351? UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I LIBRARY
PUTAlANA: SIGNIFIERS OF THE FEMALE ROLE IN MARQUESAN SOCIETY
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
IN
ART HISTORY
MAY 2008
By JacJyn K. Hiura
Thesis Committee:
Deborah Waite, Chairperson John Szostak Jairoey Hamilton ii
We certify that we have read this thesis and that, in our opinion, it is satisfactory in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Art History.
THESIS COMMITTEE
Chairperson iii Table of Contents
List of Figures ...... iv Introduction ...... 1 Previous Scholarship ...... 1 Understanding the Marquesan Context ...... 2 Chapter I - Construction ofpu taiana ...... '" ...... 8 Linguistic and Semantic Construction ...... 8 Physical Construction ...... 11 Chapter 2 - Pu taiana and Body Ado=ent ...... 14 Body Ado=ent in the Marquesas: A Conceptual Framework ...... 14 Tapu and Body Ornamentation ...... 16 The Marquesan Female: Relationships with tapu and Body Ornarnentation ...... '" ...... 21 Chapter 3 - Materials and Process ...... 24 Synergism: The Use of Human Bone, Sperm Whale Tooth, and Boar Tusk ...... 24 Processes 0 f Creation: The Concepts of Carving and Piercing .. '" ...... 30 Chapter 4 - The Narrative Body: Myth as Embedded Narrative ...... 33 Narrato logy and pu taiana ...... '" ...... '" ...... 33 Akaui's Visit to Ua Pou and Pahua-Titi's Two Daughters ...... 35 Kae and the Gift ofNatural Childbirth ...... 39 Gender Relations and the Dangerous Female ...... 43 Chapter 5 _ Pu taiana as the Marquesan Female ...... 47 Complimentary Duality in hakakai and pu taiana ...... 49 Embodiment of the Aggregate Female ...... 51 Conclusion ...... 53 Problems ...... 53 Importance ofpu taiana and the Female Body ...... 54 Further Investigation ...... 55 Figures ...... 56 Glossary ...... 71 Bibliography ...... 74 iv List of Figures
Figure Page
1. pu taiana, "Akaui and Pahua-Titi's Two Daughters," Marquesas Islands ...... 56
2. staff god, Cook Islands ...... 57
3. taIl drum, Austral Islands ...... 58
4. pu taiana, "Akaui and Pahua-Titi's Two Daughters," Marquesas Islands ...... 59
5. lei niho palaoa, Hawaiian Islands ...... 60
6. lei niho palaoa, Hawaiian Islands ...... 6 I
7. ta 'a puaika, Marquesas Islands ...... 62
8. ta 'a puaika, Marquesas Islands ...... 63
9. pu taiana, "Akaui and Pahua-Titi's Two Daughters," Marquesas Islands ...... 64
10. pu taiana, "Kae and the Gift ofNatural Childbirth," Marquesas Islands ...... 65
11. pu taiana with connective glass bead string, Marquesas Islands ...... 66
12. pu taiana with connective glass bead string, Marquesas Islands ...... 67
13. hakakai, Marquesas Islands ...... 68
14. hakakai, Marquesas Islands ...... 69
15. hakakai, Marquesas Islands ...... 70 I Introduction
Previous Scholarship
As a subject of study, pu taiana present a formidable topic, largely due to the previous scholarship of Karl von den Steinen. Von den Steinen, who studied the
Marquesan material objects in European museums during the late nineteenth century, traveled to the Marquesas Islands in 1897 in order to research for his Die Marquesaner und we KunstI from the early twentieth century.2 His exhaustive work with Marquesan material culture and especially pu (aiana has proved to be an integral source of infurmation to scholars until the present day. But although von den Steinen has attempted to formally critique pu taiana and has explicated the themes that surround them, his work does not aim to evaluate the direct role that they play in the Marquesan social system. Similarly, E.S. CraighiII Handy and Ralph Linton, who voyaged to the
Marquesas during the Bayard Dominick Expedition from 1920 to 1921,3 have also provided thorough foundational information fur a study in Marquesan culture. Although their work lacks the specificity of von den Steinen's approach to material culture, their work does offer a more comprehensive approach to Marquesan society and its structures.
More recently, Nicholas Thomas and Greg Dening have expounded upon these social structures, further meeting the area of study, just as Eric Kjellgren and Carol Ivory have provided contemporary points of view on the material culture. Combining earlier
I "The Marouesans and their Art" 2 Greg Dening. LoI."ds and Beaches: Discourse on a Silent Land. Marquesas 1774-1880. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1980) 278. 3 Ibid. 2 scholarship with work from contemporary scholars, along with supplementary examples from Eastern Polynesian cultures, this investigation seeks to reevaluate the function ofpu taiana as a tangible visualization ofthe Marquesan female role.
Understanding the Marquesan Context
The tradition of body adornment in the Marquesas Islands, or Te Henua 'Enana, 4 is centered around a set of aesthetics that serve to not only protect the body, but also to transfurm the wearer. Although this concept is echoed throughout Polynesia, the visual representation rendered through the implementation of Marquesan aesthetics provides a unique and culturally specific mode of social representation. Pu taiana (fig. 1), or female ear ornaments, not only adhere to the Marquesan sense of body representation, but also become active bodies within the structure of Marquesan body representation. This investigation aims to explore the social structures in which pu taiana operate and the cultural dynamics that they implement in order to realize their function as Marquesan social bodies. As further analysis of the physical form of the pu taiana will indicate, these bodies perfurm in a social function that delineates and substantiates Marquesan culture.
There is no doubt that the Marquesan culture possesses some of the most visually engaging art objects in Polynesia and is also one of the most recognizable corpuses of
4 'Te Henua 'EDana' means 'the land of the people' in the northern Marquesan dialect. It is also pronounced as 'Te Fenua 'Enata' in the southern dialect. Steven Hooper, Pacific Encounters: Art & Divinity in Polynesia 1760-1860, (London: British Museum Press, 2006) 151. 3 material culture.5 The problem then arises as to the mode within which the Marquesan culture may be approached. It is true that the function of specific objects, such as the
Marquesanpu taiana, must be analyzed from an emic point of view. This emic point of view must then obviously stem from the Marquesan culture, but as history indicates this may entail much more than just Marquesan socio-cultural structures. Eastern Polynesia, where the Marquesas Islands are situated, is composed of the Society Islands, the Cook
Islands, the Austral Islands, the Tuamotu Islands, Hawai'i, Rapanui, 6 and Aotearoa.7
Parallels may be drawn from many of these areas, both in social structures and material cultures,8 and therefore Marquesan culture may be further explicated by comparisons with these other Eastern Polynesian societies. Many scholars have refuted the Marquesas
Islands as the epicenter of the dispersal of settlers in Eastern Polynesia, including the early twentieth century scholar Te Rangi Hiroa and Kenneth Emory and Yosihiko
Sinoto's work during the 1960's. Although more recent scholarship, such as from
Geoffrey Irwin and Patrick Vinton Kirch, relates to less of a restriction on the exact archipelago from which Eastern Polynesia was settled, the Marquesas has continued to comprise at least a portion of Eastern Polynesia's creation.
S "The Marquesan people, Te 'Enana, were (and are today) expert artists and craftspeople who adorned their world and themselves with one of the most distinctive and sophisticated artistic styles in all of Polynesia. This style includes a complex and symbolically rich design system that is both pervasive, cutting across diverse media, and persistent over time." Carol S. Ivory, "Art and Aesthetics in the Marquesas Islands," Eric Kjellgren and Carol S. Ivory, Adorning the World: Art of the Marauesas Islands, ~ew York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005) 25. Also known as Easter Island 7 Also known as New Zealand 8 Ralph Linton, The Material Culture of the Marauesas Islands, Memoirs of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Vol. 8, No.5, (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1923) 450-457. 4
The visual traditions of the Marquesas Islands are often recognized by their intricately patterned aesthetics, as well as for their hallmarked enlarged ocular shapes.9
Therefore the art of the Marquesas Islands, which appears to be visually unique from other Eastern Polynesian islands, becomes problematic when attempting to secure cultural ties with the rest of Polynesia. especially the eastern region. Early scholars such as Te Rangi Hiroa have asserted that adjacent cultures have developed from a basic
Marquesan influence, crowning the Marquesas Islands as the predecessor to much of
Eastern Polynesia.
In the isles of Hiva the Marquesans developed their own civilization, built upon the basic culture brought from central Polynesia. Hivaoa became the center for carving in wood and stone and Nukuhiva became the center for stone masonry. However, the crafts spread in an even pattern throughout the group. Expeditions penetrated to the Tuamotus and Cook Islands and farther to the east where they influenced the culture of Mangareva and Easter Island it is probable that some of the voyages north to Hawai'i passed through the Marquesas. Thus the Marquesas became a center fur the development and dissemination of culture in the east, corresponding to Havai'i in the center of Polynesia. 10
Thus Hiroa delineates the pathways through which Eastern Polynesian settlement had taken through the locus of the Marquesas Islands. His argument does present itself as valid, as many influences may be seen throughout Eastern Polynesia, especially in the
Cook Islands and the Austral Islands. J J Staff gods from the Cook Islands (fig. 2) and tall
9 Ibid. 10 Havai'i, otherwise known as Hawaiki or -, is the mythological origin of most Polynesian cultw"es. Here, Hiroa likens the Marquesas Islands to this mythicized locale. Te Rangi Hiroa, Vikings of the Sunrise, (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1938) 155. II Intricate patterning and fine detail attribute to these comperisons. In both the Cook Islands and the Austral Islands this detailed patterning seems to be more prolifically developed and integrated into many of their respective art objects, such as the tall drums from the Australs and staff gods from the Cooks. 5 drums from the Austral Islands (fig. 3) are indicative of this intercultural link, as both exhibit the intricate patterning associated with Marquesan aesthetics. Although Hiroa' s work was completed during the early to mid nineteenth century, the structure of his argument provides a valid foundation for more contemporary findings. Modem
scholarship has proven to somewhat support Hiroa's claim, although the stalwart stance
of the Marquesas as the center of dispersal seems to have been re-worked to incorporate a more comprehensive approach.
In the 1960s, as archaeological excavations commenced in central Eastern Polynesia, Kenneth Emory and Y osihiko Sinoto developed a model of Polynesian dispersals that privileged the Marquesas Islands as the first archipelago to be settled by voyagers moving from Western Polynesia. . .. Their model had successive dispersals radiating out from the Marquesas to the Society Islands, and then from both of these archipelagoes out to the other Eastern Polynesian groups. This "orthodox scenario" reflected the richness of the early Marquesan archaeological record and the lack of adequate samples from other islands. In 1984, I proposed an alternative model ... in which the Society and Marquesas Islands together formed and Eastern Polynesian homeland region, linked by regular contact. However, this model too has its shortcomings, and indeed both models ... are insufficient to account for the emerging archaeological data. We have yet to replace them with alternatives that are acceptable to alL 12
Therefore, the claim that Patrick Kirch makes here against previous scholarship is that the
Marquesas was not the sole locus of dispersal within Eastern Polynesia, but belonged within the region of this locus, as did the Society Islands. The Marquesas Islands, thusly, become not the single source of Eastern Polynesian settlement, but undoubtedly one of
12 Patrick Vinton Kirch, On the Road of the Winds: An Archaeological History of the Pacific Islands before European Conlact. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002) 230. 6 the earliest sites within the area. Although Kirch concedes that there is not an absolute answer to the settlement of Eastern Polynesia, it is evident that the Marquesas maintains an integral position within the focus of the discussion. Geoffrey Irwin further substantiates this vein of thought, as he interprets the earliest found archaeological dates in Polynesia.
