiti. Sans repousser totalement cette théorie, je ne crois
pas qu'elle soit bien soute nable.
Les Iles-Sous-le-Vent, par exemple, qui sont exposées aux mêmes vents,
n'ont aucun endroit de leurs côtes dépourvu de récifs de corail.
Raiatea et Tahaa s> ut entourés, sans interruptions, sauf les passes, d'un
récif qui forme un lagcn navigable sur toute son étendue.
sur
—
45
—
et
repéré sur la carte avec toutes les indications relatives à sa
situation exacte et à la profondeur de la nappe d'eau qui le cou¬
vrait.
Aussi 75 ans plus tard, en 1839, le navigateur américain Wil¬
kes, en croisière dans nos archipels, choisit précisément le Dol¬
phin Rock pour commencer une étude sur la croissance des co¬
raux, et put, à peu de chose près, avec les données de son pré¬
décesseur anglais Wallis, comparées à ses observations person¬
nelles, se rendre compte de- la quantité dont s'était accru le
banc. (1)
Pour permettre à d'autres, de continuer cette étude, il avait
établi un point de repère à terre, consistant en un bloc de basalte
placé sur la plage.
Plus tard, en 1869, deux officiers français delà frégate Astrèé,
MM. te Clerc, lieutenant de vaisseau, etdeBénazé, ingénieur des
constructions navales, s'intéressèrent à la question ;
quoique
n'ayant pu se procurer l'ouvrage de Wilkes et par conséquent
savoir exactement le degré de croissance en 30 ans, de
1839 à
3869, ils ont cependant fait œuvre utile et laissé des détails précis.
A ce sujet, je ne puis mieux faire que de reproduire textuelle¬
ment ce que l'Amiral Cloué écrivait au Commandant Commis¬
saire Impérial en 1870, et que j'extrais du
M-essager de Tahiti,
journal officiel des Etablissements français de l'Océanie à cette
époque :
«
«
«
de
«
«
«
f boys to drive
the animals down. I accept the
money from Gater because he has
much of it; I spend part of it to
buy tobacco and salt and other
trifle's, and give the rest away to my Brother's children. »
« How
long do you remain on the plateau, and how do you
tents of our
catch the animals» ?, we asked.
« It all
depends on the season, came the answer, sometimes
week, sometimes a fortnight, and sometimes a month or more.
When there is plenty of food : taro, fei,
yams, bananas, oranges
and guavas, 1 dont start
trapping right away, but simply eat to
a
my heart's content and contemplate nature. When I am tired of
eating, 1 set my traps and when I have caught the number requi¬
red by Gater, I return to
my peaceful caye. As to how I catch
them, is a very simple matter. Knowing cattleto.be very fond
of salt of which these are completely
deprived up there, I draw
them near, by hanging here and there a little bundle of salt
along
their tracks leading to the corral near the
brook, and in the
evening the cattle come and ravenously lick these bags. I keep
moving these bags nearer and nearer the corral, until sufficiently
(1) FEI : Musa Fe'i : grows plentifully in the mountains and is the principal
food of the natives.
Its bunch of fruit instead of
hanging down like an ordinary banana bunch,
stands erect in the middle of the leaves.
(2) APIRI : Dodonea Viscosa.
(3) RAU : Leaf, F ARA : Pandarius-Odoratissimus.
—
32
—
Then I set my snares made of strong purau (i) bark ropes~
noose I
hang one of my bags of salt, just high enough,
so.
and in the
that
only the big sized animals can reach it. The cattle come
unsuspectingly and try to reach for the coveted bag. When
touched, the salt bag swings to and fro and causes the whole
contrivance to tumble down, the loop rarely missing the head
and horns of the animal beneath. The end of the rope is made
fast to the stump of a tree and my only remaining task is to
lead the animal from the snare to the corral, which is easiest
done at nigth. Until twenty years ago, I used to lead the captu¬
red cattle to the bottom of the valley myself, but since the nar¬
row escape 1 had from a bull which I failed to knock down before
it pinned me to a purau tree with its horns, 1 leave it to others
so
to do.
»
We then understood
why salt was so much appreciated by the
old man, and why he would always carry some back to his cave
when he would go to the beach. The old man's story'reminded
of what children
told about
putting a bit of salt on a
fancy he thought I was
chaffing him, for he promptly replied : « I trust you do not think
that I take you for a child. »
He was now pulling offthe tunic which hehad slipped on when
we arrived as a sign of courtesy
(2) to us, and uncovered his
broad chest showing two large scars : one just above his left
breast extending over into the armpit, the other just below his
ribs on the right side.
« These are witnesses of
my only bodily wounds, which are
nothing to compare with the invisible wounds men suffer from
sometimes in life, said the old man sadly, but let me finish my
story about the bull pinning me to the tree. »
me
are
bird's tale, and when I told him so, I
Yes, he continued, the mad animal made for me, and for
only time in my life, my legs and hands served me
too slowly. I had not even time to turn and climb
up the tree,
when I was struck by the furious beast ; luckily the purau
tree
was old and very hard, so that the horns of the animal did not
«
the first and
(1) BURAU : Paritium Tiliaceum,
(2) When the Europeans first came to tahiti the custom with natives was
to uncover their bust when in presence of royalty or to show
respect to any
particular person. Now it is the reverse. When a white man calls unexpeotably on a native, the latter will immediately cover his body in sign of
respect, even if the shirt he lays his hands on is torn or soiled.
33
—
penetrate deep into the wood, but just merely into the thick bark.
I
in
very awkward position : neither standing nor sitting,
back against the tree, the bull's forehead pressing my
chest, and its horns on either side of me. It was impossible for
me to get away, for I was held in
place by one horn through
my right side and the other trough the flesh beneath my left
was
a
with my
shoulder.
I tried to drive the animal away
by hittingit on the nose with
knees which I raised alternately, and by punching it under
ear with
my right fist only, unable as I was to use my left.
But this seemed to make the animal more furious than ever, and
it kept on pressing and bellowing so loud that I
began to think
that all the spirits of Tearataha were in it. Luckily for me, it never
relented, and instead of disengaging its horns, it kept hold stea¬
dily. I then suddenly remembered that my knife was in my belt,
I reached for it and drove the blade right into the bull's brains,
just between the two horns at the very spot where I had. so
«
my
the
often
seen
Gater's white butcher drive his knife into. The animal
dropped to the ground as a coconut drops from its stem, while
I, unable to walk and bleeding abundantly, sat leaning against
the trunk of the tree.
