Tahiti Intertwined: Ancestral Land, Tourist Postcard, and Nuclear

21 Pages·2008·4.59 MB·English

Tahiti Intertwined: Ancestral Land, Tourist Postcard, and Nuclear Test Site
Author(s): Miriam Kahn
Reviewed work(s):
Source: American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 102, No. 1 (Mar., 2000), pp. 7-26
Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the American Anthropological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/683535 .
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MIRIAM KAHN
Departmento f Anthropology
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
Tahiti Intertwined: Ancestral Land, Tourist Postcard, and
Nuclear Test Site
In this article,I apply ideas from Foucault,L efebvre,a nd Soja aboutt hirdspace,o r space beyond dualisms,t o an under-
standingo f "Tahiti"a s a complex,i ntertwinedp lace.F or most Tahitiansa, sense of placei s rootedi n land, which individu-
als describea s a nurturingm other.G enealogicalt ies to land define personali dentitiesa nd social relationshipsF. or the
world at large,h owever,t he perceptiono f Tahitii s basedo n seductive,m ass-mediatedt,o uristici mages. The perpetuation
of these images, whose originsg o backt wo-hundredy ears,h as become increasinglye nmeshedi n the economica ndp oliti-
cal agendaso f the Frenchc olonial governmentT. he resumptiono f nucleart estingi n FrenchP olynesiai n 1995-96 andt he
subsequentr iotingb y Tahitians,w hich disseminatedn egativei mages throughoutth e world,p rovidea settingf or an analy-
sis of Tahitit hatm oves beyondd ualisms.T ahitii s understoodin steada s an intertwinedth irdspacee, quallyr eal andi mag-
ined, immediatea ndm ediated.[ place,c olonialism,i magery,t ourism,n ucleart esting]
The space in which we live, which drawsu s out of ourselves, ([1974] 1991:6). He argues for a science that moves beyond
in which the erosiono f our lives, our time and our historyo c- mere descriptions of what exists in space or discourses on
curs, the space thatc laws and gnaws at us, is also, in itself, a space to one that gives rise to a knowledge of space and its
heterogeneouss pace ... we live inside a set of relations. production ([1974]1991:7). Space, he says, embraces a
[MichelF oucault1 986:23]
multitude of intersections. Desiring to create a theoretical
Therei s no "reality"w ithouta concentrationo f energy,w ith- unity between fields that are apprehended separately (the
out a focus or core-nor, therefore, without the dialectic. physical and the mental), but interact with and influence
[HenriL efebvre( 1974)1991:399] one another, Lefebvre labels his project the development
of a "unitaryt heory" ([1974]1991:14). He outlines a dyad,
In grappling to understand social life, late-twentieth- from which a triad, or "thirdspace"( il y a toujours l'autre),
century scholars have begun to give the same kind of in-
emerges.
tense analytical attention to space that nineteenth- and
early twentieth-century scholars gave to history. In the FIRSTS PACE SECONDS PACE THIRDS PACE
past, as Michel Foucault ([1976]1980:70) points out, physicals pace mentals pace social space
"space was treated as the dead, the fixed, the undialectical, perceiveds pace conceiveds pace liveds pace
the immobile. Time, on the contrary, was richness, fecun- (l'espacep ergu) (l'espacec ongu) (l'espacev dcu)
dity, life, dialectic." As the relative positioning of space It is the thirdspace that he desires to understand. Simul-
and time has become realigned, space has emerged as more taneously physical and mental, concrete and abstract, it
central than before and, around it, a new body of literature emerges from the dialectic of the two. Mental space, for-
has developed. This may be in part because, as Foucault mulated in the head, is projected onto physical reality,
(1986:23) states, "the anxiety of our era has to do funda- which in turn feeds the imaginary. Edward Soja (1989:18)
mentally with space, no doubt a great deal more than with refers to thirdspace as the habitus of social practices, a con-
time." Scholars like Foucault have not only recognized the stantly shifting and changing milieu of ideas, events, ap-
importance of space in understanding social action, but pearances, and meanings (Soja 1996:2).
have illuminated new ways of thinking about space, an ap- This idea of thirdspace, formulated by Foucault and Le-
proach Foucault calls "heterotopology." febvre in France in the 1970s, and applied by Soja in the
Henri Lefebvre, likewise, in his powerful treatise on the 1980s and '90s,' has had surprisingly little impact on disci-
production of space, calls for a "science of space" that plines like anthropology that aim to understand people and
overcomes the "abyss between the mental sphere on one environments. Indeed, for much of anthropology's history,
side and the physical and social spheres on the other" place has been neglected. For decades, it was relegated to a
AmericanA nthropologist1 02(1):7-26. Copyright0 2000, AmericanA nthropologicalA ssociation
8 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST * VOL. 102, No. 1 * MARCH 2000
static physical backdrop,a kind of stage-settingr emoved more than most places, Tahiti has a life of its own that
from human action and interaction-the mandatoryf irst dwells in outsiders'i maginations.6W hile conductingm y
chapteri n every earlye thnographyO. nlyi n the pastd ecade research,I lived in two differentv illages, both in the Lee-
or so have anthropologistcso me to gripsw ith its complexi- wardg roupo f the Society Islands( one of the five archipel-
ties, even pleadingf or a theory of place (Rodman1 992). agos in FrenchP olynesia).
Yet, theirr enewedi nteresti n the topic has often only per- One village, Fetuna,o n the island of Raiatea,i s located
petuatedt he abyss in one of anthropology'so wn set of du- 25 kilometersf romU turoa,t he island'sm aint own andt he
alisms, namely between outsider/insiderp erspectives. local Frencha dministrativcee nter.R aiateai s heavilyi nflu-
Some anthropologistsh ave deconstructedt he powerful enced by its administrativreo le, which producesa strong
concepts of place that outsiders entertain and impose French bureaucraticp resence. I chose Fetunab ecause it
througha n assemblageo f representationsT. ourismi ndus- was as fara waya s one couldg et fromU turoao n the island.