One safe way of dealing with chronological uncertainties is to extrapolate back from the margins of Polynesia, where New Zealand and Hawaii are both tolerably well-dated. From Hawaii, we can assume reasonably that the Marquesas, Society Islands, Cook Islands and Samoa become older in succession, within the period between A.D. 500 and 1000 B.cY
Irwin defends the idea that the Marquesas has influenced not all, but much of Eastern
Polynesia, through its early radiocarbon dates, an argument that is congruent to Kirch's claim. Therefore, it is evident that the Marquesas, although unique in many ways, 14 adheres to many Polynesian tendencies, pointedly Eastern Polynesia. Owing to this fact, it is possible, if not necessary, to view many items from a multi-faceted position in order to completely appreciate the full potency of the items. In order to construct a better model of Marquesan social comprehension, it is essential to utilize examples from neighboring cultures. This approach does entail specific comparisons between different
J3 Geoffrey Irwin, The Prehistoric Exploration and Colonisation of the Pacific, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992) 81. 14 "But there is every reason to believe that the social conditions present in the Marquesas were indeed exceptional Not that there were any institutions in the Marquesas which are wholly without parallels, or at least echoes, in the rest of Polynesia; on the contrary, the Marquesas are a compendium of Polynesian themes, all jumbled together in rich confusion. But what makes the Marquesas exceptional is the pecu1iar and consistent slant or bias given to the whole ...these thematic amplifications and attenuations all point in a consistent direction, so that the eccentricity of many features of Marquesan society and culture, when measured against the norm of Polynesian societies, there is nothing here which seems merely odd, the product of pure contingency of random cultural 'drift'." Alfred Gell, Wranning in Images: Tattooing in Polvnesia, (New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 1993) 164. 7 cultures, but does not attempt to blanket various societies under one pan-cultural identity.
It is in this mode that the approach to understanding and reading the pu taiana must be taken. In other words. evidences may be found in other East Polynesian cultures to support the social structures and belief systems within which the pu taiana functioned. 8 Chapter 1 - Construction of pu taiana
Linguistic and Semantic Construction
It is integral to the comprehension ofpu taiana to first investigate the construction and meaning of the name itself. The Marquesan culture, as it spans mUltiple islands, has generated name permutations for its female ear ornamentation, despite the fuet that the many examples are in physical congruence with each other. Karl von den Steinen has recorded such linguistic variations according to the particular geographical location, although he does not note any marked visual differences. IS He states that depending upon the area of the Marquesan archipelago, the name putaiana is transformed into putaiata, or simply taiana/taiata.
Ces chevi1les s'appellent < Therefore, it can be gleaned that the variance in pronunciation does not effectively alter the meaning of the word, as von den Steinen explains the permutations as synonyms for the same word or words. This is further substantiated by the work of the French Bishop Ildephonse Rene Dordillon, who lists putaiana and putaiata with identical definitions. I7 Pu, the prefix, or initial word, which may be omitted according to von den Steinen, is 1S Karl von den Steinen, Les Marquisiens et Leur Art. Vol. 2, (Punaauia: Musee de Tahiti et des tIes, 2005) 136-148. 16 "These plugs are named «putaiata» in Nukuhiva and Uapon, «putaiana» in the southeast, or without «pu» (:seashell), simply «taiala» or «taiana», and they constitute the two parts [words]." Von den Steinen, 136. 17 lldephonse Rene Dordillon, Grammaire et Dictionnaire De La Langue Des lIes Marquises, (paris: Belin Bros., 1904) 241. 9 defined by Dordillon as "conque marine (coquillage)",18 a descriptive component of the word that may have been utilized in more formal speech. This concept of the prefixpu, which also stands as an individual word in the Marquesan language, might have had some function in formal speech or pronunciation relating to Dordillon's other definitions of the word. He also notes that the word pu relates to music, the playing of musical instruments. 19 This relation to music may therefore be a reference to the ornamentation of the ear. This counection is further substantiated by E.S. Craighill Handy with his work in Marquesan music. No other Polynesian people employed music more continuously. In fact, it is scarcely conceivable that any people could give singing a more prominent place in their culture than did the Marquesans of olden times, for chanting or singing accompanied practically every activity in their life, and formed the central feature of most of their rites and festivities.20 Music, as a central theme in Marquesan rites and festivals, directly correlates to pu taiana, not only through the use of the prefix pu, but also their shared inclusion in these events. Beautifully adorned young ladies are primary figures of Marquesan memorial feasts and the ornamentation of their bodies during such events parallel the accompaniment of music during their ceremonial entrances. Edward Robarts has recorded that: 18 Ibid, 234. 19 "Po, s. nom gc!tu!rique des instruments de musique; conque marine (coquillage); esp The first that makes her appearance is generaly a young lady of celebrated beuaty. She is usherd on the ground with the beating of drums and the sounding of conch shells and then receives the salute of the war whoope three times. Thus commences the grand festival of ending the cerimonies of a deceased prophet, King or Chieftain ... During the festiva~ a number of marriages take place.21 It is thusly evident in this example that the amalgamation of physical beauty, through such ornaments as pu taiana, directly correlate with music in that they both function as means of transition. Both of these elements allow for a visual transformation oflife from a period of mourning to a celebration of new life, as is indicated through the subsequent marriage rites. This visual and aural ornamentation enacts the relationship between pu taiana and music. As the pu taiana itself adorns the exterior of the ear, the use of the word pu, or its assumed use, according to von den Steinen, suggests the beautifYing of the ear internally, through music. Evidence of the word pu as associated with music or musicality is also found in the Hawaiian language. In the Hawaiian culture, the word pu is used to indicate wind instruments.22 Hence, this semantic congroence found across two different Eastern Polynesian cultures allows for an augmented ability to approach the comprehension ofpu taiana, in the conjunction with its social function, to be discussed in Chapter 3. 21 Greg Dening, ed.• The Marguesan Jouma! of Edward Robarts: 1797-1824. Honolulu: The University Press ofHawai'i. 1974) 58. 22 "po. 1. n. Large triton conch or hehnent shell (Charonia tritonis) as used for trumpets; any wind instrmnent, as horn, trumpet, comet. The instrmnent may be distinguished from other pii by the qualifier ho'okani. sounding." Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert, Hawaiian Dictionary. (Honolulu: University ofHawai'i Press. 1986) 344. II Physical Construction The physical construction of pu taiana is most often descnbed as a tripartite structure, which consists of the carved section, the cap, and the material with which the two former parts are affixed to each other. The cap is most often the whitest element of the pu taiana, probably due to the difference in materiaL The carved shaft varies from pale golden yellow in some specimens to a deep amber in others (figs. 1 and 4). Von den Steinen describes this carved section as being composed of either sperm whale ivory, human bone, or boar tusk. He also indicates that these three materials not only manifest the age of the piece, but also the shape. Vne coquille de cone, d'une eblouissante blancheur de porcelain, se place devant Ie lobe de l'oreille, perce, et s'emboite vers l'arriere dans un axe d'environ 5 cm, delicat mais solide, en dent de cachalot jaune dore, en os humain, ou en dent de verrat, moins precieuse. Dans Ie cas de la dent de cachalot de l'ere plus ancienne, la piece cylindrique est l'axe d 'une ornamentation a base de tiki, qui dc!passe au-dessus et en dessous, et taillee dans une seule piece. Dans la dent de verrat, p1us plate, de la nouvelle c!poque [oil on connait] Ie couteau, apparait une broche quadrangulaire, plate et ajouree; eIle est lisse vers l'arriere, tandis que la dent de cachalot travaillee en ronde bosse montre encore sur I' arriere une certain ornamentation. 23 Therefore, through von den Steinen's formal analysis, it is apparent that shape becomes indicative of materials, and vice versa, although no explanation is given for pu taiana 23 "A shell cone, of stunning porcelain whiteness, sits in front of the earlobe, which is pierced, and is connected towards the rear of the approximately 5 em shaft, delicate but solid, in golden yellow sperm whale tooth, in hwnan bone, or in boar's tusk, which is less precious. In the case of the spenn whale tooth of the older era, the cylindrical piece is the shaft of ornamentation at the base of the tiki, which extends above and beneath, and is carved in a single piece. In the case of the boar's tusk, which is flatter, of the newer period, [where one knows1 the blade, seemingly a quadrangular broach, flat and carved; it is smooth towards the rear, While the sperm whale tooth is worked as a scu1ptore in the round again appears on the rear of certain ornamentation." Von den Steinen, 136. 12 carved from human bone. But, what is certain is that the original shape of the material proved to be an influence on the shape of the ear ornament. Although von den Steinen states that the boar tusk is less precious than the previously used sperm whale ivory, the fact that the flatter boar tusk may have been easier to work with in order to produce more intricate open-work on the shaft may have also been an impetus for its use in creatingpu taiana. Interestingly, von den Steinen does not give much attention to the cap, and treats it as more of an afterthought, probably due to his interest in the decorative and narrative properties of the carved shafts. However, the cap, due to its associative properties through its material, would have been essential not only to the physical coustruction of the ornament, but also to the effective mana24 of its social function. Carol Ivory and Eric Kjellgren have noted that these caps were carved of shell,2S but do not give an exact type. Both Ralph Linton and Steven Hooper, however, do provide the exact type of shell integrated into the construction ofpu taiana. Linton states that: "The cap, called puiu, is made from some white shell, probably Tridacna ... ,,26 In more recent scholarship Steven Hooper has elucidated the material as conns shell, or sea snail shelL27 Although Linton's and Hooper's findings differ somewhat from each other's, as well as from Ivory's and Kjellgren's, all converge on the point that shell was used to construct the cap. This then 24 Mana is a pan-Polynesian term that encapsulates the essential Iif.,..force of all beings, animate and inanimate. It is associated with the realm of po, which translates to the "darkness" or spiritual realm, as mana stems from pa. All interior substances are associated with the essence of mana. All exterior substances are associated with the containment or control of mana. This containment is crucial for the effective flow of mana, as it is its very nature to be a raw and Wlpredictable source of energy. Containment is also necessary for raw forms of mana to exist in 00, which translates to the "lightness" or secular realm. 2' Kjellgren and Ivory, 76. 26 Linton, 430. 27 Hooper, 159. 13 leads to an interesting juxtaposition of materials, between ivory or bone and shell, which will be discussed at length in Chapter 3. Just as the cap of the pu taiana is not as widely discussed as the carved shaft of the ornament, neither is the material with which the cap is stuffed. This material, often simply referred to as pith, had a significant function in securing the cap to the bone or ivory shaft. It is sometimes noted that this pith's strength as a mortise was supplemented by a hole that was drilled or carved through the width of the shaft. A pin, probably wooden, would be secured through this hole so that the ear lobe would be sandwiched between the cap and the pin, fortifying the pu taiana's placement in the ear lobe. As examined, the construction of the pu taiana, linguistically, semantically, and physically, is not only integral to its function as the comprehensive signifier of the Marquesan body, but actually forms a definite body within its culture. This body of the pu taiana is a potent visualization of Marquesan society through its essential associations with materials, myths, and the female. Pu taiana therefore become proponents of social systems, gender roles, and material associations through their direct relationships with each. These concepts will be discussed at length in further chapters, but the initial evidence for these functions is most potently displayed in these basic components. 