«
I do not know how
must have
long I remained there
; some
evil spirit
put me to sleep and knocked me unconscious. When
I regained my senses, I found myself lying flat alongside the
bull which was then cold and stiff. A long time must
dead
have
elapsed between my fall and my awakening, for when I killed
tjie bull, it
was about three hours after midday and the sun was
my eyes ; and when I awoke the sun was behind me
and the shadow of the tree was ahead of me, so that I reckoned
it to be about two hours after sunrise.
shining in
«
I crawled to the little brook
flowing nearby, and quenched
my thirst, then I washed my wounds. To my great satisfaction,
these were superficial and my bones and bowels were uninjured.
I returned to this
cave and nursed my wounds with herbs, and a
days later journeyed to the beach to tell Gater about my
adventure, and to see whether the other cattle had arrived down
the valley or not.
« Old Gater was so
angry when I told him about the animal I
killed that he threatened to keep back my pay for future work,
until the price of the bull would be covered ; but he relented and
1 could plainly see that the real cause of his wrath was that he
few
—
34
—
a sale to a war vessel that was in port, all the other
having returned to the plateau while I lay unconscious.
So ever since, Gater always had the cattle driven down by a
gang of boys. »
«Well, said I, do not let our arrival here stop from going to the
plateau ; we shall go with you, and do some shooting, there are
surely some wild pigs andgeats up there. »
« Certainly, and plenty of them, he replied, you must come
along with me, my hut up there is big enough to house the three
of us ; so now let us rest and at daybreak we shall start for the
plateau of Tearataha. »
We all lay down on our mats with bundles of dry sweet smel¬
ling opuhi (i) leaves as pillows, but I was restless and could
not sleep. Old Afaiau seemed restless also, and kept getting
up to roll his huge pandanus cigarettes, so we both started
chatting again. He soon got on to this favourite subject of « Old
times when Tahiti was a great nation feared and respected by
all the islands she had conquered, and loved by all those submit¬
had missed
cattle
ted to her.
»
blowing quite hard, and I remarked
getting chilly. «Wait, said the old man, I will give you my
tunic, it is a fine one and very warm ; I put it on when you both
arrived, but it made me feel so hot that I had to take it off again ;
in fact 1 seldom wear it ; it is true I haye only had it a month or so. »He handed it to me, and I threw it over my feet and felt quite
comfortable. «Where did you get it from», I enquired. «Oh, he
said, I got it from young Nandau who had it for years, and who
has just had a new one given him». I jumped to my feet and
cast the coat far away from me and fairly yelled at the old man :
« Don't you know that young Nandau is a leper, and of the worst
kind, he is literally falling to pieces ; how dare you wear this
coat on your bear body, and besides, give it to me to touch ». I
reached for the rum bottle and to great despair of Afaiau, I poured
part of its contents over my hands and feet for disinfection as I
thought.
The old man gave me a look of condescending pity and said ;
« What are you so excited and worried about, my only intention
was to convey comfort to you when I gave you that tunic, and
not to convey the disease of its former owner. »
The land breeze
it
was now
was
(1) OPUHI
or
ÀVAPUI : Amomum
cevuga.
—
There
35
—
tone of sadness, astonishment and yet of irony
voice, and when I asked him to explain what he
meant and how he came to have the leper's tunic, he answered :
•«Listen and I will tell you: As you know, poor young Nandau
lives in a little hut near the path leadind up yonder valley. His
relatives although very kind t-o him as far as clothing and money
are concerned, remain sometimes months without
going to see
him. He feels very lonesome and forsaken, and is glad to see one
now and then that is not afraid to approach him. I always call
in.to see him on my way to and from town, and carry messages
for him or bring him what he requires from the stores, and tell
him the news. I have known him ever since he was put in se¬
gregation where heis, and when he was still able to use his feet,
which do no longer exist, he use to steal up here occasionally
and spend a few days with me, after which he would return to his
hut feeling that my cave was the one spot under the skies where
he was made welcome, and that I did not loathe his company.
The other day wen he gave me the tunic, he told me to boil it so
as to kilf all germs of leprosy before I should wear it. But as I
have not the slightest fear of being a leper, and knowing that
the young man has but good and kind feelings towards me, I
simply accepted the tunic as it was ; besides, in what could I
have boiled it, I have no recipient big enough.
in
was a
the Hermit's
You white peoplethinkthat leprosy
is caught easily, and make
yourselves miserable trying to escape it. If you are to get it,
you will get it and nothing will prevent it ; on the other hand if
a leper of his own good and free will, gives you some of his per¬
sonal belongings, you can use them and never catch the disease. »
ce I have often worn clothes, he continued, that the poor lad
left up here for me and nothing has happened to me. Ah, had
Tbeen cruel or even unkind to him, or had I stolen something
from him, he certainly could and probably would will me to
become a leper. In short, he gave me this tunic, but kept back
his disease. You probably find this hard to believe, but I can
assure you that the sole way such ailments are propagated, is
through the will of the sick one' who has a grudge against those
.
«
that have harmed him.
I remained
»
silent, so struck was I by the old man's theory:
Perhaps he may be right ! How strange ! How candidly beautiful
and wonderfully, simple were his ideas ! He harms no one and
-implicitly expects no one to harm him. This poor white boy,
—
36
—
forsaken by all of his own kind, attended to and cared for
by
this old native who welcomes him to his cave, sharing with him1 his food, bedding and
clothing. What a clear conscience and an.
honest mind he must have to be
so sure of his immunity ; and.
being his way of living for years, still his grand powerful
body shows no sign of the awful malady; so my thoughts wan¬
dered on, and I could not help thinking that there must be some
truth in such a philosophy, and felt half ashamed for having
displayed such fear and terror, and regretted having used so
much of the contents of the bottle to disinfect my limbs.
The old man kept on : « All your disinfection precautions areto me mere signs of your lack of comprehension of the
principles
of contagion. For instance, see Faatiraha who was a
leper, hehad a wife who bore him beautiful children, boys and
girls, all
in good health ; he remained twenty five years with his wife and
when he died none of his household were sick nor have they
since shown any signs of being contaminated. That is because
Faatiraha was loved and cared for by his wife and family, so that
he had no occasion of feeling any resentment towards any of
them, thus having no reason of conveying his disease to them..