tries, for example, produce countless texts and images Although some Fetuna residents worked in town, most
throughw hich spacesg et transformedin to,a ndr eproduced spentt heird ays in the village. There,h ouses lined an un-
as, sites and destinations.2M useum exhibits and theme paved, poorly maintained,c oastal road made of dirt that
parksa lso rely on fabricateds ettingst o providec ontexta nd hadb een packedw ith crushedc orala nds helld redgedf rom
convey messages.3L ikewise, the mass marketingo f goods the sea. One day, the mara'amut radew inds blew fiercely
dependso n the manipulationo f images of places to influ- and the sea thrashedo ver the road,l eavingb ehindp iles of
ence the consumingp ublic. Capitalistm arkets,w hile eco- trash that otherwise resided unobtrusivelyo n the ocean
nomically needing other peoples and environmentsm, ay floor. Rusty tin cans, plastic bottles, disposabled iapers,
politically seek to eliminate them through consciously plasticb ags,t ornc lothes,a ndb rokent hongs andalsl ittered
craftedm isrepresentation(sW illiamson1 986). the road. Severald ays aftert he winds had calmed down,
Othersh ave triedt o understandp lacesf romt he perspec- governmente mployees responsiblef or road maintenance
tive of their inhabitantsn, oting that places are developed arrived.T hey sat on top of their yellow road gradersa nd
interactivelya s individualsr elatet o them, shapet hem,a nd lethargicallyb ut methodicallyp lowed the garbageb ack
createt hem.4T hey have connectedp laces to social imagi- into the sea. Thats ame roadc ircledt he islanda nd,e ventu-
nation and practice, to dwelling and movement, and to ally, widera ndp aved,l ed into Uturoaw herei t was flanked
memorya nd desire, and have found worldst hat are sung, by numerouss hops selling food, clothing, pharmaceuti-
narrateda, nd mapped( Feld and Basso 1996:8, 11). Focus- cals, stationeryg oods, fishing gear, and other sundries.
ing on the internallyc onstructeda nd negotiatedn atureo f Upon enteringt hese stores,s hoppersw ere usuallyg reeted
place, anthropologisths ave produceda varietyo f new de- by posters and calendarsw ith pictures of sandy white
scriptivep hrasest o debunkt he old notion of location as beaches under stunningb lue skies, racks of postcardso f
staticb ackdropT. hese newly perceiveds paces are said to coquettish, bare-breastedw omen, or magazines with
be "discursivelyc onstructed"(A ppadura1i 988), "multilo- glossy photos of multicoloredf ish dartingt hroughs par-
cal" and "multivocal"( Rodman 1992), unconfined" eth- kling turquoisela goons.
noscapes"( Guptaa ndF erguson1 992),a nd" dynamicm ul- The other village I lived in was Faie, locatedo n Hua-
tisensualp rocesses"( Hirscha nd O'Hanlon1 995). Yet, the hine, an island whose inhabitantsa re known for being
hoped-fort heoryo f place has not materializedA. nthropol- proud and independentT. he center of Faie was densely
ogy's recentc oncernw ith conceptso f place and processes packed with colorful houses nestled among trees. At the
of place makingm ay benefitf romi deas aboutt hirdspace.5 southerne nd of the village,t he roadc rosseda smallb ridge
Here I apply ideas aboutt hirdspacet o explore and un- before it climbeda steep hill to a lookoutw ith a magnifi-
derstand" Tahiti."I n doing so, I move beyond the seem- cent view over the bay and surroundingp eaks.E veryS un-
ingly contradictoryp erspectiveso f Tahiti as either fanta- day, like clockwork,a n air-conditionedv an full of tourists
sized postcardo r inhabitedl ocale, and instead embrace passedt hrought he village. They came fromt he Windsong,
Tahitia s a "habitaot f social practices."T ahitie mergesa s a a cruise ship that sailed the waterso f the Society Islands,
complexl ived space thati s generatedw ithinh istoricala nd stoppinge ach day in a differentp ort duringa week-long
spatiald imensions,b othr eal andi magined,i mmediatea nd trip.I n Faie, theird estinationw as a groupo f "sacrede els"
mediated.V arious notions of place, often at battle with that, accordingt o guidebooks, were the biggest in the
each other,n onethelessi nvolve, underpinp, resupposer, e- world. The eels lived under the bridge, slitheringi n a
spondt o, andg enerateo ne another. streamo ften litteredw ith debris.T he van parkeda nd the
tourists, usually wearing designer clothes and clutching
Places of Tahiti cameras,p iled out. Tahitianc hildrens toppedt heirp laying,
shyly clusteredn earby,a nd watched.T he guide encour-
When I began researcho n the productiono f place in aged the touristst o go into the small store next to the
1994 (a secondf ield site andr esearcht opicf or me), I chose bridge,b uy cannedm ackerel( where,c leverly,t he priceo f
French Polynesia as a field location precisely because, mackerelw as exceptionallyh igh), andh and-feedt he eels.
KAHN / TAHITI INTERTWINED 9
Most touristss tood at the bridgea nd askedt he guide a few Geo-Politics and Local Habitat
questions about the eels or took pictures,w hile the more
adventuresomea mong them gingerly stepped into the Lefebvrea nd Foucaulta re both mindfulo f the political
murkyw aterb elow, danglingp ieces of fish from theirf in- aspects of the productiono f space. Lefebvre'ss cience of
space stems from his commitmentt o an understandingo f
gers. Soon thereaftere veryonec limbedb ack into theira ir-
politicalp ractices.H is theoriesa im to uncovert he political
conditionedv an andl eft.
use of knowledgea nd imply an ideology designedt o con-
Fetunaa nd Faie are very differentf rom one another,a s
ceal that use. As he states, "thed ominantt endencyi s to-
are the two islandso f Raiateaa nd Huahineo n which they
wardsh omogeneity,t owardst he establishmenot f a domi-
are located.Y et, as I lived in each, I was struckl ess by the nated space" (Lefebvre [1974]1991:411). Foucault, in
differenceb etweent hem thanb y a greater,m ore powerful particulare, mphasizesa politicalu nderstandingo f space.
contrast.A s in manyt ouristd estinationst, he disparityw as He remindsu s that" them ilitarya ndt he administrationac -
between daily life as lived by the local inhabitants( Tahi- tually come to inscribet hemselvesb oth on a materials oil
tians workingi n their gardens,f ishing in the sea, visiting and withinf orms of discourse"( Foucault[ 1976]1980:69).
with friends,l ooking at tourists,r epairingb rokenv ehicles, Indeed, he sees the history of spaces as the history of
or staying in theirh ouses to clean, cook, or watch televi- power. "A whole history remains to be written of
sion) and the seductive images offered on calendarsa nd spaces-which would at the same time be the history of
postcards,a nd in magazinesa nd guide books, that lured powers ... from the greats trategieso f geo-politicst o the
touristst o an exotic destination( perhapso nly to be disap- little tacticso f the habitat"(F oucault[ 1977]1980:149).