14 Chapter 2 - Pu taiana and Body Adornment Body Adornment in the Marquesas: A Conceptual Framework In order to interpret the social function of pu taiana, it is first necessary to approach the function of body ado=ent in the Marquesas Islands. As with many Polynesian cultures, body adornment is an integral component of not only people's ability to operate within society, but also serves to alter the space within which they function. In the Marquesas, koina,28 or celebratory feasts, are these spaces within which pu taiana operate and ultimately serve as the arenas of social interaction through the use of personal ado=ent. Koina are an integral part ofMarquesan society and are utilized to recognize numerous stages of social and physical transformation. As Nicholas Thomas divulges, the unifying property of these events retain the utmost importance in Marquesan social relations. The institutionalized practice of feasting, and particularly a certain type of feast, the commemorative mau, was central to the process of hierarchical reproduction in the Marquesas. Certain other institutions were also important, but feasting was crucial because of the way it drew together and expressed the widest range of social relations.29 2. "The term ko'ina is used in the Marquesas to apply to any festivity whether a small family feast or a great festival. The different types of ko 'ina are indicated by the sue of an adjective describing the purpose of the celebration, following the word ko'ina - thus, ko'ina tupapa'u, feast for the dead" E.S. Craighill Handy, Native Culture in the Marauesas, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Bulletin 9, no. 9, (Honolulu: Bishop Musewn Press, 1923) 203. Here, Handy includes the glottal stop between the "0" and the "i", but other sources do not include this. For this paper the glottal stop will not be included. 29 Nicholas Thomas, Marauesan Societies: Inequalitv and Political Transformation in Eastern Po1vnesia. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990) 89. 15 Therefore, /Wina, particularized by Thomas through the example of mau, serve as essential social spaces within which the Marquesan culture seeks to reaffirm their social structure. Without /wina, the impact and effectiveness of personal adornment would be reduced, as these feasts reevaluate and solidifY social ties. Such a comprehensive display of identity, both aggregate and individual, allows for the recognition of mana and reaffirmation of the tapu structure, both essential to proper Marquesan social function. Eric Kjellgren expounds upon the dehberate process of body ornamentation and how it serves to amplifY mana in the chosen time and space. While, apart from their tattoos, most Marquesans wore few ornaments on a daily basis, on festive occasions both men and women decked themselves out in all their finery. Festivals, ceremonies, and other public gatherings were the center of Marqnesan social life. The primary venue for the performing arts and for the conspicuous display of personal ornaments and tattoo, festivals were held to commemorate nearly every significant occurrence in the community.30 It is evident that the calculated use of body ornamentation functions as a mode of transformation. The aggregate of body ornaments is viewed as a vehicle with which the Marquesan individual could achieve a higher portrayal of mana. This heightened sense of mana is not restricted to the simple portrayal thereof; but relates to the actuality of mana, harnessed and utilized in the given time and space. Although it has been observed that Marquesan society did not operate within the same structure as Hawaiian society,3! 30 Eric Kjellgren, «Adorning the World," Eric Kjellgren and Carol S. Ivory, Adorning the World: Art of the Marauesas Islands. (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005) 12. 31 The Marquesas Islands have been regarded as an "open" society versus Hawai'i's "stratified' society. This difference is dependent on the methods through which power is exercised. "Open" societies utilize more militaristic and political approaches, while "stratified" societies are more dependent on chiefly rank. Kirch, 249-250. 16 their respective social structures converge in the fact that both societies derived their power through the display and efficacious handling of mana. In his Kin,gship and Sacrifice: Ritual and Society in Ancient Hawai'i, Valerio Valeri discusses the semantics of mana and its recognition within Hawaiian society. As he examines mana and its function regarding recognition, the applicability to Marquesan culture is evident. In other words, the act of recognition is also an act of creation. Mana is presupposed, but also made by the act of recognition. More precisely, recognition (expressed by its signs: prayers, sacrifices, etc.) fully realizes in the god an efficacy that cannot exist without his relationship with humans.32 Although Marquesans primarily base their spirituality in ancestor worship,33 Valeri's explanation of one of the facets of mana relates to the Marquesan understanding of body ornamentation. Here, the Marquesan concept of the whole may be substituted fur the Hawaiian god. Therefore, through the time and space of festivals and celebrations, Marquesan body ornamentation becomes the aggregate body with which individuals recognize the whole, a creative process that actualizes mana. Tapu and Body Ornamentation Just as body ornamentation is inextricably associated with the processes of recognition and actualization when dealing with mana, so it is related to the system of 32 Valerio Valeri, Kingship and Sacrifice: Ritual and Society in Ancient Hawai'i, (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1985) 103. 33 Linton, 457. 17 tapu34 within the Marquesan culture. Tapu relates to body ornamentation in that the various types of adornment are specific to the individual's relative tapu state. Alfred Gell defines tapu and its function within Marquesan society in his Wrapping In Images: Tattooing in Polynesia. Tapu is the Marquesan term for the common Polynesian notion of 'contagious sacredness'; it is approximately equivalent to the Tahitian concept ofra'a. Just as food was accumulated and circulated by the chiefs, so too this more metaphysical entity tapu wove complicated patterns of exclusion and inclusion within the tangled fabric of Marquesan society ... Tapu was a word with strictly ritual and religious connotations, and indicated a state, not a substance. Like its numerous Polynesian congeners, the idea of tapu ultimately rested on cosmological foundations: it was that heightened spiritual condition which resulted from shared identity with the divine; it came, like Tahitian ra 'a, from the traffic between po and ao, the world of the gods and the sunlit world of ordinary mortals.3s As Gell describes the Marquesan sense of tapu,36 its "heightened spiritual condition" stems from its relationship with the divine, as it exists within the thoroughfare between 37 ao and po. 38 Body ornamentation, as it relays the wearer's relative amount of mana, is therefore indicative of their tapu status. Consequently, individuals with higher rank, like chiefs, would have utilized different modes of body adornment in order to differentiate themselves from lower-ranking individuals in lesser states of tapu. These various types of body ornamentation invariably stem from the types of materials used and the content 34 Tapu relates to the English word ''taboo.'' In the Polynesian definition, tapu relates to anything that retains a high potency of mana and is therefore dangerous to individuals with less mana. High-ranking individuals would be allowed to handle such objecta or topics, as their respective mana would dictate. 3S Gell, l7l. 37 Ao is the "lightness" or secular realm. It is associated with man's cohabitation with the land and the fimction of the land as a necessary element in sustaining life. Tapu objecta or topics are entities within which mana is contained in the reahn ofao. 3S Po is the "darkness" or spiritual realm. It is associated with mana, as po is the realm from which mana stems. 18 of what is portrayed in the ornament itself An example of this tapu structure is evident in the Tahitian culture, as suggested by Gell. Within Tahitian culture, the dichotomous relationship between ao and po may be realized through their material culture. The function of mana, within the Tahitian tapu system, is strictly regimented into two categories, depending on the presence or absence of mana. Terrence Barrow explains the distinction between the two divisions, as well as the producers and receivers of such objects. Tahitian art existed on two levels: the religious and ritualistic, and the domestic and secular. As the life of ali'i, ra 'atira, and manahune differed at the ritualistic and economic levels, so the objects used differed in quality and type. The finest work was made by specialist experts of high social rank for the aristocracy (which included the Ya 'atira as well as the ali 'i). Tahitian art, at its highest level, was an art of aristocrats and priestly experts. The common people managed as well as they could with their simple garments and huts, modest canoes, and a few domestic utensils. Even the humblest were not immune to the rapacity of chiefs: so any manahune possessing more than it was thought he deserved was deprived of his goOds.39 Compounding Gell's description of the similarities between the Marquesan tapu system and Tahitian ra'a with Barrow's explanstion of Tahitian material culture and how it is produced and received within the structure of hierarchy, it is evident that the dichotomy of ao and po actualizes the dynamics of mana in Tahitian culture. Barrow indicates the strict tapu system constructed around the three social classes, emphasizing the rank distinctions in order to delineate the stark difference between the presence and the 3. Ali'i, or the chiefly class, relate to the upper echelon of society who possess a direct relationship to the divine, as opposed to the manahune. Manahune, or the commoner class, are the laborers fur the whole of Tahitian society. The ra 'atira, or middle class, is composed of individuals who held authority over land or manahune. Terrence Barrow, The Art of Tahiti, (London: Blacker Calmann Cooper Ltd., 1979) 22-23. 19 absence of mana. But, when his contnbution is reexamined with Gell's interpretation of the tapu system in relation to Tahitian culture, it is evident that the tapu system, actually functions as an effector of mana. In other words, the Tahitian tapu system is an active thoroughfare of the transference of mana where the dynamism is initialized through the polar relationship between ao and po. Therefore the association between ao and po become the most basic relationship in Tahitian culture, and as Gell relates between Tahitian and Marquesan culture, the Marquesan culture as well. It is indeed true that the Marquesan tapu system relates to the Tahitian model, in that the oppositional nature of ao and po allow mana to function, but the actual social structure varies from Tahiti to the Marquesas. The class structure and their associated abilities regarding tapu differs from Tahiti to the Marquesas, as Ralph Linton reveals. At the head of the tribe stood the chie~ but he appears to have been a different functionary from the Hawaiian or Tahitian ruler. The concepts of divine descent and absolute power were lacking among the Marquesans, and there was no sharp line of demarcation between the ruled and ruling classes. As in all other parts of Polynesia, the office was hereditary, but the chiefs frequently sought to strengthen their position by alliance with influential families of commoners. Such alliances were fonned principally through adoption, and the chieftainship mirt in this way pass out of the line of actual blood descent. Seemingly, through this description of the Marquesan social classes, the polarity of ao and po loses its potency and agency in creating and preserving mana through class systems. In stark contrast with many other Polynesian cultures, the class system is not based on divine blood right. Instead, members of Marquesan society utilize powers 40 Linton, 268. 