Table Of Contentpacific history ELENA GOVOR
{ Continued from front flap }
Of related interest
the tumultuous events of the Russians’ stay
TRADING NATURE
in Nuku Hiva; the course of the mutiny, its
Tahitians, Europeans, and the Ecological Exchange
resolution and aftermath; and the extent
and nature of the contact between Nuku
GOVOR
Hivans and Russians. JENNY NEWELL
Govor draws directly on the writings of 2010, est. 336 pages, illus.
the participants themselves, many of whom Cloth: ISBN 978-0-8248-3281-0
left accounts of the voyage. Those by the
ships’ captains, Krusenstern and Lisiansky, When Captain Samuel Wallis became the first European to land at Tahiti
and the naturalist George Langsdorff are in June 1767, he left a British flag on shore along with three guinea hens, a
T
well known, but here for the first time, their pair of turkeys, a pregnant cat, and a garden planted with peas for the chief-
W
writings are juxtaposed with recently dis- ess Purea. Bougainville, Cook, Boenechea—all planted seeds of vegetables,
E
covered textual and visual evidence by vari- grains, and fruit from Europe and elsewhere and gave breeding pairs of cat- L in august 1803 two russian ships,
V
ous members of the expedition in Russian, tle, goats, sheep, and poultry to island chiefs. In turn, they were sent away the Nadezhda and the Neva, set off on
E
German, and Japanese—and by the Nuku with great quantities of important island resources, including valuable and a round-the-world voyage to carry out
D
Hivans themselves. Two sailor-beachcomb- spiritually significant pigs, trees, and fish. What did these exchanges mean? A 12 scientific exploration and collect artifacts
Y
ers, a Frenchman and an Englishman who What was their impact? The answers are often unexpected. They also reveal for Alexander I’s ethnographical museum
S
acted as guides and interpreters, later con- the ways islanders retained control over their societies and landscapes in in St. Petersburg. Russia’s strategic con-
A
tributed their own accounts, which feature an era of increasing European intervention. Trading Nature explores—from T cerns in the north Pacific, however, led the
the words and opinions of islanders. Govor both the European and Tahitian perspective—the effects of “ecological ex- N Russian government to include as part of
also relies on a myth about the Russian visit change” in Tahiti from the mid-eighteenth century to the present day. U the expedition an embassy to Japan, headed
K
recounted by Nuku Hivans to this day. by statesman Nikolai Rezanov, who was
U
TWELVE
With its unique polyphonic histori- given authority over the ships’ command-
H
jacket illustrations
cal approach, Twelve Days at Nuku Hiva I ers without their knowledge. Between them
V
presents an innovative cross-cultural Top, Johann Horner, Taiohae; bottom, Egor Skotnikov A the ships carried an ethnically and socially
ethnohistory that uncovers new approaches and Ignaz Sebastian Klauber after Wilhelm Tilesius, disparate group of men: Russian educated
DAYS
to—and understandings of—what took ‘Man from Nuku Hiva Island’. elite, German naturalists, Siberian mer-
place on Nuku Hiva more than two chants, Baltic naval officers, even Japanese
hundred years ago. jacket design passengers. Upon reaching Nuku Hiva
Julie Matsuo-Chun AT NUKU in the Marquesas archipelago on May 7,
1804, and for the next twelve days, the
ELENA GOVOR is research fellow at the naval officers revolted against Rezanov’s
ISBN 978-0-8248-3368-8
Division of Pacific and Asian History at the command while complex cross-cultural
90000 HIVA
UNIVERSITY of
Australian National University. encounters between Russians and islanders
HAWAI‘I PRESS occurred. Elena Govor recounts the voy-
9 780824 833688
age, reconstructing and exploring in depth
Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822-1888
www.uhpress.hawaii.edu
{ Continued on back flap }
RUSSIAN ENCOUNTERS AND MUTINY IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC
Twelve Days at Nuku Hiva
Twelve Days
at
Nuku Hiva
Russian Encounters and Mutiny
in the South Pacific
Elena Govor
University of Hawai‘i Press
Honolulu
© 2010 University of Hawai‘i Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
15 14 13 12 11 10 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Govor, Elena.