pointedb y such a lacklustere xperiencea s tossing greasy For Soja,t oo, thirdspaceis eminentlyp olitical.I t is
mackerelt o eels in a dirtys tream). a knowablea ndu nknowabler,e ala ndi maginedli feworldo f
As time passed,I continuallyw ondereda boutt hese two experiencese,m otionse, ventsa, ndp oliticacl hoicest hati s ex-
different places-to use Lefebvre's terminology-the istentiallysh apedb y theg enerativaen dp roblematiinc terplay
physical and perceived,o n the one hand, and the mental betweenc entersa ndp eripherietsh, ea bstracatn dc oncretet,h e
and conceived, on the other.A t first I had thoughto f daily impassionedsp aceso f the conceptuaaln dt he lived,m arked
perceivedl ife as existingi n a separater ealmf romt he con- outm ateriallayn dm etaphoricalilny s patiapl raxist, het rans-
ceived tourist representationsI. assumed that Tahitians, formatioonf (spatialk) nowledgien to( spatiala) ctionin a field
of unevenlyd eveloped(s patialp) ower[. Soja1 996:31 ]
othert hant hose few who workedi n the touristi ndustryr, e-
mainedu naffectedb y the seductivei mages. But suddenly, In FrenchP olynesia,l ocallyi nhabiteds pacei s definitely
in September1 995, my thoughtsc hanged.O n September interlacedb y dominant,g lobal politics.I n today's largely
5, the Frenchg overnmentr esumedn ucleart esting by ex- postcolonial world, French Polynesia, more popularly
ploding a bomb on the atoll of Moruroa,1 ,200 kilometers known as Tahiti,8r emainso ne of the few colonies still in
from Tahiti. The next day, riots swept the capitalc ity of existence. Lying half-waya roundt he world from France,
Papeete on the island of Tahiti and images of protesters, FrenchP olynesiai s administeredu nderF rance'sM inistry
fires, and looting flooded world television sets and news- of OverseasD epartmentsa nd TerritoriesU. ndert he terms
papers.T he Frenchg overnment'sr esponset o the dissemi- of France's 1946 constitutiont, he colonies in the Atlantic
nationo f these images was tinged with obvious anxiety.I and Indian Oceans (Martinique,G uadeloupe, French
immediatelyg ained new insight. I awoke to the destruc- Guiana,a nd R6union)b ecame dipartementsd 'outre-mer
tiveness that was not only lodged in the explodingb omb (DOMs) with a legal structurea nd administrationth at is
but in the postcardi mages themselves.I began to realize, identicalt o the metropolitand epartmentsT. he colonies in
both throughe thnographirce searcha ndb y studyingm edia the Pacific Ocean (New Caledonia,F renchP olynesia,t he
formerF ranco-Britishco ndominiumo f the New Hebrides,
representationsh, ow economically motivated,p olitically
now called Vanuatu,a nd-after 1961-Wallis and Fu-
manipulated, and consciously constructed the images tuna)w ere renamedt erritoiresd 'outre-mer( TOMs).T er-
were. Above all, I understoodh ow deliberatelyin tertwined
ritories,u nlike departmentsa, re administeredb y a gover-
they were with the Frenchc oloniale nterpriseI. ndeed,t he
nor or governor-general.T he constitution defined the
productiona nd distributiono f images of Tahitia s paradise
FrenchU nion,t he new incarnationo f the Empire,i n such a
seem to servec oloniali nterestsb y allowingt hose in power way that "the word 'colony,' like 'Empire,'w as thereby
(primarilyt he Frencha nd demi, who are people of mixed banished from French constitutional usage" (Aldrich
ancestryw hose backgroundis bothT ahitiana ndF rench,o r 1993:67).T he result,h owever,w as thatF rancee stablished
Chinese, German,E nglish, American, etc.) to convince a politicalp resencei n all the world'sm ajoro ceans, with a
those without power (primarilyT ahitians)t hat the status similar colonial configurationi n all DOM-TOMs (see
quo serves Tahitiani nterests.'T he thirdspacet hat gradu- Bensa 1995; Giradet1 972; Price 1998). Indeed,m any ad-
ally emergedf romm y researcha ndg rowingu nderstanding ministrativep ersonnelr otateb etweenD OM-TOMsd uring
was a vastly morec omplexa nd,a bovea ll, politicals pace. theirc areers.A decadea ftert he 1946 constitutiont,h e need
10 AMERICANA NTHROPOLOGIS*T VOL. 102, No. 1 * MARCH2 000
to maintaina nucleart estingb ase in FrenchP olynesia,a nd feeds andp rovidesf or them.I n precontactti mes, everyone
the desiret o link the DOM-TOMs,s o they formeda chain had access to land, which was jointly owned by extended
of Frenchb ases encirclingt he globe, providedt he theoreti- families (fenua feti'i). The populationw as composed of
cal pillarso f France'si nternationapl olicy in the SouthP a- threem ain classes: the king, or ari'i, and high chiefs who
cific (Aldrich1 993:336). possessed godly powers and owned land thati ncludedr e-
In FrenchP olynesia,t he Constitutiono f the Republico f ligious sites; the royal servants,o r ra'atira, who owned
Francer emainst he supremel aw of the land. The French large estates obtainedb y conquesto r grantedb y the king;
parliamentl egislates laws. The Frenchp residenta ppoints and the lower class, or manahunew, ho lived on and culti-
the chief administratoar nd most local officials. Paris re- vated land allocatedt o them and for which they paid with
tainsc ontrolo f defense,l aw ando rder,f oreignp olicy, cur- harvested food (Tetiarahi 1987:47-48). Although this
rency,e ducation,i mmigrationh, ealthc are,s ocial services, stratifieds ocial system no longer exists, land is still the
television,r adiob roadcastinga, ndn ewspapersT. he degree most valuableT ahitians ubstance.I t providesp eople with
of autonomye xercisedb y the FrenchP olynesiang overn- the meanst o survivea ndc aref or theiro ffspring,a s well as
ment depends on the goodwill of the mitropole. When it with a moral and spiritualf eeling of identitya nd connec-
deems such actionn ecessary,t he Frenchs tatec an assume tion.
directa ndn eart otalc ontrol( Aldrich1 993:159).T he thou- The importanceo f land can be seen in numerousw ays
sandso f Frenchs oldiersa ndc ivil servantsi n FrenchP oly- today. For example,a s pointedo ut by Raapoto( 1994), the
nesia can vote in local electionst he day they arrivei n the centralT ahitianc oncepto f 'utuafareo, r household,h inges
territory. on a notiono f sharedf amily land,i ncludingv arioush ouses
This colonial grip manifests itself daily in numerous for sleeping, cooking, and eating, as well as trees and
ways. Tahitianc hildrend evote the majorityo f theirs chool plants.H e explainst hatl andi s both the motherw ho nour-
day to learningF renchl anguage,h istory,a nd geography. ishes herc hildrena ndt he sourcea ndm arkero f identity.A s
Postsecondarye ducation,o thert hana t the CentreU niver- a nurturingm other,l andp rovidesf ood such as taro,y ams,
sitaire de Polyn6sie Franqaiseo n the island of Tahiti, is and breadfruitA. s the place upon which ancestralm ove-
usually limited to universities in France since Frenchi s ments and settlementsa re imprinted,l and connects indi-
the only languageo fficially taughtt o TahitiansM. ost tele- vidualst o theirf amilyh istoryt hrought heirg enealogies.