20 afforded to them in ao in order to achieve a higher state of mana. Therefore, the lapu system becomes less restrictive than amongst other Polynesian cultures, such as the Tahitian culture. But this is not in any way indicative of an underdevelopment of social culture or the lapu system in the Marquesas. In fact, the tapu system is much more pliable, allowing for the opportunity to augment a much more accessible form of mana than in other Polynesian cultures; this in no way meant that the Marquesan understanding of mana and its potency was any less appreciated. Greg Dening explains that: Tapu was their central cultural metaphor. Tapu was the fundamental categorizing principle of the physical enviromnent, of personal space, of social class, of events and actions, of cultural time.41 Therefure, it is evident that the tapu system was the single most essential element of Marquesan society. It is in this mode that it may be comprehended that Marquesan culture embraced the raw and wild aspect of mana, the ultimate form, as it exists in po. Marquesan tapu system, in relation to its malleability, is highly indicative of the very nature of mana in its most basic form. Therefore Marquesan society may be viewed as a more violent social culture, but it is actually one which effectively enacts mana through class relations. Power was shared, uneasily, among three main status groups: the hereditary chiefs (haka'iki), the inspirational priests (tau 'a), and the warriors (loa). The exercise of force was pervasive, and loa made frequent raids into neighboring valleys, seeking human victims to sacrifice at memorial feasts for deceased chiefs and priests; if the accounts are accurate, their flesh was consumed in cannibalistic rites.42 41 Dening, 87. 42 Kirch, 257. 21 This example may be misconstrued as a depiction of an underdeveloped society, especially when comparing it to stratified societies, such as Hawai'i. Although physical force was indeed essential to securing an optimal position within social classes, it does not mean that Marquesan society was more primitive than others. Through the very nature of mana, as it exists in its rawest state, Marquesan social structure accurately realizes mana's definition. Therefore it is evident that dynamism is an essential element of Marquesan culture, and that all methods of acquiring mana must be utilized in order to secure an optimal social position. It is in this mode that the Marquesan female finds it necessary to actively procure and protect her social position through the adornment of her body. Therefore, pu taiana become bodies associated with the visualization of mana, an essential element of Marquesan culture. The Marquesan Female: Relationships with tapu and Body Ornamentation As aforementioned, Marquesan body ornamentation is essential in order to visually indicate the wearer's mana, especially in a public setting. In conjunction with the fuct that the Marquesan tapu system is related to the raw state of mana through the social system, it is apparent that Marquesan women must therefore utilize these cultural veins to both display and obtain heightened states of mana. Although it is recorded that Marquesan women were not allowed to participate in all of the social and spiritual activities in which the men were allowed to partake,43 this exclusion actually recognizes 43Dening,91. 22 their actual potency. Nicholas Thomas clarifies this matter through his explanation of elite Marquesan females and tapu. To some extent these women of high status were less constrained than others by the tapu which applied to women in general Female tau 'a were a special case: since deities were resident in their stomachs they, as much as their male counterparts, were categorically different from people generally, and could move freely on to me 'ae (sacred mortuary places) and other sacred spaces. The missionary Chaulet was aware of five female tau 'a who had officiated at human sacrifices, and mentioned one other who had killed the victims herself.44 Thomas explicates this problem of the female and tapu in that the main corpus of females in the Marquesas did not enjoy many of the social freedoms that the men were allowed, but when the tapu system was dynamically breached by females, the result was a highly potent form of the female. The reference to the female's reproductive ability relates directly to the raw form of mana, and therefore through her integration into human sacrifice rituals, this elite form of the female becomes the ultimate figure relating to po. As po is the realm from which mana comes, in this situation the female tau 'a becomes both the giver and taker of life. The high-ranking female must consequently stem her potency of mana from her ability to produce life from po to ao. The Marquesan female, as an entity that encompasses all possible facets of her social function, becomes an aggregate of identities, which includes this example of the female tau 'a. Thus, Marquesan female body ornarnentation is always indicative of her "femaleness" as it directly relates to one ofthe main functions, ifnot the main function, of her potency, both spiritually and secularly. 44 Tau 'a are spiritual leaders who actively connect ao to po. Thomas, 76. 23 As previously noted, the efficacy of body adornment in the Marquesas relates to the types of materials used, as well as the methods in which it is achieved. Comprehension of both of these aspects of body ornamentation is integral to the appreciation of the function of pu taiana as synecdochical for the Marquesan female body. Through the culturally specific analysis and comparison to relevant Eastern Polynesian cultures, the efficacy of pu taiana is realized through the materials and processes involved in this form of female body ornamentation. 24 Chapter 3 - Materials and Process Body ornamentation. as a transformative act, involves the alteration of the body for an effect or purpose that the wearer wishes to achieve. Marquesan body ornaments, such as pu taiana, depend on the context of the utilized materials, as well as the process of the body alteration itsel£ It has been recorded by von den Steinen that pu taiana were carved from three materials: human bone, sperm whale ivory, or boar tusk. Although seemingly divergent, since they are each obtained from different sources, these three materials adhere to the Marquesan understanding of mana and its dynamics. The process in which pu taiana are utilized by the wearer is also in accordance with the Marquesan sense of mana. Therefore, as active Marquesan bodies, both materials and process serve to not only substantiate the wearer's mana, but are agents with which the wearer procures it. Synergism: The Use of Human Bone, Sperm Whale Tooth, and Boar Tusk inpu taiana The relation of human bone to mana is the most direct and evident fOrm of the connection between ao and po, as an interior element is utilized to adorn the exterior of the body. This is exemplified in the use of bone from another human being, replete with their raw mana, for the adornment of another individual's body. This potency alone is sufficient enough to authenticate the wearer's mana, but when perceived through the 25 source of the bone used, the validating effect is substantially more convincing. Ralph Linton comments on the source of the bone used in the construction of a pair of pu taiana. The bone of which they were made is said to have been obtained from dead relatives, not, as was usual practice, from revenge victims. The figures represent ancestors, one of the large figures being male and the other female. Such ornaments were highly prized and were inherited in the female line.45 With Linton's example, the fuct that the human bone was derived from a deceased ancestor, it is apparent that the effective mana that may be procured through the material of the bone is amplified through the ancestral ties. As is noted, not all pu taiana that were carved of human bone utilized ancestral bone, but were often carved from the bones of revenge victims. Although this example deviates from the normal use of human bone in pu taiana, the effectual transfer of mana adheres to the general use of human bone. This Marquesan concept is based in the transference of mana from the slain to the slayer and refers to the function of revenge. Eric KjeIIgren discusses this process in relation to ivi po '0, or Marquesan bone ornaments. Bodies of enemies taken in vengeance were usually offered as sacrifices at the me 'ae or, at times, cousumed at feasts, which were typically limited to the elite. Many Marquesans owned and used ivi1/,0 '0, ornaments fushioned from the bones of slain enemies. This intercultural example of ivi po '0, it is evident that the use of bone from a victim of revenge relays not only the idea of the transference of mana, but also a connection to the socially elite. Since the actual bodies of the revenge victims are linked to the socially 45 Linton, 430. 46 Me'aeroughJy translates to ceremonial grotmds. Kjellgren, 9. 26 elite through specific feasts, the ornaments made from the victim's bones subsequently relate to the enhancement or procurement of mana. The transference of mana, as well as its potency, is thusly substantiated through revenge. Records show that this Marquesan notion of revenge incorporated the restoration of mana, pointedly through an event explicated in Edward Roberts' journal from his travels in the Marquesas. I was one afternoon with the Chief & several others ofrank at the prophets danceing ground. At this time the spirit was on him. He was prophecysing, just as I set near him. Shortly after I heard the war whoop, and in a little time a poor unfortunate victim Was brought and laid before him. It was a young woman ofthe enemys tribe [who] had been gathering wild chesnutts. It being hungry times, Food was scarce among the poor class of people. She was caught in the woods By a party that had been out to reconite the enemy. As soon as she was caught, she was put to death and then tied hand & foot and carried by two men on a pole without any covering. As soon as the body was laid before the Prophet, he ran to it like a vulture. He took a stone and broke the skull and took the Brains out and [ate] them raw.47 Although Roberts' account of this act of revenge is tinged with personal disdain, the process of restoring lost, or in this case stolen, mana is obvious. The cracking open of the skull and the consumption of the raw brains connotes the immediate transfer of the victim's raw mana. This act not only recaptures lost mana from the initial offense of infringing on food sources, but is also socially amplified, and therefore catalytic in nature, when it is processed through spiritually potent sacrifices or koina. Sacrifice proffers the body of the slain to the ancestors; this simultaneously returns lost mana to the respective ancestral lineage and reaffirms the spiritual connection between ao and po in order to ensure the efficient flow of mana. The cannibalistic element of the 47 Greg Dening, ed, 116. 27 reintegration of mana is also indicative of this transference of mana, as raw mana, tangible through the flesh, is directly absorbed by the consumer. Therefore, the use of human bone in the construction of pu taiana denotes the parallel function between the material and the ornament itself: as the wearer effectively absorbs mana through body adornment. This concept of the transfer of mana through an act of absorption or fusion also relates to the utilization of animal materials, such as sperm whale tooth. An example from the Hawaiian body ornamentation reiterates this property of mana, in the lei niho palaoa (figs. 5 and 6), a necklace made of plaited human hair and a sperm whale tooth hook pendant.48 This example from Hawai'i relates to the function of sperm whale tooth, the head, and the ornamentation of the body in the Marquesas Islands. Just as the Marquesans utilize sperm whale tooth to adorn the head, the Hawaiians connect sperm whale tooth to the head through lei niho palaoa. The sperm whale, an animal that resides in the ocean, becomes a synecdochical element of this ocean realm The use of human hair,49 which is plaited together to form the necklace portion of lei niho palaoa, becomes synecdochical for the realm of man. It is in this mode that the use of this element of the sea on land in the hands of man forms a parallel between complimentary dualities: the land and the sea and ao and po, respectively. Therefore, human hair and sperm whale tooth actively fuse the two realms of ao and po, catalytically creating an object of great 48 "[Lei mho pa/aoa] is a hook-shaped ornament made originally from a spenn-whale tooth (pa/aoa or pa/aowa) and suspended by two coils of braided human hair. Cords are attached to the upper ends of the coils to tie at the back of the neck so that the coils hang over the breast with the free end of the hook forward." Te Rangi Hiroa, Arts and Crafts of Hawai'i, (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1957) 535. 49 Throughout Polynesia the head is viewed to be the seat of mana. The use of human hair would be directly indicative ofthis, as hair grows from the interior of the head . 