Life on Pitcairn Island - home of the descendants of the mutineers from HMS Bounty

the UK overseas territory of Picken island is a remote speck of land lost in the vastness of the Pacific there are only about 50 pecan Islanders descended from the mutineers who commandeered the hms bounty in 1789 along with a selection of Polynesians they brought with them from to eating the islanders have evolved their own unique traditions and customs not many ships call in here and when one does those ring out across the island to let the Islanders know they have visitors the Islanders are also skilled craftsmen and women I'm on my way to find Reynold and NOLA Warren to see their creations Reynold is a woodcarver and knows how to make the best use of all the local trees wow that's a nice connect it's just mango tree and burl wood some of this work is simply practical bring on my firewood and this is the tradition it's war yeah traditional design it can design yeah but smaller carvings like the iconic HMS Bounty are for sale to tourists and collectors and are a vital part of the island's economy the preferred wood for these comes from Henderson Island some 200 kilometres distant and Reynolds preferred carving tools and knife and axe it's extraordinary that such crude tools can produce such exquisite carving and you taught yourself you learnt yourself how to do my grandfather Island ascending the name yeah but beautiful yeah that's it oh come right in thank you so much that's NOLA is always ready for visitors would you like to drink that's the tea I don't know it's gonna look at you sit over there on that side yes help yes sir oh thank you very much help yes sir have you tried to go AMA Truman don't want my affair sir you're late to church Tara Milazzo well if that's all right if that's okay oh you can taste them I don't think they're go really well with sweet fine okay no no herself is a basket makers traditional designs woven from palm leaves use them like in they they were starred on shelf in the kitchen how did you learn this I think I had to learn in when I'm young growing up my grandmother taught well actually in those days it's a traditional thing that you had to learn how to make baby in whenever you like or you don't yeah you think they are after the love that baskets absolutely beautiful yeah this will not only what rolling back the beautiful colors as well Karen or how to make these I think every to help to make them from coconuts you can't matter unless you live if you if you don't know how to make it you shouldn't get married really you're saying on Pitcairn Island that's the coconut wrong we're never be careful CL any judge I don't think it would buy them part by one you one yeah yeah said it great do you want one I love one I'll make you one before you leave ever in the air what they wrongfully admitted to make all right thank you very much baton harnessing Pitcairn Island might seem remote to us but not to Polynesians who thought nothing of crossing vast distances in ocean-going canoes the island had been discovered long before the bounty mutineers ever got here and the evidence for that it's just over here these strange markings are evidence of Polynesians here but as of yet no one has been able to decipher them and we have no idea what they mean the painters of these symbols disappeared long before the Bounty mutineers arrived and today's Islanders still puzzled over their meaning but does this character here is always intriguing you know what does it really mean even so morel de warren uses these symbols in her work she paints with traditional materials on tapa paper made from the bark of trees this this one serve a pretty good case sap is a traditional form of Polynesian art widespread across the Pacific in places like Fiji and Samoa but it died out on Picken in the middle of the 20th century now myrrh elder has worked out the process and has revived the art form it went from me trained to use different techniques in the samo and culture the Fijian culture until I actually have found my own really yes from my own why did we stop perfect why did it stop well there there was a good chance to go with with the topper and unfortunately we don't know the chant anymore it's the era when the missionaries were coming through and some of them felt it was a bit unchristian things and so it you know see the art of making tougher the art of dancing all of that was lost it's gonna come up you want to have a go sure yeah - just one on the yeah yeah it's a bit wharfing it's bit smelly oh and back then has tasted breakdown and I have several pieces in here then it has to be flattened out before being soaked some more now it goes back for another soak yeah what I'm going to do is hook up some black dye using the doing up the pigments for paintings are also made from local plants they were alright to eat but if you eat too much it's a laxative get a little clean you up really yeah I just flicked this look by just brushing it up using a palm nut yeah brushing it up and just mixing that with a little bit of bad guy and we have this beautiful pure black pube lat and the results capture the enigmatic symbols painted on the cliffs just a short distance away Picken also has its own language which again can be traced back to the Islanders unusual origins so where does pit came the language come from it came from the woman of the bounty and the English men and they can't speak the language of each other fluently and so with them teaching the children of the bounty verse for the language originated from the combination of both Polynesian and and English together that's amazing yeah we were not allowed to speak picture when we were little growing up really especially in schools and church and stuff like that and now they employ people like me to train teach picture to the kids do the kids like learning it or are they yeah yeah they're struggling sometimes because one of their parents is um is English speaking or yeah that's so cool and and could you would you mind speaking a little bit of pit came to each other well you asked me something well if you can keep talking over our clinic and make us all get a photo hey what does that mean Darla Tina Tina oh really if you keep talking for us for a long time yep we'll get tired in the head okay then Lisa oh okay okay living in such a remote part of the world has its advantages particularly for the younger generation sortsa like as a mother on Pitcairn well I think it's wonderful for the kids because they get so many opportunities at the kids outside don't and you know you can go out and play until it was dark and mum calls you and and they have dinner and linger outside and players is just a lot of freedom for the kids that's a wonderful life for the kids growing up she doesn't quite grasp the concept of outside and you asked her a question about New Zealand what would you like to see these she just couldn't get in the car um what do you how do you view a city lots and lots people Janee the capital city unit capsules in London and the whole big city guess how many people in the whole city yep this 11 million there's a lot of people how do you feel about going to a place where you don't know it'll be scary shy shy just hey you know after when I get used it's so interesting that you've grown up in the maximum distance you travel from is basically the distance of the island which is what - Priscilla problem so there's a big world out ectasy would you like to come explore it Pitcairn truly is an extraordinary place with a unique culture but a welcoming - in my brief stay I've been invited into the homes of many of the Islanders and made to feel like part of a family a family that began when fetch a Christian and his fellow mutineers landed the bounty on Ethan and called this place home the Britons treasure Islands book explores the unique wildlife cultures and history of all of the UK overseas territories visit Britain's treasure Islands calm for details in sincere thanks to Lord Ashcroft for funding the donation of one copy of the Britain's treasure Islands book to every secondary school across the UK and her overseas territories thanks also to all Kickstarter backers and all sponsors and partners for making the 40 mini documentaries possible you

Channel: Redfern Natural History Productions

Views: 1,419,524

Rating: 4.7264509 out of 5

Keywords: Stewart McPherson, UK Overseas Territories, Britain's Treasure Islands, Great Britain, United Kingdom, Pitcairn Island, Pitcairn, Island, wood, wood carving, carving, remote, isolated, Polynesian, Polynesians, Tapa, Pitkern, Pitkern language, life on Pitcairn, life on Pitcairn Island, remote life, isolated life, inaccessible

Id: vPZHzfRXzjA

Length: 14min 50sec (890 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 08 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/pm-me-ur-inkyfingers]

If anyone likes rock and roll and cellos there's a great album about the mutiny of the Bounty called "oh perilous world" by Rasputina Because of this album I'm super stoked to check out this documentary. Thanks OP

[u/Thr0w---awayyy]

arent like 1/3 of the people there pedo?

[u/sggum]

https://www.bjp-online.com/2018/04/adam-pitcairn/

Just finished reading this article, best read in a while and gives a good idea on the island's mood.

[u/Keith227]

Not a documentary, but a 15 minute tourism promo. I happened to watch this after watching a documentary about the mutiny, which was excellent.