vision broadcasts are through Radio France Outremer These beliefs come togetherm ost poignantlyi n the Ta-
(RFO), which represents" the voice of France,"a nd all hitian custom of a motherb uryingh er child's placentai n
theire mployeesa rep aidd irectlyf romF rance. the ground( Raapoto1 994). The placentai s called the pu
This position of domination is not without cost to fenua (call to the earth).T he umbilicalc ord,w hich is bur-
France,w hich, in 1995, pumped6 25 millionF renchf rancs ied next to the placenta,i s calledp ito o tefenua (centero f
(U.S. $1.25 billion) into the economy to maintain it the earth).M arama,a middle-agedw oman on Huahine,
(Benchley 1997:9).9U nlike other colonial relationships who had given birtha t home to 24 children,e xplainedt his
rootedi n economic exploitationt, his one, instead,i s moti- practicet o me.
vated by economic investmenta nd nationalp ride."'T he
system is also self-perpetuatingT. he French payments, Thep lacentais alwaysp utb acki n thee arthW. hent hec hildi s
in thew ombt hem otherta kesc areo f it, butw heni t is bornt he
upon which the economy depends,a re filteredt hrougha motherc allst hel andt o takec areo f herc hild.T hel andw ill
system thati s controlledb y a few families, most of whom give life to thep ersonb y providingfo od.N ow therea rel ots
are French or demi." This well-entrenched,p rivileged of pu fenuah ereb ecauseI hadm anyc hildrenp, lusm y chil-
class providesb uilt-ina ssurancet hatt he economica ndp o- drenb ringt heirc hildren'ps lacentasY. ouc anb uryi t andt hen
litical system will endure. movea way.I t doesn'tm atterb ecausey ou ares tillc onnected
to yourf amily'sl and.[ MaramTa eiho,p ersonaclo mmunica-
A Reciprocal Relationship with Land tion,1 995]
For Tahitians, as for most Pacific Islanders, a sense of The placenta can also be placed in the ground on land that
place is deeply rooted in land.12 Both ancient history and one does not own. As a Tahitian woman living in urbanP a-
contemporary life are grounded in the relationship between peete told me, "When I asked the doctor for the placenta he
people and land, and all that this relationship encompasses, had no trouble giving it to me because everyone does that. I
bestows, and justifies. Islands are believed to be born of had to stay in the hospital five days, so the placenta was put
deities, and an island's topographical features may repre- in a plasticb ag andr efrigeratedL. aterI put it in the ground
sent physical attributes of the gods. From the human off- next to the house I rent in Papeete" (Manolita Ly, personal
spring of the gods come all living things. Genealogies in- communication, 1994).
struct individuals about their spiritual and familial Some of the general differences I noticed between life
relationship with the land. Above all, it is a reciprocal rela- on the island of Raiatea (where people are more cash-
tionship. People must care for the land because it, in turn, dependent and reserved) and Huahine (where people are
KAHN / TAHITI INTERTWINED 11
more self-sufficienta ndo utgoing)w ere in partt he resulto f history.I n additiont o thesel argeh istoricalm arae,t herea re
differentr elationsb etween people and land. When origi- smaller,f amily marael ocatedn ext to people's houses that
nally lookingf or a field site, I was adviseda gainstw orking still serve as burials ites for familym embers.
on Raiateap reciselyb ecausei ts designationa s the admin- As can be seen, land is pivotal in providinga Tahitian
istrativec entero f the LeewardI slandsm eantt hatm anyo f sense of place and identity.Y et, most Tahitiansa lso be-
its inhabitantcs ame frome lsewherea nd lived on landt hey lieve in the spirituala nd complementarya ssociationb e-
did not own (PierreS ham Koua,p ersonalc ommunication, tween land and sea. "We need both.F romt he land we get
1994). On the other hand, I was told that certaini slands, taro, yams, and breadfruitF. rom the sea we get fish and
such as Huahineo r Maupiti,w ould be morer epresentative seafood" (MarerevaT etuanui,p ersonal communication,
of Tahitianv alues because Tahitianss till owned most of 1994). Indeed, in ancientt imes, each island was divided
the land. People on Huahine,i n particulara, re known for into several wedge-shapedd istricts,e ach of which spread
theirc ombatives piritw hent heirl andi s at stake,a s evident from the inlandm ountainsd own to the coast. Royal fami-
in the followingp aripari,a style of ancientc hant." lies exercised rights to land for cultivationa s well as to
Huahineo, n whose norths horei s marae Manunu( the homeo f coastala reasf or fishing( Tetiarah1i 987:48).I t is this belief
theg odT ane) in the complementarityo f land and sea that accountsf or
Huahinew, hichw asd ividedin tot end istrictbs yb rothers the Tahitianp racticeo f bringingc orali nlandt o add to the
Thep eopleo f Huahinwe illf ightf ort heirl and,t heirl ife,t heir stones at a maraea nd explainsw hy coral can be found at
country almoste very marae,n o matterh ow far inlandi t is located
Theyw on'ts tandt herea ndt akew hatt heyd on'tli ke.14 (Eric Komori,p ersonalc ommunication1, 995). Yet, Tahi-
tianss ee the fascinationw itht he sea andt he beach,a s such,
A recente xample illustratest his. When a Japaneseg roup as a traitt hati s uniquet o tourists.""5T ahitiands on't caret o
proposed buying the land aroundH uahine's Fauna Nui live next to the sea or to have a view of water.T hey see the
Lake, with intentionso f developing a Sea World-typeo f watera ll the time.I t's nothings pecial.T ouristsa ret he only
amusementp ark,s ix thousands ignaturesw ere quicklyc ol- ones who cravet he water"( HaapaH autiaD ituru,p ersonal
lected to halt the project( ChantalS pitz, personalc ommu- communication1, 994). Where,t hen,d oes the tourist'sd e-
nication,1 995). sire for a turquoiseT ahitio riginate?