Whereas, look at Tafai's family, they are all lepers ; for when
Tafai first showed signs of being infected they all forsook
him, so afraid were they to become lepers themselves, and the
poor man had to attend to himself as best he could until he died.
He naturally resented all that and although his people
wereyery
seldom within his reach, he managed to convey his disease to
them. Young Nandau has been in this very cave scores of times
and has lain down at the very spot you now
occupy, and I have
not caugtht his disease, nor will you.
»
The old man had spoken with such
sincerity and conviction
that I felt quite persuaded that he was right, so I said no morebut just bade him goodnight, and turned over to try
and sleep.
Afaiau got up quietly, picked up the coat and went
quietly
this
outside the
cave
to shake the dust out of
it, then
came
back and
when he
thought 1 had fallen to sleep, he gently spread it over
feet and legs. I was so touched by the old man's solicitude
my
that I did
nor
have the courage
to move, and I let him think that:
really sleeping.
By this time B
was snoring, and before 1 could close my
eyes 1 lay a good while thinking over all the old Hermit's words-.
A couple of hours before daybreak, I awoke
feeling very thirs-r
I
was
—
37
—
fy sol got up to goto the little spring just outside the cave. B....
and Afaiau where both sound asleep and lay perfectly still.
From a little asperity of the rock I took a coconut shell cup
and filled it with the pure cool water that flowed through a bam¬
boo stem from the spring. The night was nearing its end; the
full moon was shining in all its tropical glory low down in the
west, giving a silvery look to the glossy apiri leaves that the
mountain breeze caused to sway to and fro, the clusters of dry
apiri flowers and seeds rustling reminding one of the "frou-frou"
of silk garments. Eimeo could be discerned clearly as in daylight
and her lofty peaks, tours and pinnacles screening the horizon,
seemed like ever so many huge spikes that some unseen giants
of the sea were trying to point to the silvery globe of fire above.
Just as I was raising the rustic cup to my lips, I happened to
glance towards my left ; the cup fell from my hand, and startled
out of my wits, I must have shrieked desperately, for in no time
B
was at my side saying : « What's up, what's up ».
All 1 could say was :
«Look». In front of us,"in the bright
evening before, we could
gazing into the far west.
Back of us in the cave we could plainly see a human body on
the mat, and hear the regular snoring of one asleep. For a mo¬
ment we looked at one another speechless. Was it the old man
•or not ? his ghost perhaps ?, or a spirit from the plateau ? I crept
back silently to the cave, felt the sleeping Afaiau, and for a mo¬
ment wondered whether 1 was asleep or awake. B
had
followed me, we both took our guns and returned towards the
rock, and we stealthily drew near the phantom, ready to shoot
if necessary. Within six feet of it, I trade on a piece of dry aeho (i)
that cracked noisily, waking old Afaiau from his reverie. His good
old serene face turned quietly towards us as he said : " Why are
you up so early, you are missing two good hours of sleep before
the sun will appear ; and what do I see in your hands ?, guns ? ;
truly one would think you were strangers to this land ; you
know very well that fairly all that breathes is asleep at this hour,
and there is no game for you to shoot at this time. Scarcely can
one hear a living being, save the wild cats prowling around in
search of rats, or now and then the crow of a cock in yonder
on the same rock as the
Afaiau in the very same attitude,
moonlight,
see
-valleys ».
(1) AEHO: Erianthus
floridulus.
—
38
—
Well, said I, we must confess that we were not exactly out
looking for game,|but we were not too sure whether you were
here or over there in the cave, and we wanted to find out.
Look,
there is someone asleep there
yet. As to our guns, we thought
they would be a help to us in case we had to deal with an evil
spirit. »
He smiled as if amused by our explanation and
answered :
«Yes, the one asleep yonder is my nephew Turi who arrived
here last night after you were
asleep ; his Father sent him for
me to go and make some medicine for one of his
daughters who
has eaten some poisoned fish. The lad is tired and is
resting; I
will go to the beach with him at
dawn, and return here in the
-afternoon, and lead you up to the plateau. As to you trusting
to your noisy fire arms for
mastering or even scaring away evil
spirits, you are mistaken, they are quite useless. You should
know that the spirits are in their element when there is noise
about (i). The only thing they fear is water
and fire; yes, wa¬
ter that cleanses and fire that consumes are the
only means of
getting rid of ghosts. That is how I freed this cave of them; it
was full of skulls
(2) and skeletons that the spirits had not
completely abandoned, and water and fire alone have made the
place habitable for the living. I h'ad a terrible and long struggle
with them and at times after
having gone to sleep in this cave.
I would wake finding myself carried out
yards away by them.
I would then flood the place with water from the
spring and pi¬
le up dry branches and set fire to them until at last the
spirits
vanished for good. They know that I do not fear
them, there¬
fore they cannot harm me.»
We found this long lesson
very interesting but not of a natu¬
re to make us feel like
going back to sleep in the old burial pla¬
ce, so we decided to wait where we were for
daylight and con¬
«
tinued
our
Why
conversation with the old Hermit.
were you
ved, and why do
(1) When
screams so as
Afaiau-s
sitting here yesterday evening when we arri¬
find you here again now? », we asked. He
we
a native is alone in the mountains he
to keep away the evil
generally shouts and
spirit.
theory then seems to he in contradiction with this custom; but he
always considered excentric by his own people.
(2) This is another case in wich Afaiau differed from other natives. I
have been to caves with Afaiau, where he
picked up skulls and carried them
away for me, a thing that hardly a native will do.
was
—
39
—
pulled out from under his pareu a quaint little tobacco box ma¬
de of carved bamboo, drew from it a leaf of tobacco and a strip
of pandanus leaf and went towards the fireplace saying : « I am
going for some fire to dry my tobacco and
I shall be back in a moment and explain.
light
my
cigarette,
he crouched down and blew away the
smoldering log of aito (i) wood on wich he
threw a handful of dry ferns and up came a bright flame; he
then passed the supple leaf of tobacco over and over again
through the flame until it became quite dry and crisp, then he
wrapped it in the strip of pandanus leaf, thus making a cigar
shapped cigarette wich he put to his lips. He then picked up
from the fire a fair sized burning apiri branch and came walking
towards us with it. He returned to his seat on the rock, and
lighting his cigarette from the burning apiri, he drew two or
three whiffs of smoke, then brandishing high above his head
the apiri torch, he stood up and thrust it forward into the abyss
below our feet, fairly shrieking « It moves, it moves. Do you
see it ? It is the sun, it is moving towards the bottom of the
precipice ! Or are we moving upwards while it stays in place ?.