Twelve days at Nuku Hiva : Russian encounters and mutiny
in the South Pacific / Elena Govor.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8248-3368-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Nuka Hiva (French Polynesia)—Ethnic relations—History—
19th century. 2. Nuka Hiva (French Polynesia)—Social life and
customs—19th century. 3. Acculturation—French Polynesia—
Nuka Hiva—History—19th century. 4. Marquesans—French
Polynesia—Nuka Hiva—History—19th century. 5. Russians—
French Polynesia—Nuka Hiva—History—19th century.
6. Nuka Hiva (French Polynesia)—Discovery and exploration,
Russian. 7. Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia)—Discovery and
exploration, Russian. 8. Russia. Voennyi flot—History—19th
century. 9. Mutiny—French Polynesia—Nuka Hiva—
History—19th century. I. Title.
DU701.N8G68 2010
996.3'1—dc22
2009028691
University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free
paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Council on Library Resources.
Designed by Santos Barbasa Jr.
Printed by the Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group
For Vladimir Kabo,
my husband, friend, and teacher
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Note on Spelling and Translations xi
Part I
From Russia to Nuku Hiva 1
Part II
Nuku Hiva 56
Day 1. Encounter. 25 April (7 May) 1804 64
Day 2. Discovery. 26 April (8 May) 1804 91
Day 3. Immersion. 27 April (9 May) 1804 115
Day 4. Tattooing. 28 April (10 May) 1804 137
Day 5. Heresy. 29 April (11 May) 1804 154
Day 6. Tension. 30 April (12 May) 1804 163
Day 7. Temptations. 1/13 May 1804 170
Day 8. Catharsis. 2/14 May 1804 195
Day 9. Dislocation. 3/15 May 1804 214
Days 10–12. Parting. 4/16–6/18 May 1804 227
Part III
From Nuku Hiva to Russia 238
Epilogue
Nuku Hiva Revisited 263
Notes 269
Bibliography 273
Index 289
Acknowledgments
T
his book emerged from a research project, ‘Tatau/tattoo: Embodied art and
cultural exchange’, funded by the Getty Grant Program (2002–2004), which
provided the initial support for the search for forgotten Russian documenta-
tion on the first Russian expedition in the South Pacific. The discovery of
abundant Russian textual and visual materials complementing the well-known
published Russian accounts prompted the idea of drawing together all avail-
able sources about the expedition, including Russian, German, Estonian, and
French archival materials. The support and generosity of my colleagues further
facilitated this research. I am grateful to Tamara Shafranovskaia, Olga Fedo-
rova, and Alexey Kruzenshtern from Russia, Frieder Sondermann and Makiko
Kuwahara from Japan, Achim and Renate von Rappard from Germany, Burgl
Lichtenstein from Switzerland, and Robert Suggs and Victoria Moessner from
the United States.
My long-term cooperation with Olga Fedorova and Frieder Sondermann
was particularly productive. Olga Fedorova shared with me her transcripts of
Russian archival materials (Chichagov 1805; Kruzenshtern 1803; Ratmanov
1803–1805a, 1803–1805b, ca. 1808; Shemelin 1803–1806), and Frieder Son-
dermann supplied transcripts of German archival documents (Espenberg 1805a;
Horner 1807; Krusenstern 1804a, 1804d, 1810, 1813a; Löwenstern 1807; Tile-
sius 1803–1804, 1804, 1819, n.d.) and articles (Espenberg 1805b; Depping
1813). My discussions with them, as well as with my husband, Vladimir Kabo,
helped me to shape a number of issues examined in this book. Another source
of inspiration and reflection was the research by scholars in the field of South
Pacific studies—Bronwen Douglas, Nicholas Thomas, and Greg Dening.
I am also grateful to Mgr Le Cléac’h, Eric Bastard, and Félicité and Sim-
eon Kimitete, who assisted me during my visit to Nuku Hiva in 2003.
ix