28 mana, derived from man and whale. Pu taiana are indeed indicative ofthis function, as explained through this Hawaiian example. With sperm whale pu taiana, the head is fused with the sperm whale tooth, creating a synergistic force that imbues the wearer with an increased amount of mana. The use of seashell or tridacna in the creation of the cap also substantiates the dynamic relationship formed between the sea and land, as all pu taiana utilize this material in their construction. This relationship actively associates ao and po with the body ofpu taiana and subsequently with the wearer. Just as sperm whale ivory reacts with the human wearer through its mana properties, so does hoar tusk when utilized in the creation ofpu taiana. Although the use of boar tusk does not offer as potent an association between ao and po as human bone or sperm whale tooth, pu taiana carved from this material still retain many of the same functions. As noted by von den Steinen, it is believed that boar tusk was a later introduction to the creation of pu taiana, and that it also was a less precious material. Boar tusk may have indeed been more accessible and less valued than human hone or sperm whale tooth, but the connection to the spiritual is still evident. The myth of Akaui on the Marquesan island ofUa Pou delineates this legendary relationship between man and pig. Akaui, a legendary chief from Hanapaaoa, on the island of Hiva 'Oa, is invited to feast on Ua POll, but is ill-received. Therefore, Akaui must look to his own giant pig Manaiaanui for help. Reminiscent of the old wind god and his cumulus clouds, Akaui calls out from Uapou to his giant pig Manaiaanni in Hanapaaoa This pig, nlDDing about on the monntain ridge ofHivaoa and hearing the voice ofhis master, immediately sets out for Uapou. Flocks of birds and fishing boats follow the swimming animal which moves the sea like a 29 school of bonito fish. The pig puts his head onto Akaui's knees and dies by his command. The valley basin of Paumea becomes the earth oven. Akaui punishes his mean host by eating the head, the token of honour, himself. After he returns home, he weeps for his beloved pig. 50 This portion of Akaui's story acts as a foundational element for the perception of the pig and its presence in the Marquesas. The mythical pig Manaiaanui takes on fantastic and almost anthropomorphic qualities as he interacts with his owner, and ultimately sacrifices himself for the honor of Akaui. Through this willing sacrificial act, the powerful Manaiaanui transfers his mana to Akaui for the sake ofhis honor. Therefore, the use of boar tusk in pu taiana becomes a reference to this archaic acquiescence of animals to humans, as animals not only provide tangible mana in the form of nourishment, but also transfer their perceived mana to humans. The issue of mana, the core of which is seated in the head, invariably relates to each of these materials, as each furm of pu taiana relate to the transference from either human, whale, or boar directly to the locus of the wearer's mana. Each substance displays a concrete relationship to the realm ofpo, in that they display what was once an interior component on the exterior of the head. Not only do pu taiana make visual references to these Marquesan concepts, but they also create mana in the body of the wearer. Through a physical process, the wearer adorns her body through the pu taiana, activating the mana that is contained within the ornament. It is in this way that pu taiana, and their permutations of human bone, sperm whale tooth, and boar tusk, become active bodies in the Marquesan spiritual and social systems. so Marta Langridge, trans. and Jennifer Terrell, ed, Von den Steinen's Marauesan Myths, (Canberra: Target Oceania and The JownaJ of Pacific History, 1988) 27-28. 30 Processes of Creation: The Concepts of Carving and Piercing The processes that surround pu taiana also aid in the creation of these ornaments as active bodies within the Marquesan spiritual and social systems. The processes of carving the pu taiana and the actual piercing of the ear are both demonstrative of the modifications made to both bodies and effectively form new bodies within the Marquesan culture. Just as the human body is altered through the piercing of the ear, and ultimately through ornamentation, the body of the pu taiana is created from the base material. Both the human body and the material from which the pu taiana is carved are transformed; the acts of piercing and carving both reconstruct the respective bodies as new bodies. This manipulation with the human hand indicates the necessary relationship formed between ao and po through the carvers and piercers, the tuhukaY Tuhuka are considered to be masters of their specific skills and therefore become authoritative agents that activate and validate the creation ofpu taiana and their function. As the ornaments are carved, distinct Marquesan legends are rendered, an issue which will be discussed in the coming chapter. It is the tuhuka who transforms the raw material into the storytelling body that the pu taiana becomes. With this transformation, the tuhuka adorns the body of the pu taiana, mimicking the function that the wearer will perform as she ornaments her body. This ornamentation, in congruence with the Marquesan sense of body adormnent, simultaneously facilitates the visual presence of 51 Tuhuka, and its pan-Polynesian linguistic permutations (kahuna, tohunga, etc.), is defined as a person who is a master of a certain skill. A tuhuka also enjoys a heightened relationship with po, as mastery relates to a heightened understanding of mana. The tuhuka thusly deal with mana more directly and more often than Iaypeople, defining himlher as a controller of a point of entry/exit between the realms of ao and po. Also known as tuhuna in the Southern dialect. 31 mana and catalytically fuses the mana of the material and the wearer. Indeed the mana, inherent in the material chosen, is essential to the proper creation of pu taiana, but the skill of the tuhuka is also a necessary component. Although the tuhuka's mana is an essential element in the ornament's creation, it is not that the tuhuka releases any of his own mana in order to create the body of the pu taiana. The tuhuka's mana is essential for the proper construction of pu taiana in that there must be enough mana contained within himself in order to handle and create from the raw materiaL That is, the tuhuka's mastery ofhis skill must be significant enough not only to befit his elevated tapu statns as a tuhuka, but to be able to appropriately handle the material and subject matter. The process of ear piercing is also an integral procedure within the formation of the identity of pu taiana. As with the carving procedure, the tuhuka is the conductor of this process, carefully and precisely transforming the wearer's body. This procedure is especially dangerous, as it entails the release of blood from the head due to the perforation of the ear. Ear-piercing was a signal event in the life of every Marquesan child. The ear-piercing ceremony, known as tui i te puaina or oka, was performed when a child was six to ten years of age. Because it involved the spilling of human blood, the tui i te puaina was perfonned in a sacred place ... According to one source, for the children of the most powerful chiefs the tui i te puaina was accompanied by the offering ofa heana (human sacrifice).S2 Interestingly, the conductor of the tui i te puaina is also the tuhuka who would have carved the ta'a puaika,s3 or bone ear piercer (figs. 7 and 8). This conical dagger-shaped 'z Kjellgren and Ivory, 73. 53 Ta 'a puaika, or bone ear piercer in the Northern dialect, is also known as /a 'a puaina in the Southern dialect. Kjellgren and Ivory, 73. 32 implement, replete with tikiS4 carved into the handle, was ceremonially used by the tuhuka to pierce the wearer and therefore transfurm her body. Hence the ta 'a puaika also becomes a body in the process of tui i te puaina, as it acts as an extension and a visual indication of the tuhuka's mana. This aspect oftuhuka, augmented by the use of the ta'a puaina, elevates the spiritual and ceremonial meaning in the context of the tui i te puaina. It is in this way that the process of piercing the wearer's ears, abound with the mana associated with the letting of blood from the head, harnesses mana and reaffirms it in the wearer. This process thusly prepares the wearer to properly transfurm her body through the process of body ornamentation. 54 Tiki, and its pan-Polynesian linguistic permutations (ki'i, ti'i, etc.) translates to any image of an anthropomorphic figure. In the Marquesas, tiki also relates "directly with notions of virility, fertility, creativity and abundance." Carol Ivory, "Art and Aesthetics in the Marquesas Islands," Eric Kjellgren and Carol S. Ivory, Adorning the World: Art of the Marquesas Islands, (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005) 29. 33 Chapter 4 - The Narrative Body: Myth as Embedded Narrative Narratology andpu taiana Perhaps one of the most engaging aspects ofpu taiana is their narrative property. Pu taiana are related to Marquesan myths; the figures incorporated into their construction are actually characters in ancient legends. Just as legends function in other cultures, these Marquesan myths serve to explain and rationalize many of the earth's functions. But, with pu taiana, these Marquesan myths serve as sources of evidence that substantiate their function as active social bodies. Mieke Bal's work with narrativity theory, or narratology, relates to this relationship between myths and pu taiana. For this investigation, Bal's definition of narrative text will be utilized and is described as follows: A narrative text is a text in which an agent relates ('tells') a story in a particular medium, such as language, imagery, sound, buildings, or a combination thereof. A story is a fabula that is presented in a certain manner. Afabula is a series of logically and chronologically related events that are caused or experienced by actors. An event is the transition from one state to another state. Actors are agents that perform actions. They are not necessarily human. To act is defined here as to cause or to experience an event. 55 Through Bal's application of these definitions to the properties of primary narratives and embedded narratives, the technical operations of these myths are understood as embedded SS Mieke Bal, Narratology: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative, 2nd ed, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press Inc., 1997) 5. 34 fabula that determine and explicate the primary fabula. 56 Using this structure as a model, the social behavior of Marquesan women becomes the primary narrative and the particular myth associated with the pair of ornaments becomes the embedded narrative. The event and process of adorning the body with pu taiana then become the intermediary fabula that translate the information from an embedded to a primary function. It is in this manner that the associated myths become the embedded texts that are read by the viewer and subsequently contextualize the social behavior of Marques an women. Therefore, the process of adorning the body with these active social agents serves to explicate the primary story of Marquesan female social behavior. The analysis of these myths is essential to the comprehension of the total experience and it is within this mode that the relationships between the embedded and primary narratives must be analyzed. Of the four known themes associated with pu taiana,57 two will be analyzed here, one is the myth of Akaui's Visit to Ua Pou and Pahua-Titi's Two Daughters, the second is a section of the myth concerning the life of Kae. This selection of only two myths, versus the inclusion of all four themes, allows for a more extensive study of the relationships formed by their integration in pu taiana. To avoid over-complication and a reiterative study to von den Steinen' s approach, these two will be utilized in this investigation to explicate two fundamental functions of the female within Marquesan society. " Ibid., 52-56. 57 Von den Steinen has recorded these fuur themes as the theme of the indifferent companions, the loving couple, the vehine janaua, or the woman who dies in childbirth, and the girls on the swing. Von den Steinen, 137-144. 35 Akaui's Visit to Ua Pon and Pahna-Titi's Two Daughters One myth associated with pu taiana is the story of Akaui and Pahua-Titi's two daughters (fig. I). The pu taiana that utilize this myth adhere to the general fonn of a four-tiki composition. Von den Steinen has contended that the two outer figures shown in profile are two slaves ofToaetini, and the two figures between their heads are the two daughters ofPahua-Titi. In some cases, a fifth figure is carved on the spur at the back of the slave that mes away from the cap. This figure is argued by von den Steinen to be Akaui.58 Interestingly, some specimens (fig. 9) integrate the fifth figure centrally beneath the two daughters. Ivory suggests that in this composition the daughters are shown in the moment of their fatal fall, as their two heads are shown horizontally, facing upwards59. Therefore, the fifth figure must be Akaui, positioned beneath the falling girls, as the myth suggests. A six-tiki composition (fig. 4) is also indicative of this myth and does not seem to incorporate the figure of Akaui, but rather displays two images of each of the sisters, as well as the two slaves of Toaetini. In a series of events, the two sisters are first shown atop of their swing and then in their descent or perhaps in their death, as their heads are inverted beneath the swing. According to this myth, the legendary chief Akaui, from Hanapaaoa, located on the southern Marquesan island of Hiva 'Oa, visited a man named Toaetini on the island of Uapou. It is here that Akaui is mistreated and subsequently takes his revenge upon 58 Von den Steinen, 145. Carol Ivory concurs with this information. Kjellgren and Ivory, 78-79. 