No ! it moves ! » The burning torch travelled faster and faster
until it disappeared in the thick brush below; then the old Her¬
mit drew his huge'cigarette from his lips and blew gently on to
the lighted tip until it was all aglow and cast it forward just as
he had the apiri torch, saying : « There goes the moon, it also
moves ! It follows the sun, it goes in the same direction ! »
In no time the tiny bit of fire was out of sight and B.... and
I remained silent, unable as we were to grasp the meaning of
this impressive practical demonstration, when he broke in
again, this time very calmy : « That is why I sit here for hours,
looking into the west, in hopes of solving the problem. Every
evening when the sun sets, the same thought comes to me, and
when ever the moon is visible, I watch it set also, and wonder
each time what can be the reason the Whites have for trying to
make people believe that the sun is still while the Earth moves
and that the moon moves, while we aro. still. Yet it is quite evi¬
dent that they both rise in the east and set in the west; the sun
disappeared over yonder behind Eimeo and will in an hour or
so creep up behind this very cliff, as it did the morning before
We watched him go :
ashes from
a
(1) AITO : Casuarina equisetifolia.
—
40
—
and will
always do; the moon is about to hide itself behind Eiand after sunset will in turn also
creep up from behind
this very same cliff. The white teachers tell of some
great Chief
in olden times that
stopped the sun to give his soldiers time to
kill off his enemies; and
my people's ancestors got one of their
meo
great men (i) to stop the sun
one day so that they could have
time to catch and dry all the fish that were
swarming along the
shore in shallow water : it isxlear,
you see, that our
respective
agreed upon the fact that the sun moves, and this
new idea of its
being at a standstill is surely erroneous. The de¬
monstration I made a while ago with the
apiri torch represen¬
ting the sun and my cigarette representing the moon, has I
trust, convinced you of the fact that they are both
moving and
ancestors
that
we are
not.
»
The poor old man looked so
triumphantly happy, that I had
not the courage to contradict him and left him under the
sion that
The
we were
moon
had
impres¬
convinced.
completely disappeared and a sort of se¬
over the
valley below, the rising sun
being as it were veiled by the touring peaks back of us, until the
golden rays burst forth into the valley as suddenly as if some
one had
pulled off the'shade from a huge lamp. The myriads of
dew dmps shone like ever so
many gems, reflecting every co¬
lour from gold, blue and silver to crimson and
green. The « red
beaks » and the « gray breasts » flew
noisily away from their
now
mi-darkness subsided
nests in the
cliff, in search of the white and yellow butterflies
on the rata (2) and pua (3) flowers. Every¬
thing appeared new, «just out of the Creator's hand », said
Afaiau,, Turi by this time had awakened and was busy
getting
that
were
coffee
already
ready.
After
our
and B
again in
coffee
and I
a
we
decided that
would all go to the
beach,
we would come back
would have more time to
spare
we
promised Afaiau that
few weeks when
we
and spend a few days with him on the
plateau.
We took a different trail down the
cliff, as Afaiau wanted to.
(1) This refers to Pai, a demi-god that used to pull the sun out of the sea
morning and fling it in the sky. He, one day, was asked to keep the
sun
every
still, which he did
but the effort was so great that he got
sun go again.
(2) RATA or PUARATA : Metrosideros Collina.
(3) PUA or HAUOU : Fragrea Berteriana.
;
which caused him to let the
a
rupture
±
—
gather herbs to make
41
—
draught for his sick niece ; evidently the
by the old Hermit for many months,
for the wasps had had time to make huge nests on the over¬
hanging branches. B... and I fearing the wasps, felt like return
ning to the cave and taking the trail we had come by, but Afaiau
laughed at the idea and said : « These wasps you fear so
much, see how I deal with them ». He put down his bundle of
herbs and fruit, and picked up a handful of mud wich he rub¬
bed all over his hands, then deliberately walking towards the
a
trail had been abandoned
nest, wich was about six inches in diameter and covered with
wasps, he outstretched his arms and crushed the whole thing,
wasps and all, betwen «his enormous hands ; he did this most
unconcernedly and in less time than it takes to tell. B
and
were in profound admiration, while his
nephew Turi whispe¬
red to us that such feats were only possible with the help of
evil spirits, and that it was a known fact that his uncle had dea¬
lings with them.
When we reached the bottom to the valley, Afaiau and Turi
tarried a while to gather some more herbs that grew along the
edge of the river, while B
and 1 returned to Papeete mu¬
sing over our night's experience.
Six weeks later, B
and I returned to the cave, and to our
great disappointement, Afaiau was not there. Everything about
the place looked much the same as on the day we had left it,
I
and
we
B
wondered where could the Hermit have gone to.
with the natural perspicacity of the half-caste,
eyed
nook and corner of the cave and said : « He has been go¬
ne over five weeks; see the shriveled up
hotu leaves that we
used as plates the last time we were here, they are quite dry. In
the shade of this cave they should remain green for a fortnight,
then turn red and remain so another fortnight after wich within
a week they become yellow and finally dry like they are now.
These leaves have been dry several days, see how they crum¬
ble, (he said as he picked one up and crushed it between his
two hands). Perhaps he has not come back from the beach and
Is still with his Brother; but that cannot be so, as he never
sleeps elsewhere but up in these mountains ; and it is hardly
probable that he has gone to the plateau to set his traps, for
here are his ropes and all his gear hanging just where they we¬
every
re
last time.»
We sat down
a
while not
knowing what to do
:
wheter to
—
42
—
wait at the cave, or return to the beach, or follow the trail
up
to the plateau and
perhaps find Afaiau.
It
was
that
we
yet quite early in the forenoon, and B
suggested
adding that
spend the night
go up the trail and make the best of things,
would surely conhe'across Afaiau's hut to
we
in.
So
we
started; after
couple of hours walking and climbing
we
stopped to rest and have
something to eat. We soon resumed our journey and another
couple of hours later we reached the plateau where Gater had
we came
to
a
a
little brook where
his cattle.