Nowhere is the importanceo f the connectionb etween
people, land,h istory,g enealogy,a nd spiritualitym oree vi- Images on Europe's Confining Walls
dentt hani n the manym araet hatr ise majesticallyf romt he
earth.T hese are sacreds ites of ancientt emples dedicated For more thant wo-hundredy ears,E uropeansa, nd later
to individuald eities thats erveda s portalsf or the deitiest o Americans,h ave createda long, continuousl ine of rela-
descendt o earth.T oday,u suallya ll thatr emainso f a marae tively consistenti mages in which an idyllic Tahitii s con-
is a rectangulara rea that is covered with paving stones, structeda nd maintaineda s its own referent.L ike many
often surroundedb y low walls, and a large stone altara t such narrativest hat represents tereotypesa bout the past
one end. Largeu prights tones in fronto f the altar,o r else- rathert han the past itself, "culturapl roductionh as been
wherew ithint he walleda rea,s ymbolizet he genealogieso f drivenb ack inside the mind ... it can no longer look di-
the marae'sc reators.A lthoughm araea re no longer used rectly out of its eyes at the real world for the referentb ut
for religious rituala s they once were, they are deeply re- must ... tracei ts mentali mageso f the worldo n its confin-
spected as living memorials.T hey mark the presenceo f ing walls"( Jameson1 983:118).
deities in the landscape.T hey signify the history of the The earliesti mages of Tahitiw ere shapedb y European
movemento f ancestorsw ho establishedm araea s they set- imperialistp hilosophiesa nd, later, by French colonialist
tled in new locations. Salmon (1904:3) relates how politics.W hent he Frenche xplorerL, ouis-Antoined e Bou-
Ta'aroa,t he Tahitiang od of creation,i s permanentlyim - gainville, first arrived in Tahiti in 1768, Jean-Jacques
printedi n the landscapev, isible in variousm araeo n differ- Rousseau had just made the "noble savage" populari n
ent islands." Ta'aroa'sm araew as Vaiotaha;h is upperj aw Europe.U pon seeing Tahiti,B ougainvillen amedi t "New
resteda t Ahutaiteraio, n MaraeF aretai( on Bora Bora);h is Cytheria"a ftert he legendaryb irthplaceo f Aphrodite,t he
lower jaw rested on Tahuea i te Turatura,a t Marae Goddess of Love, aestheticizingT ahitianst hroughc lassi-
Mata'ire'a( on Huahine);h is throata nd belly, Tetumua nd cal reminiscences( Despoix 1996:5).W hen he returnedt o
Harura,a t MaraeV aearai( on Raiatea)."O n Huahine,f or Europew ith reportso f beautifulw omen with uninhibited
instance,t he names of the first four sons of the village of manners,v isions of sexual abandons wept like wildfire
Maeva are also the names of four of its marae.M aeva, throughP arisa ndL ondon.H is Frenchp ublicationo f Voy-
which has a greaterc oncentrationo f maraet hana ny other ages in 1771, followed by the Englisht ranslationin 1772,
location in Polynesia,i s said to be tu'iro'ohei (renowned providedE uropeanm en with a vision of earthlyp aradise
for its deep culturalr oots)b ecausei t exists on landt hath as and an endless source of dreams.I t containedp assages
always providedf or its inhabitantsa nd is rich in ancestral sucha s the following:
12 AMERICANA NTHROPOLOGIS*T VOL. 102, No. 1 * MARCH2 000
Theyp ressedu s to choosea woman,a ndt o comeo n shore
with her; and theirg estures ... denoted in what mannerw e
shouldf orma n acquaintancwei thh er.I t wasd ifficult... to
keep at theirw orkf ourh undredy oungF renchs ailors,w ho
hads eenn o womenf ors ix monthsI. n spiteo f all ourp recau-
tions,a youngg irlc ameo n boarda, ndp lacedh erseluf pont he
quarter-decnke,a ro neo f theh atch-waysw, hichw aso pen,i n
ordert o givea irt o thosew ho wereh eavinga tt hec apstanb e-
low it. Theg irlc arelesslyd roppeda cloth,w hichc overedh er,
and appearedto the eyes of all beholderss, uch as Venus
showedh erseltfo theP hrygianS hepherdh,a vingi,n deedt,h e
celestialf orm of that goddess. [Bougainville(1 771)1772:
218-219]
A comparisono f Voyagesw ith Bougainville'so riginal
journal( Taillemite1 977), however,i ndicatest he extentt o
whichn egativef irste ncountersw ere rewrittenin a positive
way for laterp ublicationt, hus providingu s with a classic ::-;:::
foreshadowingo f the politics of representationI.n contrast
to the journaln otes, which include ample descriptionso f
Europeanf rustrationws ith the Tahitianc ustom of "steal-
ing,"t he publishedn arrativew as carefullyr ewrittenin or-
der to appealt o Europeans.16B ougainvillem ade changes
and additions,s uch as "referencest o goddesses,n ymphs,
noble savages,a nd the beautyo f the landscape"(C laessen
1994:23).
When JamesC ook visited Tahitib etween 1769-77, he
took along artistsl ike JohnW ebber,w ho createdi ntoxicat-
ing images thatf urtherr einforcedE uropeanr omanticn o-
tions (Figure 1). Europeani ncorporationa nd recastingo f
the romanticw as furtheredw hen Cook transportedO mai,
a Tahitianf rom the island of Raiatea,b ack to England,
makingh im the firstP olynesiant o residei n Europef or any
length of time (Baston 1790; Clark 1941; McCormick Figure 1. Poedooa (Poetua), Daughter of Oree, Chief of Ulietea
(Raiatea), one of the SocietyI slands,b y JohnW ebber,c anvas 57 x 37
1977).(cid:127)7 Omai became the darling of English society. in., c. 1780.B y permissioonf theN ationaLl ibraryo f Australia.
"Friendlya ndc harmingh, e was dressedb y his benefactors
in velvet jacketsa nd otherf inery.O vert he next two years
By the turno f the century,a backlasha roset o the noble
he dinedi n London'sb est homes, met the king, learnedt o savagei mages.B ritishP rotestanat ndF renchC atholicm is-
shoot and skate and was a favoritew ith the ladies"( Kay sionariesa rrivedt o subduea way of life that they inter-
1997:281).A fter Omai's celebrityi n England,a ndt he ex- preteda s licentious.T hey also were opposedt o joint own-
hibition of Cook's ethnographicc ollection in London,a ership of land and tried to convert Tahitianst o a land
Polynesianv ogue blossomedi n Europe." Travell iterature tenures ystem morei n tunew ith the idea of a Christiann u-
was popular ... 'Tahitian' verandas were designed for clear family (Ward and Kingdon 1995). Missionaries
countryh ouses, 'Polynesian'w allpaperw as fashionable, slowly becamep arto f a growingc olonialp resencea s Eng-
and artificial 'South Seas' lakes were built into landscaped lish andF renchv ied for possessiono f new colonies.W hen
vistas" (Daws 1980:11). two FrenchC atholicp riestsa rrivedi n Tahitii n 1836, the
In 1789, the mutiny on the HMS Bounty, the most noto- Tahitianr uler, Queen PomareI V, immediatelye xpelled
rious in British naval history, further fixed images of leg- them.I n responset o this perceivedi nsult,a Frenchs hipa r-
endary Tahiti in the minds of Europeans. During the mu- rived in Papeetei n 1838, demandingm onetaryc ompensa-
tiny, Fletcher Christian set Captain Bligh out to sea in a tion and a salute to the Frenchf lag. At the same time, a
small skiff and returned to Tahiti with the HMS Bounty. Frenchc onsul, Moerenhoutw, as appointedt o QueenP o-
Forever after, the name of the Bounty has been associated mare. In 1842, while she and the English consul were
with male adventurea nd freedom, with shirking the shack- away, Moerenhouto rganizedl ocal chiefs into signing a
les of oppressive government on the high seas, and with petitiona sking to be broughtu nderF renchp rotectionA.