59 Kjellgren and Ivory, 79. 36 Pahua-Titi's daughters. This myth, originally recorded by von den Steinen, is translated here by Marta Langridge. Akaui went to Uapou and exchanged names with Toaetini The earth-oven glowed for the pig; but the pig had a tough snout: the meat had been eaten a long time ago and only the hard snout (the skull) had been left. Toaetini had melted the fut from the pig. Akaui said, 'There is no fut in this hard, hollow skull.' Akaui called the bird, which was supposed to bring the fish, but it did not come. Akaui called the rat, which was to bring him kawa, but it did not bring any. He called the koao bird to bring water, but it did not bring any. Toaetini sent a man: 'Go and look for the /roao bird!' He went to the water, but the koao was dead. Then he went to the kawa hut the rat was dead. Akaui said then to Toaetini, 'Is this your pig, my name-friend? It is a long time since it was baked, no fut flows from the hard hollow head. I am the chief, I feed my pig, Manaiaanui. It is coming to me and to you, my name-friend. Your men should chop the wood in order to bake the pig!' One day passed and the men chopped wood, two days passed and they chopped wood, three days passed and they chopped wood. Toaetini said, 'Where is the large pig which we are going to bake with this wood?' Akaui said, 'Dig the earth oven!' The earth-oven was large and the men said, 'It is enough.' Akaui said, 'Carry on for a little while longer!' They continued to dig the earth-oven and the men said, 'Where is the large pig which we are going to bake in this earth-oven?' Akaui said, 'Pick up the logs of wood!' The logs of wood were built over the earth-oven. 'Bring green branches to cover the pig with.' Akaui called from Uapou to the pig which was in Hanapaaoa. The pig's ears heard Akaui's voice. Akaui called out, 'Come here, come here!' The pig in Hanapaaoa heard it; it climbed up, it pointed its ears towards the mountain ridge - the voice did not come from there. The pig pointed its ears towards the sea and the pig's ears heard Akaui's voice. The pig swam across the sea and landed in Uapou. The valley of Paumea bay was the earth-oven! Toaetini with his men saw the pig and they were all amazed. The pig put his head on Akaui's leg. Akaui said to Manaiaanui, 'Die!' Manaiaanui died. The men took it, removed it from the earth-oven and divided it. Akaui said, 'The head is for me, you take the trunk!' Akaui 37 drank kawa. Toaetini said to the two daughters of Pahua Titi, 'Both of you piss into Akaui's kawa cup.' Pahua Titi's daughters sat on a swing: 'Pahi the red, and Pahi the white, swung from the peak of Ave, hohoho ... !' they saw how Akaui drank just then from his kawa cup and the two daughters of Pahua-Titi pissed. Akaui threw the kawa cup away, he did not drink; it was full of urine. Akaui's anger was great. He was very angry with the two daughters of Pahua-Titi. Akaui said to his men, 'All of you get ready to go to Hanapaaoa.' They pushed the boat across the beach to the sea; they swam and let drop the boat anchor. The other boat went to Hanapaaoa. Two warriors went: Numinumi and Hoahoa. They reached Hauapaaoa and found Ikeike's two stone balls. They returned to Uapou the same night. Akaui called for kawa the two daughters of Pahua-Titi heard this and stepped onto the swing. Akaui lifted his kawa cup. Numinumi and Hoahoa took Ikeike's two stone balls and hurled them at the two daughter of Pahua-Titi. They hit the branch of the gardenia tree to which the awing was tied, and the branch broke. Pahua Titi's daughters plunged dowu and died. Akaui left then and rowed to Hanapaaoa. When Akaui landed in Hanapaaoa, he wept for the pig. 60 Von den Steinen divulges that the purpose of this myth is to explain the geological and meteorological phenomena in the Te Ava area ofUapon,61 but a further reading of these characters and their actions reveals various other intertextual relationships to pu taiana. One of these relationships, previously discussed in Chapter 3, deals with the importance ofMauaiaanui as a sacrificial figure in conjunction with the use of boar tusk as a medium of pu taiana. It is in this way that the comprehension of these types of intertextual associations between the embedded and primary narratives is crucial to the thorough appreciation ofpu taiana as active social bodies. 60 Langridge, trans. and Terrell, ed., 33-35. 61 Ibid., 32. 38 The symbol of the pig's skull in this story also retains a potent link to the context of Marquesan society, in that pu taiana were worn especially during /wina. Toaetini's offering of the old pig's skull to Akaui is seen as an insult because the head was not only viewed to be the most delectable part of the pig but was also the seat of the animal's mana. 62 Therefore, through the embedded narrative of Akaui seizing Manaiaanui's head for himself, the relationship to the primary narrative is enacted. This event displays the Marquesan social dynamic of mana and the ability of the individual to personally enhance it, which is exhibited through the use ofpu taiana. Toaetini, through his acts of revenge, also evidences this social dynamic, as status rivalry prevails as an integral element of /wina and society as a whole.63 Pabua-Titi's daughters are fundamental characters of this embedded narrative, as they are the enactors of Toaetini's revenge. These two girls urinate in Akaui's kawa cup in an act of revenge that aims to disgrace Akaui This act of retaliation against Akaui's show of superiority similarly references revenge, but may also refer to the social role of women during /wina. The social restrictions on women, due to tapu, inhibit them from partaking in some, lfnot many, aspects of /wina. 64 The subsequent fatal punishment of the two girls displays the severity of the inappropriateness of their actions. Although Toaetini requested them to urinate in Akaui's kawa cup, the fact that their actions were unfitting for Marquesan females is the main behavioral digression, severe enough to be punishable by death. Therefore, this embedded story of Pahua-Titi's two daughters becomes a visual reminder to women in pu taiana, a guide that acts through the social 62 Ibid., 32. 63 Thomas, 88. 64 Handy, 207. 39 bodies of pu taiana in order to demonstrate how to conduct one's self within koina and society. It is in this manner that this function of pu taiana adheres to Bars definition of embedded and primary fabuIa, considering that the embedded story serves to explicate the primary story, or actual roles of women in Marquesan society. Kae and the Gift of Natural Childbirth Another such myth that serves to explicate the Marquesan female through its inclusion in pu taiana is the story of Kae and the gift of natural childbirth (fig. 10). The pu taiana that incorporate this myth are composed of four complete figures as wel~ as according to von den Steinen. 6S These four are the woman who is giving birth, and her three female attendants. There is a fifth head that either appears either beneath the head of one of the four complete figures or on the bottom of the entire composition. These pu taiana are highly abstracted, seemingly to suggest the intense transformation involved during the process of childbirth. This story, an excerpt from a larger story that details Kae's life, identifies him as the bringer of natural childbirth. This section displays Kae's relationships with the females in his life, namely his daughter and his confrontation of the all-female tribe Nuu-Mau-Toe. Kae lived with his wife Hina-A-Makauu and his brother-in law Tanaoa-A-Makauu. They both went to catch bonito. They caught bonitos and put them into the canoe: twenty bonitos from Kae and two from Tanaoa. Tanaoa thought: twenty from him, two from me. Tanaoa threw the oar into the sea. Tanaoa said, 'Friend, our oar fell into the water!' ., Von den Steinen, 140. 40 Kae did not swim after it. Tanaoa threw the water-scoop and again he said, 'Friend, our water-scoop fell in! Quickly, go after it!' Kae jumped off the canoe and swam after the water scoop. Kae swam and swam. Tanaoa rowed the canoe and landed in Atuona. Kae landed at Ae Hoa. He saw Peui-Kau; they lived there together. A child was born, a girl Her name was Hiva-Ani Both parents brought her up and the daughter grew up. A feast for Tiu and Ahu Tini [two trIbes] was being prepared, a sea feast with swimming games (taiaa). The wife said to the husband 'Ah, what ugly hair our daughter has!' Kae took the girl, but he did not take her to the tapu place, he cut her hair in the creek. The two grandmothers, Uehine-Hakua and Uehine-Hakue, saw it and said, 'The little girl's head is shorn in a profane place!' Kae put the shark tooth in his ear. They went to the swimming feast. Kae found himself in the jaws of a shark. Kae did not think of the sharp tooth in his ear. He dreamt of his mother. The mother asked, 'What is the thing in your ear?' Then Kae remembered and took the shark's tooth from his ear. Kae cut open the fish's body. The fish felt pain and threw himself about and Kae got out from the body of the fish. He landed in Vai-Noi at the trIbe of the Nuu-Mau-Toe. He went up to the climbing plants and warmed himself. Hina-1-Vai-Noi woke up and thought: that thing in my dream was a man. Hina went down to the beach. She saw Kae. She asked Kae, 'I am asking the question, what kind of man are you?' Kae said, 'It is not up to me, the stranger, to say my name - it is up to you since you are the mistress here!' And the woman declared, 'r am Hina-1-Vai-Noi!' The man said, 'I am Kae!' 'Let us live together!' The woman walked up the road, the man through the bush. Both came to the house and the woman hid Kae. Hina lay with Kae. Hina moaned with ecstacy. All the women who lay at the pandanus moaned. All the women heard Hina-1-Vai-Noi's moaning, but it was different. They said, 'We moan differently.' All the women asked, 'He, Hina! What is your branch like? Does your branch stand upright?' Hina said, 'What is your branch like?' All the women said, 'A branch pointing downwards.' One woman said, 'r think that there is a man with Hina.' A messenger came to Hina, 'One of our women is in labour.' The two goddesses appeared in the house of the pregnant woman. The names of the two goddesses were Po-Hini and Po-Hana. Kae said, 'What 41 does it mean?' His wife said, 'One of our women is about to give birth: they are to cut her open.' Kae said again, 'Why do you have this custom of cutting open?' Hina said 'Childbrith is no pleasure. We have no other way, we always cut open.' Kae said to Hina, 'Go there immediately! As soon as you arrive, tie a rope, one end to the front wall, the other end to the back wall. Prepare the place for the birth of the child. Roll a bundle from the loincloth and put it under the bottom. Let one person sit at the front and one at the back. You will see the water flow, the sac burst and then comes the child.' Hina went up to the house of the pregnant woman. Hina saw the goddesses who wanted to cut the child out. She said, 'One moment! Stop!' Hina took a rope and tied it up in the house. She prepared the place for the birth of the child. She packed the loincloth under the anus. She brought one woman to the back and one to the front. She said, 'Now press!' they pressed, the water flowed, the sac burst, then the child came. She took the sharp edged stone and cut the umbilical cord. She tied the end ofthe umbilical cord to the mother's toes. The mother shook the afterbirth out. The goddesses were furious. 