But for the
footprints of the cattle in the damp soil, nothing
of any living being on the plateau and we
were q.ueerly impressed
by the utter, silence that reigned over
the place. We felt as if we had entered some immense
forgotten
or rather forsaken
grave yard where every inch of ground was
covered with vegetation. Ferns of all sorts
grew in great profu¬
sion, from the smallest and finest maiden's hair to the giant nahe (i) and the tall tree ferns. Trees of all sorts, from the smal¬
ler guava and orange trees to the
high tiairi, (2) mape (3) and
vi (4), intermingled their
lofty branches up into wich crept all
sorts of beautiful vines, barbadines
passionfruit, etc. At certain
places the foliage above head was so dense that we were literal¬
ly in semi-darkness. Not a breath of wind to swing the graceful
clusters of orchids and other flowers thet
grew parasitically along
the stumps and the big branches of the
mara(5) trees. Nota
sound save the rumbling of a distant waterfall. To the north
through an opening betwen two peaks the Ocean could be seen
but not heard; to the east, south and west the
plateau extended
to the high mountains that were inaccessible walls to the
revealed the presence
cattle.
We could seethe
high peaks of Aorai touring up into the sky
sunlight, while the lower parts of the great moun¬
tain remained in the dark mauve shade, made darker
yet by
the deep blue hue of the opposite hills, behind wich the sun
bathed in
was
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
hidden.
NAHE : Angiopteris evecta
TIAIRI or TUTUI : Aleurites mollucana.
MAPE : Inocarpus edulis.
VI : Spondias dulcis, Called pomme cythère, by Bougainville.
MARA : Nauclea Forsteri.
_
43
—
.#
«
We could not find Afaiau's hut right away, and after roaming
around a while, B
climbed up a tall tiairi tree to see if he
could perceive any smoke over the top of the surrounding trees
that would give us an idea in what direction to go. He come
down
saying that quite nearby, towards the east, he thought
distinguish a very faint streak of smoke. We im¬
mediately headed for that direction and soon came to a clear
part where a sort of a padlock was arranged for keeping the
captured animals, and a little beyond, near a little brook we
that he could
could
see
Afaiau's hut. It
was a
low
shelter made
of bamboo
and covered with
opuhi leaves. Nearby was a smaller hut yet,
probably the kitchen, for we could see a little smoke rising from
it. But for this smoke we would have thought the place unin¬
habited, everything looked so weatherworn and forsaken.
As we approached we shouted out Afaiau's favourite « Arara- ■
ha'e » and a very feeble voice responded : « Haere mai ! Orua
tena ? » Come along ! Is that you both ?. The voice come from
the smaller hut where we found the old Hermit laying on the
flat of his back, hardly able to move.
His left leg was stretched out flat, but his right one was bent
up, his knee wrapped in an old piece of sack cloth.
« What is the trouble with
your leg, Afaiau ?, and how thin
and fatigued you look ! » I said.
« I have had an abcess, he answered, that ha? kept me ill for
the last six weeks ; in fact ever since the day you last came to
my cave. That same day, I returned very late to the mountains,
for never since sixty years have 1 spent a night on the low lands
near the sea shore ; and as 1 was walking up the trail
along the
cliff, 1 felt a sudden pain in my right leg, and a chill come over
me. I reached the cave shivering with cold, and to warm my¬
self, I emptied what was left of the bottle you had given me,
and went to sleep with the intention of coming up here next
day. But I woke long before dawn, my leg was very stiff and
very swollen around the knee, and I felt so helpless that I was
unable to make a start for here. For four days I rested and on
the fifth day seeing that I was getting no better, and that my
provisions were exhausted, 1 made up my mind to come up he¬
re, where I coud always pick up oranges and guavas from un¬
der the trees that surround my hut. I could not walk nor could
I crawl, for both my legs were like paralysed ; so 1 had to ad¬
vance sitting upright and raising myself with
my hands on the
.
—
44
—
ground, thus pushing ahead like a man without legs ; at the
steep parts of the trail 1 would come up backwards. I left the
cave in the
morning and arrived here next evening. I gathered
as well as I could all the fruit that were on the
ground and fil¬
led those two calabashes with water from the
brook, and got a
fire started; it must have been well
nigh midnight when 1 had
finished all these preparations, for when I was able to lie down
the moon was straight overhead. Since then I have not moved
from this spot ; I was able to eat fruit for four
days, alter which
I had to throw them
away for they had rotted having been brui¬
zed in falling from the trees.
My left leg had no more pain, but
the swelling of my right knee
got worsg.. »
He spoke very slowly
and in a very feeble voice, but looked
as if
hunger did not trouble him much. Near his side 1 saw an
old torn book, and when I enquired if he was
hungry, and how
he had managed to pull
through it all, he answered graspinghold of the little book : « This fed me and
kept me, I felt that
my body needed no nourishment as long as my mind found
spiritual food. The Saviour of Mankind the Whites have taught
my people to follow, stayed forty days without
eating and ne¬
ver complained, so
why should I grumble for having been wi¬
thout food for only
thirty days ?. »
While he spoke, he kept
pulling out some of his eye brows
looking at them with great concern. We asked him why was
he doing that : « Oh, came the
reply, I want to see if my eye
brows are getting white ; for if
they are, I shall soon die ; but
as long as they will remain black I shall
remain vigorous. Mind
you, this is not a bit of superstition, but it has always been so
in my family : our hair and mustach whiten
very early in life,
but our eyebrows and eyelashes
stay black as long as we are
strong. When we are ill fort the last time they turn white. »
« Well
then, said B.... and I together, this is not your last
illness, for your eyebrows are still very black.»
« You are too
kind, replied the old man, my eyes are still
good enough to see that out of the ones that I have pulled,
three are white and all the others will soon
follow, then will i
be ready for the last illness that will take me
where I can see
exactly wich of the two moves the Earth or the Sun ! But let us
hot talk any more on that subject
; go to my hut before it gets
dark and put your bags there and see that the sweet
smelling
opuhi leaves are well spread on the ground for you to sleep on
—
tonight
cave
We did
a
—
foi remember, it is colder
;
warmed
45
below.
up
here than in
my sun-
»
he told us, and unpacked our bags; B
opened
a bottle of wine and offered some to Afai-
as
tin of biscuits and
who took
au
a
sip of the wine and
a
bite of the biscuits
as
deli¬
berately
as if he had not been deprived of food.
Wé then asked to see his knee : he willingly
showed us the
just a little above and to the left of the knee
but he energetically .refused to let us put anything on it
sore, an open gap
cap,
nor even
touch it.
