Every four years, the Marquesas Arts Festival takes place on
one of the six islands in the archipelago. This is the “real thing”, attracting
troupes from all over French Polynesia and the rest of the Pacific and visitors
from all over the world. The next Arts Festival is in Hiva Oa in 2015. Because
four years is a long time (or for other reasons), a mini-festival is organized
in between, so every two years there is a big event everybody talks about. We
lucked out with our timing - 2013 was the year of a mini-festival – but not
with the location. This year’s festival, attended only by Marquesan groups,
took place in Ua Huka, the most eastern island of the Marquesas with the worst
anchorages.
Mark and I joined about 24 other sailboats in the bay of
Hane, a local record the locals were very proud of, until it meant that the
pirogue races were cancelled: too many obstacles for the rowing contest. As
happens a lot in these islands, the wind was fluky and couldn’t behave for four
days in a row, so chaos ensued in the harbor, when almost everyone was on the
festival grounds, located between Hane and Vaipaee. Unmanned boats ventured in
different directions. There were a few near misses (we were lucky to be on
board and be able to start the engines to avoid hitting another boat) and a
couple of collisions. We moved Irie to a safer spot in the afternoon of day 1,
before hitching a ride away from the waterfront.
The festival itself was unbelievable, impressive, awesome,
touching and spectacular. The costumes, the dancing, the singing, the drumming…
Neither words nor pictures can do it justice. Maybe, just maybe, I might be
able to post a few videos in the future. But, I know I have promised this
before. The internet situation in the Pacific is just excruciating and useless
for “heavy” stuff. 
The first evening, the groups of Ua Huka, Fatu Hiva and Nuku
Hiva performed. The second evening, it was time for the delegations of Ua Pou,
Tahuata and Hiva Oa to dance, sing and drum. On the third and last day, all the
six troupes showcased a dance following the theme “the challenge”. We were
mostly impressed by the convincing show of the Cannibal group of Ua Pou. For
lunch that day, there was a communal and free kai kai with traditionally
prepared food provided by the different islands. In between, artisans created
stone and wooden tikis and stands made sure nobody went hungry or thirsty.
Alcohol was prohibited on the grounds and unavailable on the island during the
duration of the festival. Not only was the event very cultural, but it was as
social as we have encountered in French Polynesia so far, with fellow cruisers
we met weeks, months and years ago! There was a lot of catching up to do…
Here is a selection of pictures:
Wood sculptor from Nuku Hiva
One of the modern tikis decorating the grounds
Two artisans from Nuku Hiva (the one on the right a regular at "our" Snack Vaeake) creating a stone tiki
Taro ice cream with Marie: colorful and flavorful!
Afternoon at the beach with friends - hammock time!
Covering the umus (traditional underground ovens for cooking) after filling them with pigs and root vegetables
The first step to the cooking process in an umu - hot coals
Day 3 of the festival: the pirogue (canoe) is almost finished
And so is this tiki - filing the important parts...
Preparation of the kai kai - the food fest for all
Every group has their own drums and drummers
The "Cannibals" Ua Pou performance (next six pictures):
One of the gifts brought to and for Ua Huka: the tallest drum ever!
After about 24 hours, the goodies come out of the six umus - time for kai kai! (which is when my camera battery died)
Last evening's beach BBQ with fellow cruisers