'Where did these new things come to us from?' the women, however, thought, 'Hina has a man.' Hina returned to her husband. The husband asked 'Is the child born?' Hina said, 'Yes, without you our kind would have died!' Kae said, 'It is always like that! One presses and the child is bom. We have the custom of giving the breast. With your custom of cutting the mother open, so she dies, where is the breast for the child?' They lived together. There was nothing to eat anymore. Kae said to his wife, 'Go up and keep the women back! I will go to the breadfruit trees.' Hina went and kept all the women back. One woman, however, went tbrough the bushes and saw Kae in the breadfruit tree. The woman said, 'Ah, here is the man!' Kae climbed down from the breadfruit tree, took the breadfruit and carried them home. The woman arrived first at the door. Kae put down the breadfruit. The woman embraced Kae and said, 'Let us lie together!' Kae said, 'No! Hina-I-Vai-Noi would find us.' The woman was persistent and said, 'Let us two lie together! You are a handsome man!' Kae said again, 'No! my wife would find us!' This woman went away tbrough the bushes. Hina came down to Kae. The woman came to her girl friends and said, 'Hina has a husband! The man is handsome, 42 handsome, handsome! He is nice, nice, nice! He is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! His face is charming, charming!' All the women said, 'Our friend is bad, lying with the man and not letting us have him!' From then on Hina and Kae lived openly together.66 The main referent provided by this embedded narrative is obviously the event when Kae iustructs Hina-I-Vai-Noi on the procedure of natural childbirth, providing all succeeding females with life, rather than death, after pregnancy. This legendary gift from the mythical Kae may be viewed as validating male supremacy within Marquesan !wino and society, portraying Kae's natural knowledge of natural childbirth in stark contrast with the ignorance of the Nuu-Mau-Toe women. The fact that a man introduces natural childbirth, a function of the female body, to these women depicts the women of Nuu- Mau-Toe as incapable of sustaining a proper social system on their own. This embedded narrative decidedly displays the inability of women, rather than emphasizing the intelligence of men, although it is evident that male intelligence is believed to be innate. But, as the story ofKae and Hina's lives ensues, Kae ages and Hina is able to regenerate her body as a younger version of herself. This supernatural power seemingly belies the display of the inability of women, and delineates the Marquesan female as vehinehane, or wild female spirit. 66 Langridge, trans., and Terrell, ed., 84-87. 43 Gender Relations and the Dangerous Female Vehinehane are female spirits that are to be feared, as their wild nature serves to threaten proper Marquesan social order.67 However, it is not that the vehinehane are feared because their awesome power, but rather their adeptness to ruin the correct functioning of Marquesan society. The belief in their existence seemingly stems from the Marquesan conceptual framework regarding the female and the tapu system Nicholas Thomas expounds upon the subject of the Marquesan sense of dangerous femininity, which correlates with the rear of such figures as vehinehane. Women were used in various contexts, such as upon the completion of some task, to effect a controlled removal of tapu. The problem was that the same operations could take place in an uncontrolled way. It seems that the vagina was dangerous because tapu could be absorbed back into po through it. Ifa woman passed over a chiefs body, or over some tapu product, it was as though his condition, or that of the maker or user of the product, could evaporate or somehow be absorbed hack into po: he would become blind, leprous, or infirm... This establishes that even menstrua1 blood was contextually variable in its effect. It certainly appears to have usually been threatening to tapu states, but the danger arose not from a possibility of some kind of 'contamination', but rather from the fact that an uncontrolled movement between po and ao made that channel for movement active. The risk that a tapu state could be destroyed was presumably increased. 68 Thomas' elucidation of actual gender relations to the tapu system, rather than a perceived gender hierarchy, displays that the female was not feared due to her inadequate ability to handle mana and tapu, but rather for her function as a figure of transition between ao and 67 ''The skewed male-female retio led to anxiety and the fear of being eaten, a hatred of women and sexual dissatisfitction, among Marquesan men, which in twn led to the secondary institntions of taboos against women, hostile representation of women in the vehinehane (savage female spirits) and homosexuality." Dening, 280. 68 Thomas, 71. 44 po. The vehinehane and narratives such as the tale of Kae and the gift of natural childbirth are therefore rendered to be reactions to the potency of the Marquesan female. Therefore, the utilization of this narrative in the body ofpu taiana displays the dangerous nature of the relationship between the genders regarding tapu. Just as the embedded story of Akaui and Pahua-Titi's two daughters serves to explicate the primary story of Marquesan female social comportment, so does the tale of Kae and the gift of natural childbirth. That is, this belief in vehinehane, and the oblique reference to them through this tale, operates as an embedded text that reminds Marquesan women how to properly conduct themselves within society and reinforces the restriction that must be enforced in order to preserve proper tapu function. Although the tone of this portion of the myth is particularly derisive towards women, the event when Kae cuts his daughter Hiva-Ani's hair connotes a much different aspect of the female nature. Kae irreverently cuts Hiva-Ani's hair in an inappropriate area, much to the dismay ofthe child's two grandmothers. Hair, as it originates from the head, is appreciated as a tapu substance69 and must be dealt with appropriately to avoid punishment. E. S. CraighiIl Handy divulges that, "the punishment for the breaking of tapu was supposed to be sickness, or sudden death in some such manner as by drowning, or by being eaten by sharks.,,70 Kae, in his digression against the tapu system, is subjected to this sitnation in which he would receive his fatal punishment, but is fundamentally saved by a woman. Through his dream, Kae's ultimate fate is divulged through his mother's reminder to use the shark's tooth in his ear to cut the attacking shark 69 Thomas, 65. 70 Handy, 263. 45 in order to escape. The embedded narrative of Kae's transgression, consequent punishment, and eventual salvation relates to the responsibility of women to abide the tapu structure and their complimentary nature to men. Without the proper submission of women to the tapu structure, men cannot effectively function within this structure and society as a whole. Therefore, this embedded text refers to the complimentary duality of the female-male dynamic within the tapu structure. The nse of the rope during the birthing may also be indicative of the adherent uature of male-female relations in the Marquesas. Not only does this rope symbolize the inextricable relationship between males and females, but it also refers to the string that often connected pu taiana along the nape of the neck (figs. 11 and 12). This adjoining of the two ornaments suggests the interdependent bond between the two sexes, regarding the tapu structure, but may also serve to remind the wearer of her restricted role within the tapu structure and therefure society. In conjnnction with the affiliation with vehinehane, this embedded event of the use of the rope during childbirth displays that the female, replete with her wild and dangerous associations, requires preventative measures during such an event. The opening of her womb necessitates such restraint so that the tapu structure does not become upset. It is evident through this analysis of Marquesan myths that their function as embedded narratives is crucial to the primary narrative offemale social behavior. Within this primary narrative, both the female body and the pu (aiana become agents that enact the intertextuality between myth and social behavior. The ornamentation of the female body with pu taiana becomes inextricably linked between these two narratives as it 46 allows the embedded stories to be translated to actual social behavior. Without these associations, the comprehensive utility of pu taiana would be lost, as they serve to be visual representations, as well as enactors, of the female role within the Marquesan tapu system. This is due to the fact that their function, although restrictive in nature, renders them to operate as facilitators of the social structure. It is through these embedded narratives that pu taiana thusly become active bodies within Marquesan social structure, as agents of the female role in the tapu system. 47 Chapter 5 - Pu taiana as the Marquesan Female Pu taiana, as independent bodies, are directly indicative ofthe Marquesan female and her function within society. Although it has been contended by Carol Ivory that pu taiana were worn by both men and women, 71 the large majority of scholarship indicates otherwise. This contested filct, however, does not affect pu taiana's affiliations with the Marquesan female. Even if these ear omaments were to be worn by a Marquesan male, the visual representations of the female would remain cogent. The most convincing of these arguments stems from the embedded narratives linked with the thematic constructions of pu taiana. Even supposing the possibility of male wearers, pu taiana remain fundamentally female through their narrative associations. As aforementioned, the importance of pu taiana as synecdochical for the Marquesan female lies in their ability to reinforce tapu structure and therefore Marquesan societal stmcture. But, this function ofpu taiana as an active female body also relates to the ability of the female to perpetuate the circle of life. Females, although often ostracized by the male population, are undoubtedly viewed to be a foundational filctor in the creation of life. As Greg Dening explains: "In their own model of their universe Enata categorized the lower level of the firmament, Te papa'ao, as female, and the upper level, Te papa 'una, as male.'.72 Therefilre, it is apparent that through this gendered construction of the universe that Marquesan men wished to subjugate the female, 71 Kjellgren and Ivory, 77. 72 Dening, 90. 48 permanently placing her beneath himself. But, this accreditation of the earth to the female gender allows for the argument that the Marquesan female functions as a reference to the fecundity of the earth. This gendering of the universe is also prevalent in other Eastern Polynesian societies, as in Aotearoa, where Papa, the earth. finds her male counterpart in the sky, Rangi. In other words, it was the basic Polynesian concept of the evolution of the universe, with Te Kore (The Void) the originating point, and "Earth Mother" and "Sky Father" appearing as [Papa] and [Rangi]. In this cosmogony, the first human being was a female whose body was moulded out of earth by Tane.73 This direct correlation between the Maori female, the earth, and the creation of life is indicative of the type of relationship enacted through Marquesan beliefs regarding the inception of mankind. Although Marquesans ultimately consider the primary ancestor of mankind to be a male, the linkage between the earth and the female retains its potency, as in Aotearoa. In the Marquesan belief system, the mythical figure Tiki is attnbuted as being the principal progenitor of the Marquesan people. But, as is elucidated through a particular myth concerning the creation of the Marquesan people, Tiki first fashioned a wife out of the earth in order to pro generate the rest of mankind. 74 Therefore, the Marquesan female constitutes the primary figure in the creation of life, and the Marquesan male is designated as the enactor of life. This complimentary duality thusly reinforces the thematic statement made through the Akaui myth associated with particular pu taiana, as 73 Dorothy Barrere, "Revisions and Adulterations io Polyoesian Creation Myths," Polynesian Culture History: Essays io Honor of Kenneth P. Emory. eds. Genevieve A. Highland, Roland W. Force, Alan Howard, Marion Kelly, and Yosihiko H. Siooto, (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1967) 107. 74 Hiroa, Vikiogs of the Sunrise, 152. 49 well as the larger leitmotif that encompasses the overall corpus of pu taiana, which is their function as the visual indicators of the Marquesan female societal role. Complimentary Duality in hakakai and pu taiana This concept of complimentary duality through a relationship between the male and female gender roles in the Marquesas also applies to the connection between men's ivory ear ornaments and pu taiana. These ear ornaments, called hakakai,75 consist of two types, small (fig. 13), which are generally carved from boar's tusk and large (figs. 14 and 15), which are generally carved from sperm whale ivory.76 The smaller hakakai are comprised of two carved components, the tridacna cap and the ivory shaft, similar to the construction of pu taiana. The larger hakakai are carved from a single piece of sperm whale ivory, a material that is also pertinent to pu taiana. But, divergent from the intricately carved shafts of pu !aiana, hakakai integrate one, perhaps two, small tiki. Of the two types of hakakai, it has been argued that the small specimens were worn by both sexes, but the more recent scholarship, as from Carol Ivory and Eric Kjellgren, has contended this assertion and has questioned the possibility of females wearing hakakai.77 Therefore, hakakai, and their use by males to adorn themselves during !wina, may be viewed as the male connterpart to the female pu taiana. When viewed from this 7S These ear ornaments are called ha 'akai in the southern Marquesas and are known as hakakai in the northern Marquesas. Von den Steinen, 23-24. 