finding sexual pleasures under the palms. year later, the Queen's flag was lowered and Tahiti was
KAHN / TAHITI INTERTWINED 13
declared a French Protectorate.T ahitianr esistance was twentieth century. At the outbreak of World War I,
strong, resulting in three years of guerrilla warfare Europe's flourishinge conomy caused an increasei n the
(1844-47). Duringt his period,l egislatorsa ttemptedto fur- ties between Francea nd Tahiti. The EFO exportedl ocal
therd ismantlet he ancientl ands ystemb y establishingv ari- products,s uch as dried coconut and vanilla,i n exchange
ous laws in the 1840s and '50s thatg uaranteedth e security for Europeanm anufacturedg oods. This rapid economic
of real estatet ransfersF. rom then on, Tahitiansc ould sell expansion requireda n increasingly larger work force.
theirl andw ith all the risksi nvolved( Tetiarah1i 987:50).I n Lured by images created in the literarya nd art world,
1880, the queen's son and successor,P omareV , gave his French colonists flocked to Tahiti in great numbers.B y
land to France.T he Protectoratew as given the name of 1911, therew ere 3,500 Frenchr esidents( Wheelera ndC ar-
Etablissementsf rangaisd 'Oc6anie( EFO) and becamet he illet 1997:23) among a Tahitian population of 31,400
Frenchc olony it is today. (Newbury1 980:272).A s colonistss treamedi n, imagesr a-
The arrivalo f Frenchr ule, after a centuryo f romantic diated out. In 1913, the EFO governmentp roducedt heir
images, encouragedE uropeana nd Americanw ritersa nd first postage stampo f Polynesiani nspiration-a Tahitian
artistst o make theirw ay to Tahitit o live out, write about, womanw ith a crowno f flowerso n herh ead anda hibiscus
and paintt heir dreams.P laces in literaturea nd art,a s Le- blossom behindh er ear. With this one stamp,t he idea of
febvre( [1974]1991:15)h as said, are "enclosed,d escribed, Tahiti as beautiful,s eductive,a nd feminine, but securely
projected,d reamto f, [and] speculateda bout."T ahiti was underF renchc ontrol,w as circulatedt o the worlda t large.
no exception. The list of literati who enclosed Tahiti in WorldW arI I brought4 ,500 Americans oldierst o Bora
their minds and projectedt heir images to the world is Bora in the Society Islands,w hich was selected to be the
great-Herman Melville, RobertL ouis Stevenson,P ierre firsti n a chaino f refuelings tationsa crosst he Pacific.B ora
Loti, W. Somerset Maugham, Jack London, Victor Bora, which previouslyh ad no vehicles or paved roads,
Segalen, Charles Nordhoff, James Norman Hall, and was transformedb y bulldozers,t rucks,s eaplanes,b ombs,
JamesM ichenert, o namet he most prominent. ammunitiont, ents, and prefabb uildings( Kay 1997:219).
But none playeda s powerfula role in creatinga n endur- When soldiers returnedh ome after the war, their stories
ing vision of Tahitio n the world's imaginationa s did the about tropicalr omance kindled imaginationsa cross the
Frenchp ainter,P aul Gauguin.G auguin'si nteresti n Tahiti UnitedS tates.E ver since, Bora Bora has been regardeda s
one of the ultimateA mericant ouristf antasies.
was first piquedw hen he viewed exhibitso f colonial out-
posts at the 1889 Exposition Universellei n Paris, and it Stirringso f desire for emancipationf rom Francer um-
was laterr einforcedw hen he readP ierreL oti's Le Mariage bled throughT ahitia ftert he war. Pouvanaaa Oopa, from
the islando f Huahineb, ecamet he leadero f the Tahitianin -
de Loti.I n lettersh e wrotet o friends,h e reportedh is affairs
with women broughtf rom the colonies (Gauguin 1949: dependencem ovement,s erving in the TerritoriaAl ssem-
bly and denouncingt he Frenchf or theirt reatmenot f Tahi-
118) and describedh is desiret o "buya hut of the kind you
saw at the UniversalE xhibition... this would cost almost tians as second-classc itizens. At the peak of his power,
however,h is voice was silenced.H e was convictedo f con-
nothing"( 1949:142). Influencedb y both colonial and ro-
spiracyi n a plot to burnd ownP apeetea ndw as imprisoned,
manticr epresentationsh, e embarkedo n a voyage that al-
first in Papeete( 1958-60) and lateri n France( 1960-61),
lowed him to re-createt hese representationsfo r others.
and bannedf romr eturningto Tahitif or eight years.
Pennilessi n Paris,h e sailed to Tahitit o live cheaplyw hile
In 1957, the name of the colony was changed to
advancingh is careera nd fulfillingh is dreams,s ettingc an-
Polyn6sieF rangaiseP. lans were underwayf or still greater
vasses colorfullya blazew ith his impressionso f Tahitia nd
changes.
Tahitianw omen. It is importantt o note thatG auguin'sr e-
locationt o Tahitii n 1891 was possible primarilyb ecause
Mushroom Clouds, Tourism, and Technicolor
he was a Frenchc itizen and Tahiti was a Frenchc olony.