It is
nearly well, he said, and in a few days I will be able to
go about again. I had to keep my leg very still until the abcess
was fit to be lanced, then I opened it with a blade of bamboo,
and have kept it coyered ever since with a piece of damp sac¬
king. I could have stood the pain of moving out to pick up mo¬
re fruit and to renew my water in the calabashes, but I prefer¬
red to remain perfectly still, lest my moving about should cau¬
se
'my leg to become stiff once the abcess cured. »
B... and I remained speechless at such stoicism and wpndered at the old giant's strenght of character, patience and earnest
desire to avoid becoming a cripple.
«
I then asked him
where he
had found the little book that
by his side, and he explained : « When 1 went to my Bro¬
ther's house to take him the medecine for his daughter, I asked
the girl to lend me her Bible, as I wanted to study more about
the great warrior that stopped the sun in olden days. She gave
me this ; there are so many leaves missing that I could not find
the particular passage I was looking for, but came across all the
sufferings the Master underwent, and He helped me to bear my
pain and gave me courage.» I promised to buy him a brand new
Bible : his eyes flashed with joy as he said : « As soon as I can
walk again, 1 shall go to your house for it.»
B... had by this time prepared our meal and we sat down to
eat after the old man had said grace. He drank a cup of coffee
to wich B
added some condensed milk, and this seemed
to revive him. We filled up the calabashes with water in case
the old man should need any during the night, and then with¬
was
drew to the other hut.
«
You
arc over
what I
are
right about the hotu leaves, 1 said to B
,
they
», but B
paying no attention to
saying, threw his hat to the ground and in a very
five weeks old
was
—
46
—
low tone
fairly commanded : «Uncover your head, and listen.»
night we distinctly heard the old Her¬
following prayer : « Almighty God in Heaven,
One and Only Creator,
infinitely small is the being now utte¬
ring praises, thanks and prayer to Thee, but so unlimited is
Thy Omnipotence and Wisdom, that Thy ear can hear the cry
of the smallest of .Thy creatures,
even the voice of the unwor¬
thy. Help the suffering multitudes, keep showering Thy bles¬
sings on all mankind, give us what Thou thinkest fit to give us,
and take from us, what
pleases Thee to take from us; for all
that we have Thou hast
generously lent to us and let, Thy na¬
me and that of
Thy Only Begotten Son be blessed for ever,
In the stillness of the
mit uttering the
Amen
».
The
impressive simplicity and the tone of absolute altruism
ofthis prayer struck B
and I, and we felt truly edified.
We slept soundly until next
morning, and after having had a
cup of coffee and having given some to our old host, we took
our guns and went to look for
game on the neighbouring ranges; at about midday, we were back with a goat and a couple
of wild roosters. We made
some
bouillon for thé old
man
who
seemed to be
wich
or
we
picking up fast. We stayed a week with him, during
would go every morning for a ramble in one direction
another.
The night before our departure we sat
up a good while chat¬
ting-with Afaiau, and asked him the reason why he persisted
so to live alone in the mountains instead of
doing like all the
other natives who live
along the sea shore.
« It is a
very long story, he answered, I cannot overcome the
aversion I have for the sea shore, I will tell
you why. When I
was a lad of
eighteen, a whaler anchored one day in the bay
where my Father lived. The Captain wanted
some new hands
on board and I
begged my Father to let me go to sea to catch
the fish the white
that the
man
was
after. He consented
on
condition
Captain should promise to bring me back to Tahiti at
the end of his cruise. Three years later the whaler returned
with me on board. My betrothed had waited
faithfully for my
return and had
stayed under my Father's roof during my ab¬
sence, and he had kept good watch over her, not that he did not
trust her, but he feared the
young men of the village and the
neighbouring districts would come and run away with her, so
good looking was she.
-
—
47
—
My Father was so grateful to the Captain for having kept his
word, that the day after our arrival he gave a big feast where
all our relatives and friends came to sing and dance for the whi¬
te guests, and at the same time to assist to my wedding.
Moe was her name, a prettier woman never have I seen, and I
took her hand and put it into the hands of a young white man
from the whaler, to whom I had sworn eternal friendship, and
whom I loved like a brother, saying : « Moe, here is our Bro¬
ther, fear him not, he will not harm you, I would trust him
with you,
just as I have trusted
my
Father
».
But Moe bent her head down and remained silent. It
me
pained
wife took in my friend, but I
indifference forbashfulness and thought nothing more
to see what little interest my
took her
of it.
My White Brother stayed under my Father's roof and nothingspared to give him pleasure ; Moe to my great joy became
was
attentive to him
and when
flowers for me, she
sed me, and having
ever
she would make'
a
wreath of
would also make one for him. All this plea¬
tested the young stranger's good heart du¬
ring the three years I was at sea, I suggested to him that he
should askthe Captain to discharge him, so that he may remain
with us as a husband for my good looking little sister Hina.
The vessel remained in our bay for a fortnight, a fortnight of
joy and pleasure, and the day before she was to sail my Father
seeing the young stranger was determined to leave with the
ship, performed the consecration ceremonies of our brother¬
hood in accordance with our ancient customs and rites, in the
presence of all our family and people. Feasting, singing and
dancing lasted all day and all night. My wife had said good-bye
to my white Brother with visible grief and at sunset Jjeft to go
and see her Mother who was very ill several miles away. I could
not accompany her, for the laws of hospitality compelled me to
remain with my guests to the very last. At daybreak we took
my white Brother and his comrades to their ship, and a flotilla
of canoes bore fruit, coconuts, chickens and pigs for them to
eat at sea.
The Captain gave orders to heave up the anchor, as a favou¬
rable wind was blowing from inland; and as I parted for the
last time from my
white Brother, I handed him the necklace of
and wich I was wearing, and
shells that Moe had strung for me
—
48
—
put it around his neck and bidding him farewell, called him .by
.
my own name, for we had exchanged names.
When I returned to the shore, I pulled up my canoe and sat
on the sand watching the vessel dash through the passage in
the reef out into the
teaming breakers of the open ocean.
After all hands had left the beach, I returned to my Father's
house and taking his best horse, I rode off as fast as possible to
wife at her Mother's. On arriving there I found the old
stringing shells on the beach and looking as well as
possible. Where is Moe ? 1 enquired immediately, before even
greeting her, for an awful idea had taken birth in my mind;
where is Moe ? I shrieked a second time, and as the old wo¬
man looked up at me with astonishment, the truth struck me
and I threw myself down on the sand and wept.