7. Kjellgren and Ivory, 74. 77 Ibid., 74-75. 50 standpoint, the polar nature of Marquesan societal structure reaffirms pu taiana as synecdochical for the female. This separation of the gender roles is definitely tainted with misogynism, but when reinterpreted through the integrality of the female to the Marquesan societal whole, the function ofpu taiana may be considered to be an afilllIllttion offeminine power. The Marquesan female finds her power to be seated in her function as a repository of social information, especially through the use ofpu taiana. The embedded narratives included in their bodies transform the female body into a revisualization of Marquesan social practice, as explicated through myth. As these myths become rearticulated during the pu taiana's implementation during various /Wina, the whole of the Marquesan social body reaffirms its tapu structure. This reaffirmation allows fur the basic Marquesan concept of the whole to in turn be confirmed through the complimentary nature of male and female roles. This relationship does not fucus on the differences between the genders, but rather on how the two compliment each other. Without the Marquesan female and her associated properties, the Marquesan male could not effectively operate within the tapu structure, and vice versa. Therefure, the distinction between the two genders becomes deemphasized through their interdependence and the female thusly gains more agency within the Marquesan social system. Nicholas Thomas elaborates on this subject in his discussion of Marques an gender and hierarchy. In the Marquesas, gender was one of the most significant hierarchical principles, but it was one which was cut across and muted by other categories in various ways... If the non-tapu character of most women related to the dynamics of movement between po and ao, rather than any essential female substance, it is understandable that certain women, 51 particularly those with personal tapu, were less constrained than others by the prohibitions of the tapu system. 78 Thomas' evaluation of the female gender role in the Marquesas seemingly diverges from the restrictive properties that pu taiana enact. However, when it is reconsidered as an explanation of the association that the female retains between ao and po, it is understood that the Marquesan female is a figure of transition. Hence, pu taiana become directly indicative of this feminine dynamic, as they revisualize the narratives that compose the female figure. Embodiment of the Aggregate Female This notion of the Marquesan female as a repository of social infurmation is also substantiated by the ability of the female to give birth. This physical function of the female parallels her function within society and the tapu system. Although the Marquesao female is viewed to be dangerous, this fecund aspect of her role defines her as a bridge between ao and po. Her proximity to po in ao substantiates the Marquesan belief that females are indeed dangerous, as the creation of life indicates the release of wild, raw mana from the interior to the secular world. But, this danger becomes deemphasized when it is reaIized that the female is the primary figure of containment in this process. Therefore, the Marquesan female's ability to nurture and contain raw mana is paralleled by her function as a repository for social information when wearing pu taiana. 78 Thomas, 74. 52 Pu taiana also embody the female through the fuct that they were inherited through matrilineal lines.79 This genealogical body creates an aggregate body of the female that is symbolized through the use ofpu taiana. Parallel to the use of embedded narratives, the genealogical aspect ofpu taiana creates an encompassing narrative of their ownership. Therefore, it is not only the myths that they retell, but also the more abstract story of their existence throughout time. In this way, it is evident why pu taiana utilize story-telling in their function, because their actual physical bodies are actors in their histories throughout their time. 79 Linton, 430. 53 Conclusion Problems Although the evidence for comprehending pu taiana as synecdochical for the Marquesan female is cogent on many levels, there are definite problems in revealing the true potency of these objects as such. The amount of available information specific to this subject area is relatively low as the majority of the research completed on pu taiana has been formal analysis, such as from Handy, Linton and von den Steinen. Von den Steinen does offer a more comprehensive reading of pu taiana, as he includes massive amounts of description regarding their thematic principles, but his work does not delve into gender relations. Scholars such as Dening and Thomas have definitely approached this area of Marquesan culture in that they have illuminated many dynamics of their society, but have limited information as to the exact functioning of pu taiana in societal structures. Therefore there are major difficulties in ascertaining accurate information concerning the physical operations ofpu taiana in conjunction with their social functions. Due to this unavailability of pertinent information, this investigation seeks to carefully incorporate the two foci in order to fully realize the comprehensive function ofpu taiana in the Marquesan culture. The complicated nature ofpu taiana is also problematic in that the minute details of Marquesan cultural customs become integral in ascertaining correct and cogent arguments. This aspect is compounded with the fact that Marquesan culture, although it adheres to many Eastern Polynesian standards, diverges from many cultural norms in the region. The Marquesas, although categorically an Eastern Polynesian society, is also a 54 local phenomenon in that many social structures deviate from that of their neighbors. Since many facets of the Marquesan culture are Eastern Polynesian anomalies, including pu taiana, the applicability of foreign examples becomes extremely narrowed. Hence, careful comparisons may be made to other Eastern Polynesian societies, valuable tools in aiding cultural comprehension, but in limited capacities. Importance ofpu taiana and the Female Body It is invariably true that the examination ofpu taiana and its function as a female body is formidably challenging, but it is nonetheless crucial to the comprehension of females in the Marquesas. These objects, as they are indicative of the female and her role within society, are inextricably associated with the structure thereof. The Marquesan female herself is an anomaly in that she is extremely powerfu~ yet generally socially repressed. This feature of her role then becomes veiled with cultural nuances that obscurely relate to her potency and agency within society. Therefore, without a thorough investigation of pu taiana and all that they are linked to and the numerous levels of interpretation, a comprehensive study of the Marquesan cultural dynamics would not be complete. These items belie their size with the amount of narrative, materia~ and social relationships that they enact through the female adorning her body with them. Therefore, this investigation, although specific to pu taiana and the female, becomes essential to the thorough comprehension of Marquesan society. 55 Further Investigation Through the process of this study, many topics have proven themselves worthy of further inquiry. Subjects such as a comparison between Marquesan tattoo and body ornaments may serve to establish a better understanding of koina and their roles in temporary transformation through body adornment. The role of the Marquesan female and oral tradition, may also prove to be a significant area of study, especially in conjunction with the rest of Eastem Polynesia, but the considerable lack of information in this area may inhibit such an investigation. Although studies in the Marquesan culture lack the resources of other cultures in Eastern Polynesia, the viability and provocative nature of such topics present an area of research that has yet to be approached in contemporary scholarship, excepting the work of such scholars as Carol Ivory. In hopes to act as a springboard of inquiry, this investigation attempts to not only delve into its own area of study, but also to present new subjects with which further research may be made. 56 Figures fi g. I pu (aiana, "Akaui and Pahua-Titi's Two Daughters," Marquesas Islands80 80 Kj ell gren and Ivory, 78. 57 fig . 2 staff god, Cook Islands 81 " Hooper, 223. 58 fi g. 3 tall drum, Austra llslands82 " Ibid .. 200. 59 fig. 4 plI !(liana, "Akaui and Pahua-Titi's Two Dau ghters," Marquesas Islands83 113 [m age taken in 1972 at the Harvard University Peabody Musellm by Jerom e Feldman, Ph .D. Jerom e Feldman, Personal COllllllunicati on, 28 Mar. 2008. 60 fig. 5 lei niho palaoa, Hawaii an IsiandsS4 " I-looper, I I I. 61 fig. 6 lei niho po/aoa, Hawa iian Island s85 85 Ibid. 62 fig. 7 fa 'a puaika, Marquesas Isiands R6 86 Kj ell gren and Ivory, 73. 63 fig. 8 87 fa '0 puaika, Marquesas Islands " Ibid. 64 fi g. 9 pu laiana, " Akaui and Pahua-Titi's Two Daughters," Marquesas Islands88 " Ibid., 78 . 65 fi g. 10 plI taiana, " Kae and the Gift of Natural Childbirth," Marquesas Is lands89 " Ibid. 66 fi g. II 90 pll l a iana with connec ti ve g lass bead string, Marquesas Islands 90 Image taken in July of2007 at th e Bett y Cuningham Gallery in New York by Jerome Feldman, Ph.D. Feldman. 67 fig . 12 9 pUlGiana with connective g lass bead string, Marq uesas Islands ! 9J Kjell gren and Ivory, 77. 68 fig. 13 hakakai, Marq uesas Islands92 " Ibid., 75 . 69 fig. 14 hakakai, Marquesas Islands93 9.1 Ibid. 70 fig. 15 hakakai, Marquesas Islands94 94 Hooper, 159. 71 Glossary ao The 'lightness' or secular realm. It is associated with man's cohabitation with the land and the function of the land as a necessary element in sustaining life. Tapu objects or topics are entities within which mana is contained in the realm of ao. Aotearoa Also known as New Zealand. hakakai Marquesan male ear ornaments. Also known as ha 'akai in the Southern dialect ivipo'o Marquesan ornaments made from the bones of slain enemies. kawa Also known as kava, it is the plant that produces the root that is used to produce the drink of the same name. This intoxicating drink is found across Polynesia. koina The general term for any Marquesan celebratory feast. lei niho palaoa Hawaiian necklaces made of plaited human hair and a sperm whale ivory pendant in the shape of a hook. It is fastened at the nape of the neck with sennit. mana A pan-Polynesian term that encapsulates the essential life-force of all beings, animate and inanimate. It is associated with the realm of po, the spiritual realm from which mana stems. All interior substances are associated with the essence of mana. All exterior substances are associated with the containment or control of mana. This containment is crucial fur the effective flow of mana, as it is its very nature to be a raw and unpredictable source of energy. Containment is also necessary for raw forms of mana to exist in ao, the secular realm. mau A large-scale koina. po The "darkness" or spiritual realm. It is associated with mana, as po is the realm from which mana stems. pu A Marquesan term that may be used for: 1. generic name for musical instruments; 2. seashell 72 pii A Hawaiian term that may be used to indicate wind instruments. pu taiana Marquesan female ear ornaments. Also known as pu taiata in the Southern dialect. puiu The frontal cap ofpu taiana, made from seashell, most probably tridacna. ra~a The Tahitian term for the tapu system. Rapanui Also known as Easter Island. ta'apuaika Marquesan ear piercing instrument made of bone. Also known as ta 'a puaina in the Southern dialect. tapu A pan-Polynesian term that relates to anything that retains a high potency of mana and is therefore dangerous to individuals with less mana. High-ranking individuals would be allowed to handle such topics, as their respective amounts of mana would dictate. Its restrictive nature serves as a structure for many Polynesian cultures. tau 'a The most elite form of Marquesan religious specialists. Te Henua 'Enana "The land of the people," also known as Te Fenua 'Enata in the Southern dialect. It is the term that Marquesan natives use to refer to the Marquesas Islands. Tepapa 'aD The Marquesan term for the upper level of the universe. Associated with the female. Tepapa 'una The Marquesan term for the lower level of the universe. Associated with the male. tiki Marquesan term for any image of an anthropomorphic figure. tuhuka Marquesan term for a person who is a master of a certain skill A tuhuka also enjoys a heightened relationship with po, as mastery relates to a heightened understanding of mana. 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