Visions
Although Gauguin's artistic accomplishmentsi n Tahiti
were complex expressions of the convergence of European A major turning point in Tahitian colonial history oc-
decadence and French colonialism (Perloff 1995), he con- curred in the 1960s. Events took place that both deepened
tinues to be regarded as a symbol of the simple rejection of France's political entanglement with its colony and broad-
European civilization and the embracing of South Seas ened the worldwide demand for exotic images of French
primitivism. Ever since Gauguin, European painters have Polynesia. It was the era in which nuclear testing and tour-
flocked to Tahiti to re-create Gauguin-like images on can- ism came of age side-by-side. As seductive imagery be-
vases of their own (Jacques Boullaire, Pierre Heyman, Jean came increasingly integral to the political economy of
Masson, and Yves de Saint-Font, to name only a few). French Polynesia, France was able to reap the bounty of
These nineteenth-century colonial foundations, depicted two centuries of these representations and use this to its
romantically in late-nineteenth- and early twentieth-cen- economic advantage. Prior to 1960, anticipating that Alge-
tury literature and art, solidified and intensified in the ria might soon gain independence, France was preparingt o
14 AMERICANA NTHROPOLOGIST * VOL. 102, No. 1 * MARCH 2000
transferit s nucleart est site fromA lgeriat o FrenchP olyne- Whilet he worldc omfortablye mbracedt his alluringi m-
sia. In 1963, a year after Algeria became independent, age of Tahitii n the mid-1960s, Frenchm ilitaryw ereo ccu-
PresidentC harlesd e Gaulle establishedt he Centred 'ex- pied differentlyT. hey quietly,b ut collusively,c hangedt he
p6rimentationsd u Pacifique (CEP) and officially an- name of Moruroa,w hich in Tahitianm eans "big lies," to
nounced that Moruroaa nd Fangataufa,t wo uninhabited Mururoaa, word with no special meaning.20F ranceb egan
atolls in the TuamotuI slands( one of the five archipelagos atmospherice xplosionso n the atoll in 1966,r efusingt o ac-
in FrenchP olynesia),w ould be the new test sites. In addi- quiesce to the 1963 agreement( by the United States, the
tion, headquarterasn d supportf acilitiesw eree stablishedin formerS oviet Union,a nd Britain)t o halt atmosphericte sts
Papeete,o n the islando f Tahiti,w herea largea reao f coral and to shift insteadt o undergroundte sting.I t was not until
reef was reclaimedf or the constructiono f new docks to 1974 thatF rancem oved its tests below ground.21M oruroa,
sheltera nd service the numerouss hips requiredt o support as its Tahitiann amei ndicates,a nd like the touristici mages
and monitor the nuclear tests. While preparationsw ere of nearbyi slandst hat distracta ttentionf rom it, trulye m-
firmly underwayf or developing the nucleart esting pro- bodies deep deception. It appearsn eitheri n the French
gram,a notherm ajorc hange was takingp lace, namelyt he Polynesianp honeb ook noro n airlines chedules,a ndi s im-
constructiono f an internationaal irporta t Faa'a,a few kilo- possible for nongovernmentp eople to visit. On the one
meters down the road from Papeete, which opened in hand, the governmentc laims that the testing poses abso-
1960. The presenceo f the airportp ermittede asiera ccess to lutely no environmentaol r health dangers.Y et, Tahitians
Tahitib oth for the governmentw, hich had begunt o trans- who have workedo n Moruroaa ll recounts imilars torieso f
fer equipmenta nd personneli n preparationfo r the nuclear local banso n the consumptiono f fish fromt he lagoona nd
testing program,a nd for tourists,w ho were in search of coconutsf romt he land,a nd of the deatho f people follow-
Gauguin'sp aradise. ing their illegal ingestion of these foods (Peto Firuu,
The simultaneousa rrivalo f nucleart estinga nd tourism personal communication, 1995; Etienne Piha, personal
served to obscuret he intensityo f the testing preparations communication, 1995).22 It has also been mandatoryf or in-
from most residents.A s nuclear supplies and personnel dividualst o carryG eigerc ountersa ndw ears peciala nti-ra-
were channeledt hrought he airporta nd harbore n routet o diations uits while there (ConstanceC ody, personalc om-
the outeri slandso f Moruroaa ndF angataufat,o uristsw ere munication,1 995). In spite of the government'sp olicy of
also arrivingo n internationafl lights in record numbers. putting a secrecy stamp on all local health statistics
Whereaso nly 1,620 touristsh ad come to Tahitii n 1960, a (Danielssona nd Danielsson 1986:307),i t was discovered
year later, when the airportw as open, 8,700 arrived.'8 that,w ithina decadea ftert estingb egan,s uch typicallyr a-
Tourism,w hich is by far the most influentiali ndustryi n diation-inducedd iseases as leukemia, thyroid cancers,
French Polynesia, provides the main avenue through braint umors,a nde ye cataractsb egant o appearin alarming
whichn on-Frenchm oney is introducedin to the territory.19 numbers( Danielsson1 986:165).
In 1962, a year aftert he airportw as operationalA, meri- In 1992, FrenchP residentF rangoisM itterandd eclareda
can film crews descendedu pon Tahitia s well. Hollywood moratoriumo n all testing, which was lifted by President
glamorizedt he events of the mutinyo n the HMSB ountyi n Jacques Chirac in 1995. By the time tests were finally
a three-hourc olor film starringM arlonB randoa nd Tarita, stoppedi n January1 996, Franceh ad conducteda total of
a Tahitianw oman. In contrastt o an earlier, 1935, black- 45 atmospherica nd 134 undergroundte sts in FrenchP oly-
and-white version of the story that had been filmed in nesia, with bombs up to two hundredk ilotons,m ore than
Hawai'i (implyingt hat" exotic"l ocationsa re interchange- ten times the size of the bomb that destroyedH iroshima.
able), the 1962 film was shot on location on Tahiti and Each test cost an averageo f two billion CFP23(U .S. $20
Bora Bora, bringingT ahiti-in Technicolor-into movie million)( Sancton1 995:23).
theatersa roundt he world.T he film emphasizedt he natural The nucleart estingp rograma nd all its ramificationtso -
beautyo f the islandsa ndt he physicals plendoro f Tahitians tally transformedT ahitie conomicallya nd socially. In ad-
and therebyc ontinuedt o feed people's dreamsa bout an dition to pumping money into the territory for the testing
earthly paradise and sexual abandon. Technicolor fantasies program, France injected extra funds and goods to encour-
seemed to slip even closer within reach when, in real life, age local acquiescence, generating a colonial dependency
Marlon Brando married Tarita and purchased Tetiaroa, a relationship and artificial prosperity.24F or example, in
picture-perfect atoll forty kilometers north of Tahiti. With 1960, military spending in the territoryw as 4% of the gross
the new airporta waiting the arrival of tourists, an Office of domestic product, but by 1966 it rose sharply to almost
Tourism Development luring them in, hotels springing up 80%. In the 1950s, returnso n exports were 90% of the cost
to accommodate them, and Hollywood's spectacle encour- of imports, but by the early 1970s had slumped to only
aging iridescent dreams, many forces were set in motion. 10% (Henningham 1992:127-128). Government welfare
Travelers' fantasies could now be turned into realities with allocations also began in the 1960s, with the amounts given
the simple purchase of an airline ticket. and the categories of who qualifies steadily increasing over
KAHN / TAHITI INTERTWINED 15
the years.T elevision,t oo, arrivedi n 1966, the same yeara s arto f image-makingIl.l usionr esidesi n the artist'se ye and
the firsta tmospherice xplosion. gaze,i n the photographerl'esn s,o n the writer'sb lankp age.
