History of The Marquesas

the Marquesas received few visitors large airplanes can't land here and there are no hotels though the early inhabitants were a warrior culture practicing cannibalism Captain Cook found these islands hospitable when he visited during his second voyage in 1774 in 1842 when the French annexed the Marquesas the population was estimated to have been 60,000 by 1926 the ravages of European diseases tribal warfare and a collapsing culture had reduced the population to less than 2,500 people although the population has again grown to about 7,000 there is an eerie sense on these islands that have vanished people still haunt their former homes these geological young islands have no reef and no surrounding flat lands each island is sharply divided by steep ridges formidable barriers to travel and communication nuku hiva the largest island in the group has a population of 2,400 it's principal port ty why is the economic and administrative center for the entire group the chief crop for export here is copra the mature fruit of the coconut palm which is used for making soap cooking oil and cosmetic products harvesting copra is still the simple act it's always been with the Sun doing much of the work the nuts are split open and allowed to dry after a few days exposure the meat is easy to remove from the shells after that it's dried further unprotected racks once bagged it's ready to be sold and loaded onto the whale boats although many traditions of their forefathers have been swept away by faith and time the islands tradition of carving has not been lost at the Catholic cathedral entire why many skillfully wrought carvings testified to a strong artistic sensibility today's artists have the same eye for detail that their forefathers had and the fact remains that moccasins are considered the best Carver's in all of the Pacific although occasionally they transport their crafts to Tahiti the eventual owner of this pole is likely to be a traveler from the ARA Nui wood isn't the only medium the Carver's work these contemporary artisans have found that volcanic rock also meets the demands of their craft in a culture that has no word for art carving is made to serve a functional purpose Christianity and Western culture are recent arrivals in the islands and the veneer of westernization is in some cases only skin-deep ancient dress and body decoration which can be studied in artwork and photos was banned for many years originally used as a sign of rank in society the meaning of ancient tattoo symbols has been lost but as the search for cultural identity becomes more important the tattoo is making a comeback tapa cloth is still made in the Marquesas although it is not as widely used as in Tonga and Samoa printed pieces can be purchased but the traditional cloth was worn in its pure natural state unlike the Tonga mulberry tapa here the cloth was made from the inner bark of the breadfruit tree breadfruit has many uses and in the days when the islands sustained a much larger population the highlands were thickly planted with it as rare as they are difficult to build the few miles of road demonstrate the difficulty of cross island travel here in some places a truck or car is useless and the horse becomes a part of everyday life [Music] [Music]

Channel: TravelVideoSource

Views: 106,112

Keywords: Adventure travel, cultural travel, tourism, sustainable tourism, travel stock footage, South Pacific, South Pacific Travel Guide, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Bora Bora, Marquesas, South Pacific Culture, South Pacific Travel, South Pacific stock footage, French Polynesia, Cannibalism, Captain Cook, History of Marquesas, Marquesan Culture, Copra, Wood Carving, Stone Craving, Polynesian Carving, Tapa Cloth Making, Bread Fruit

Id: GhjPKUe8vIM

Length: 4min 44sec (284 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 10 2011