Moe had gone with my white Brother and had forsaken me ;
she was seen the evening before, just after sunset, in her little
canoe with a bundle of clothes, paddling.towards the ship, but
no one thought anything was wrong, as everyone had heard
her say that she was going to see her sick Mother.
I had thought of pursuing the vessel with my Father's big
double canoe, but the wind was brisk and the ship was alrea¬
dy far off on the horizon, and I was left to my grief.
I returned to my home, but could remain there but a few
hours, for I could not bear the sight of everything that reminded
me of my Moe;
and the more I realized how I had been duped
the more I wanted to go away and be alone. So I made up my
mind to come to hills and stay for good. For months and mon¬
ths I reamed about from hill to hill, from valley to valley, sleeping
where ever the night would overtake me, until I settled in yon¬
der cave. For years my people knew not what had become of
me ; I could not bear the idea of meeting a human being, for
shame struck me in the face at the thought of having housed
the man that had run away with my Moe.
I used to see old Gater. pass occasionally on his. way to this
plateau, but could not make up my mind to show myself.
Several times I had wanted to wait for Gater, near the preci¬
pice, and throw him down the cliff on account of his being a
white man like my white Brother, but I would always remem¬
ber in time the other white man, the Captain of the whaler
who had kept his word with my Father, and so let Gater pass
join
my
woman
r
Unmolested.
-—
49
—
One
day at the turn of a trail, I met old Gater, and he saw
before I could get out of the way and hide, so rather than
look like some guilty thief and go the other way, 1 faced him
me
and
we
crossed each other. He asked
me
where had 1 been and
I told him that I had been gathering roots of the wild taro.
He felt the muscles of my arms, and patted me on the
back
and said that he thought I was very powerful, and asked me if
1 would be willing to work for him. I agreed and attented to the
catching of his cattle as long as he lived, and since his death 1
have continued for his sons.
I
gradually got used to meeting people again, and would go
occasionally to the beach for my pay, and to buy tobacco, salt
and other sundries, but I always returned to my mountains to
sleep.
Time passes, and every day brings me new knowledge of thé
wonders of nature through the careful observation of the Al¬
mighty's work, and Moe remains ever present in my memory.»
A month later Afaiau came to my house for his book : «My
end is drawing near, my eye brows are getting white fast », he
said with an air of resignation. He then asked me to give him a
looking glass, and as composedly as possible had a good look
at himself and
said
: «
I will last another few
moons.»
He returned back to his cave,
and some months later, having
come to town for tobacco, he tarried at his Brother's house to
get this one's opinion on a certain passage of the Book; it was
evening when he made a start for his cave; but it
late, for the moist night air of the low lands had given
him a chill and he could no longer walk.
The old Hermit spent the night at his Brother's house, the ve¬
ry first night spent near the sea since the ill fated night his wife
late in the
was
too
•disappeared.
At moments the high fever would cause him to be a little de¬
lirious, and he could be heard muttering : « It moves, eyes of
course, it moves», then he would becomecalm and beckoningto
his Brother to approach : « If Moe comes back, he said, tell her
that my body is as she left it, save three scars ; one on my
•chest, one on my side and one on my knee. Tell her my heart
bleeds trough two big wounds : my wounded love for her, and
my wounded affection for my white Brother; but as I had ha¬
ted her on account of these wounds, so do I now forgive heron
account of the wounds the
Saviour had
».
—
50
—
His breath grew
weaker and weaker and at dawn it stopped
Afaiau had gone to the land of his dreams, the land
might see whether the sun moves or not.
A little mound at the foot of the hill, where starts the trail
leading up to his cave, shows the spot where lies the scarred
but uncrippled body of Afaiau.
•
for
ever
;
where he
ssxsvoxitiE
i>mx,©x,©©i^
Migrations Polynésiennes.
Dans un précédent numéro du Bulletin, M. F. R.
Chapman, de
Wellington, le distingué membre correspondant de notre Société,
bien connu par ses travaux sur l'histoire et les origines des
peu¬
ples de race maorie, avait demandé s'il n'existait aucun souvenir,
dans les traditions tahitiennes, d'un grand bateau dénommé
"Arai-te-Uru
qui aurait abordé en Nouvelle-Zélande à une épo¬
que bien antérieure aux migrations historiques.
Suivant la tradition, ce " pora" venait d'une terre
appelée
"ltaite Whenua ", et le regretté Percy Smith, rédacteur du
"Jour¬
nal de la Société Polynésienne", estimait quece nom ne
pouvait
désigner que Tahiti.
M. F. R. Chapman a bien voulu nous envoyer la liste
complè¬
te des passagers et de l'équipage du bateau " Arai-te-Uru ",
et
il estime qu'il serait très intéressant et fort utile, au point
de vue
historique, de rechercher si, dans les traditions tahitiennes, on ne
retrouve pas des noms de personnes ou de localités
correspon¬
dant à
ceux
de cette liste.
Nous
publions donc cette liste, espérant que quelques-uns de
nos correspondants voudront bien contribuer à éclaircir cette
question.
1. Te Uikura
2. Te Ahu-patiki
3. Te Maro-kura
4. Otukakau
5. Omawete et Motupohue
6. Te Kiekie
7. Ohua-te-kere-kere
8. Te Rau-kaupeka
9.
Hamna
10. Mauka-kukuta
11. Whili-kaupeka
12. Totara
13. Te Aruhe-para
14. Otuma-nawa-ta
15. Waitaki
16. Te Maroliri et Tarehu
*
67. Mau-kiekie
68. Whatiwhati-poika
17. Te Moroku
18. Te Karo
19. Pana Kotuku
20. Te Piri a mokotaha
69. Kai-te-ihi
70. Pakihiwi-tahi
71. Puketapu
72. Te Rua-tupapaku
21. Oteuku
22. Oteake
23. Te Kohurau
o Te Ikaraeroa
24. Te Aka-tarewa
25. Tatara-kaimoko
26. Te Po e te Rakitamau
27. Paritea
28. Te Monoao
29. Pouruturaki
30. Tahi o Arapaowa
31. Pakareia
Mauka-atua
Tarua a Te Moko
Te Rua-taniwha
Te Waa-a-akohe
Aroaro-kaehe
Ritua
Kirikiri-katata
Motu-ariki
Otehiwai
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43. Wai-korukoru
44. Pukeuri
Okauia
77. Ohikaroroa
78. Ohineamiomio
79. Te Pakatata
80. Te Wai-paepae o
81. Te Unui-koau
Te Whata
wife of)
Maraitewheta
Omakau
Te Rua-karehu
Makau
Te Rua-karehu
Orereto
Te Awa-wi
103. Te Awa-koko-mika
104. Wai-werowero
105. Wai-poun o matire
51. Orore
Puke-hopai
55. Te Awa-mokihi
56. Papa-rekareka
57. Te Kai-hinaki
58. Te Tapuiri
59. Toka-a-tara
60. Otawhiroko
106. Kawa
o
Tirarea
107. Te Pa-toko
108. Mimiha-nui
109. Waikano
110. Tamaipi
61. Oraumoa
€2. Porutaiki
63. Te. Koere-patiki
64. Taki-a-maru
(was
Heikura
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
101.