Tahiti's importancea s the administrativae nd economic Thev isualw orldp laysa ni ntegraal ndi ntegrativae,c tivea nd
center of FrenchP olynesiac aused many people from the passive,p arti n it. It fetishizesa bstractioann di mposesi t as
outeri slandst o migratet o Tahiti,a ttractedb y jobs such as then ormT. hei magek ills.[ (1974)1991:97]
buildingt he new harbor,a irport,a nd hotels, and working In FrenchP olynesia,t he Office of Tourismi s the prime
in the buddingt ourismi ndustry.L ike many towns in the producero f these images that "fragmenta"n d "kill."T heir
South Pacific, Papeetew as transformedfr om a sleepy co- images emphasize scenery-sandy beaches, blue skies,
lonialp ortt own to a cosmopolitanc ity, almostd oublingi ts colorfulf ish, fancy hotels-rather thanp eople.2I6n a 1994
populationb etween 1960 and 1970. Priort o CEP, most of move to gain morec ontrol,G astonF losse, the Presidento f
the populationh ad fed itself by subsistencea griculturea nd FrenchP olynesia,w rotea lettert o all governmenat gencies
fishing. Within a decade the territoryw as importingm ost forbiddingt hem to use any images of FrenchP olynesia
of its food.25I n the space of a single generationm, any Ta- thatw ere not producedb y the governmenta gency Institut
hitians were transformedin to a working-classp opulation de la Communication Audio-Visuelle (ICA) (Paul
that had become almost completely dependent on the Auz6py, personal communication,1 995). The Office of
money and goods broughti nto the territoryb y France. Tourisma nd ICA, however, are not the only agencies to
Land, too, slipped increasinglyo ut of Tahitians'c ontrol. producea nd distributeim ages. It is relativelye asy for oth-
Some people, particularlyth ose who had been educatedi n ers to enter the business,a s long as they do not sell their
France,t ook advantageo f opportunitietso sell titles to their imagest o governmenta gencies.
land.T he purchaserso, ften reale statea gents,t hen sold the The individual who monopolizes the nongovernment
land to French,C hinese,a nd othern on-indigenousb uyers productiono f photographici mages is Teva Sylvain, a
(Tetiarahi1 987:54). One woman describedt his spiraling blond,b lue-eyedd emi, who is the directoro f Pacific Pro-
descenti nto dependencya ndt he relatedl oss of land. motionT ahiti.H is seductivei mages of women, as well as
scenery, adorn postcards,c alendars,p osters,p lace mats,
BeforeC EP,T ahitianlsi vedw ell. Theyw orkedin theirg ar-
dens.T hey went fishing.T heyb uiltt heirh ouses.A ftert he coasters, address book covers, rulers, cigarette lighters,
firstt esti n 1966T ahitianbse camed ependenotn moneyN. ow books, stationerya, nde nvelopes.S everalo f his imagesa re
theyn eedm oneyi n ordert o live. Theyb uyt heirf ood.T hey reproductionosf Gauguin'sp aintingsH. e creditsh is father
buy cementa nd metalt o buildt heirh ouses.T ahitianbs uy withh avingi nspiredh is own outlook.
morea ndm oret hingsa ndh owc ant heyp ayf or everything?
Theyc an't.T heyg o to theb anka ndg et a loan.T henh owc an De Gaulles entm y fatherA, dolpheS ylvain,t o Indochintao
theyp ay the bankb ack?T heyc an't.A ftera whilet he bank fight,b utw itha cameran ota gun.H isj ob wast o educateth e
comesa ndt akest heirl anda nds ells it. Who buyst he land? Frenchp eoplea boutI ndochinaF.r omt hereh, e was alsos ent
to theS outhP acificA. gain,h e wenta s a photographeSro. on
Foreigners.L ater,w here do the Tahitiansl ive? They have no
afterh e arrivedin Tahitii n 1946h e met a Tahitianw oman
land. No house. They end up living in a tiny shack.T ahitians
haveg ottenl azy.T heyd on'tg rowt heiro wn food anymore. whomh e laterm arriedH. e kepth is positiona s a warc orre-
They buy it in the store.I f they wantT ahitianf ood they buy it spondenbt uts tayedin Tahitid, ocumentinhgi sn ews urround-
in the market.I go to the markete very Sundayt o sell my food. ingsi n black-and-whiMte.y fatherb ecamet hef irstj ournalist
Do you know who buys it? Tahitians.E very week I get sad to reallyp ublicizeth e islando f TahitiH. e photographefdor
when I see that. [Kim Tai Piha,p ersonacl ommunication, theK onT ikie xpeditiona ndf orL ifem agazineB. y andb y he
hadf ourd aughterasn dm e. He neededt o supporht is family
1995]
andd ids o withh is photographHs.e wantedto showt hep ara-
The verbalp ictureK im Tai paintedo f her personale x- dise aspecto f Tahitianli fe. He wasc onsciouso f thec ontrast
periencew ith increasingd estabilizationis in starkc ontrast betweenth eT ahitianim ageso f a peacefulli fe andt heW est-
to the visual images of permanents plendort hata re mass- erna trocitiehse stillc arriedw ithh imf romt hew ar.H ep hoto-
producedt o enticet he worlda t large. graphedo nly those aspectst hat portrayedp aradise-the
childlikes,i mplec, arefresei deo f life. [TevaS ylvainp, ersonal
communication1, 995]
The Power of a Camera
In 1970, Teva, then sixteen years old, followed his fa-
With the growingi nterdependencoef France'sp olitical
ther's footsteps, creating images of his own fetishized view
agenda,F renchP olynesia'sp oliticale conomy,a ndt he rep-
of Tahitian life. Postcard production, which he started in
resentationo f Tahitia s paradisei,t is not surprisingth att he
1974, represents the largest part of his business.27E very
productiono f alluringi mages has become a majori ndus-
year, one million of his postcards are purchased in French
try.L efebvreh as commentedo n the destructivea bilitieso f
Polynesia, to begin their journey all over the globe. Al-
illusive imagery.H is wordsa pplyt o the situationi n Tahiti.
though he decides on the images, he is guided by sales sta-
Images fragment, they are themselves fragments, cutting tistics. As Teva explained to me, "I create images that I
things up and rearrangingth em, d6coupagea nd montage,t he think people want to buy. I come up with an idea and then