102.
52. Kawarau
53. Oturarua
65. Patuki-rua
66. Taki-a-amaru
a
Te Whai a te ao
Ka Iwi o te weka
95. Raki-te-oraro
45. Te Horo o te Wiwihi
46. Papakaiao
47. Te Waïrere
48. Ma-kohukutuku
49. Te Waka-a-Taha
50. Otua-hu
54.
Katamariki
82. Ohinemaru
83. Tahu-anini
84. Te Wai-tuapapa
85. Arai-te-uru
86. Paka-te-aio
87. Ka Mautaurua
88. Te Kohai
89. Kura-matakitaki
90. Otumaihi
91. Kaiwaka
92. Kaiwaka (was a
93. Tumaihi
94. Oraki-te-oraro
32. Okowhiu
33. Te Wai-matau
34.
35.
36.
37.
73.
74.
75.
76.
a
female)
111. Te Ika-a-puku
112. Oteraki-whaitiri
113. Te Wai a Te kuruki
114. Waho-te-raki
115. Okuruheku
116. Otepopo
—
52
—
117. Mata-kanakana
138. Otuhaitara
118. Kai-te-ihi
119. Wai-makariri
139
120. Tawhu-te-nui
121. * Tawera
141. TeKoakaaUmi
122. Maitahi
123. Kai-tarika
124. Otaia
125. Pure-ora
126. Makihikihi
143. Te-ana-raki
127. Te
Ropateke
128. Mataraki
129.
Kai-tanga-ta
130. Tiori-raki
131. Tarutu-wai
132. Te Kai a mokiki
133. Tarutu-wai
134. Matai-raki
135. Oteruawai
136. Te Kai
a
mahuika
.
Te Po-waikawa
140. Otakiroa
142. Rakai-kore heo
144. Kokotahi
145. Totara
146. Te Pohatu
a
Roko
147. Te Awa-mako
148. Ururoa '
149.
150.
151.
152.
153.
154.
Aorangi (aoraki)
Tapuaenuku
Maukalere
Maukaroa
Te Makahinu
Otara (Tara)
155. Paakaroa
156. Tunutunu
157. Hiroa
137. Otakitu
Note
:
Quelques-uns de ces noms sont en langue Maorie, d'autres dans le
Ngaitahu (Nne-Zélande méridionale).
dialecte de
E. A.
-,
La
Si tu
chasse
veux avancer
53
au
—
coq
sauvage.
sûrement, dans le bois
Jusqu'à l'endroit secret où vit le coq sauvage,
Profite des moments où soudain le bocage
Se remplit en vibrant de l'éclat de sa voix.
Sans qu'il l'entende, alors, tu pourras sous ton poids
Briser la feuille sèche et les brins de branchage.
Quand tu seras tout près, à travers le feuillage,
Regarde le chanter pour la dernière fois :
Bien campé sur le sol de sa chère clairière,
Il lancera son chant sur la vallée entière,
D' un coup tu l'abattras dans sa pleine fierté.
Et prenant le corps rouge où l'or au feu se
Retourne à ton cheval près du bois arrêté,
Et suspends le beau coq au pommeau de la
mêle,
selle.
F. V.
Aux
îles
Pomotu.
Sonnet bleu.
Aux Iles Pomotu, cinglant en goélette,
Tu serais enchanté par la gamme des bleus.
Ce serait, tout d'abord, au-dessous de tes yeux,
De l'Océan sans fond le bleu de violette.
Ce serait,— aux endroits où dans l'eau se rèflète
L'anneau des cocotiers, s'incurvant somptueux,
Comme un cercle vert-bleu tombé du haut des cieux,—~
Une gone outremer près de la plage nette.
de corail,
du flot qui déferle,
bleu, pâle, et vert jade, et gris perle.
mer du lagon même, en l'attol
Où montent les fonds blancs, loin
La
T'offrirait
son
C'est là que, loin des yeux, par un secret travail,
Se déposent au cœur des grandes pintadines
Les joyaux irisés aux lueurs opalines.
La reproduction et la traduction des articles
publiés par le Bul¬
letin de la Société des Etudes Océaniennes sont expressément
réser¬
vées pour
tous pays.
Toutes communications relatives au Bulletin doivent être adressées
au Président de la Société des Etudes Océaniennes à
Papeete.
Papeete
—
Imprimerie
du
Gouvernement.
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Société des
Études
Océaniennes
.
AUX ÉDITIONS DU MONDE NOUVEAU
42,
BOULEVARD
RASP AIL, 42,
PARIS
Édition.
Marius-Ary Leblond
FÉTICHES
Quand idoles et masques nègres conquièrent passionnément
l'Europe artiste, voici que nos deux célèbres maîtres d'exo¬
tisme, comme Kipling, romanciers lyriques de l'Océan Indien,
gravent ce titre sur l'un des plus curieux de leurs ouvrages : Fé¬
tiches!..,.
D'un bout à l'autre,
l'imagination, captée, cherche... Et, tan¬
qu'elle égrène cet étrange chapelet des plus émouvants fé¬
tiches que se soient donnés les hommes— sauvages ou civi¬
dis
lisés— elle subit le merveilleux ensorcellement des terres
trales
sent
:
il
aus¬
l'y. attache si puissamment que, le livre fermé, elle se
dépaysée.
comme
Un
fort volume
Collection
7
francs.
"LE VASTE MONDE", N° I.
Société des Etudes Océanienne:
Société des
Études
Océaniennes
Fait partie de Bulletin de la Société des Études Océaniennes numéro 09