Cannibalism in Paradise, a photo from French Polynesia, Other

Photographer's Note

Five years ago we sailed out of Los Angeles on the Seabourn Odyssey bound for Tahiti. (My job was as a lecturer onboard the elegant ship.) After traveling for a week, we crossed the Equator into the South Pacific.

The islands of the South Pacific (just like the Hawaiian Islands north of the equator) are as close to paradise as anywhere on earth, but with an ambiguous caveat of their own. Nuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquises Archipelago and belongs to France. The islands were settled around the time of Christ 2000 years ago by Polynesians sailing east from Korea, Taiwan and East Asia. The settlements of the Hawaiian Islands, Society Islands (including Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora), as well as the Cook Islands, and New Zealand coming considerably, dating perhaps as late as 1200. Food became of prime importance. Breadfruit was the staple, but taro, plantain, and manioc also played a big part. For animal protein, fish was the main source; Pigs, chickens and dogs were also cultivated, and hunted when they took to the wild. But they too were in short supply in feeding a population estimated to be between 50,000-100,000.

The gruesome practice of cannibalism took place among the Polynesians, but the question of why it started in the first place is open to speculation. In Central America during the same period the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztecs tribes also practiced cannibalism, that is until the Spanish Conquistadors helped put and end to it. (Of course, they introduced their own grizzly practices, including slavery, diseases where no resistance existed among the natives, and forced conversion to Catholicism, etc). In Central America, among theories a variety of theories is that the priest-kings realized that the humans required animal proteins and could not survive strictly as vegetarians (probably not true). Another theory is that it started as ritual cannibalism involving the absorption of the physical strength and courage of the people they vanquished (probably true).On our visit to Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa, two of the Marquises islands of the Archipelago, we saw the graves of two Western celebrities Jacques Brell, the Belgian-born French crooner who lived in the mid-20th century, and the immortal post-Impressionist Paul Gauguin who lived in the late 19th century.

On our visit to Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa, two of the Marquises islands of the Archipelago, was in visiting a cemetery. In Nuku Hiva, we saw the last resting place for two Western celebrities Jacques Brell, the Belgian-born French crooner from the mid-20th century, and the immortal post-Impressionist Paul Gauguin the turn of the 20th century. I will upload photos of their graves a workshop.

Warm regards to my friends on Trekearth.

Tue, ikeharel, holmertz, pajaran, PaulVDV, cornejo, worldcitizen, jemaflor, Fis2, Royaldevon, jhm, COSTANTINO has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Tue (46444) 2017-03-05 6:30

Hello Bulent,
A beautiful view of this island and the tall palm trees. The mountains in the background look great as well, especially in those foggy circumstances.
Lars

ikeharel (82068) 2017-03-05 7:13

Hello Bulent,
The place really has all the elements of paradise, yet - the misty summit of the mountain added a bit of mystery to this fabulous place.
Well taken with the tall palm-trees, and your note about the place is very interesting knowledge learnt.
Have a nice Sunday,
Ike

lousat (100266) 2017-03-05 7:17

Hi Bulent,interesting note about the cannibalism but a magnificent pic too,and this is only one of the most that i'm just seen on facebook,great report from this paradise,well done! Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

holmertz (61748) 2017-03-05 7:23

Hello Bülent,
I always find it slightly absurd to see photos from the South Pacific, Indian Ocean och the Caribbean labelled as "Europe". But those are the TE rules. Apart from that anomaly this is an attractive view, as exotic as any European could ask for. The tall palms form an attractive foreground to the view of the green mountain partly covered by the mist. But i think you forgot to add the workshops.
Kind regards,
Gert

dta (84450) 2017-03-05 9:11

hello Bulent ,
beautiful view of a lush green tropical landscape , with several trees in the Fg and the foggy moutains in the Bg .
Regards

PaulVDV (34445) 2017-03-05 9:56

Hello Bülent,
Indeed this landscape looks like a paradise and I surely would like to visit these islands as long as I'm not on the menu of somebody else :)
A splendid view of the tropical vegetation in front of a steep rising mountain slope whereby the top is surrounded by clouds.
I agree with Gert that it is so crazy that some of these far away locations have to be classified under Europe.
Best regards, Paul

cornejo (49050) 2017-03-05 10:13

Hello Bulent, great photograph of this beautiful and interesting tropical forest, very well captured in this interesting image with good sharpness, depth, light, color and quality. Very good and interesting work perfectly done, my congratulations, my friend. Thank you for sharing this beautiful work.

Good afternoon and happy start to the week.
Affectionate greetings from the south of Spain.
Angel.

jmdias (71237) 2017-03-05 13:36

bulent

natives of my region were cannibals too, anyway, not for lack of food, but because they wanted to earn the power of the dead person, they never ate the cowards.
marvelous view of these high coconut palm trees with the peaks ahead.very beautiful place.

hugs

jorge

fritzi007 (12962) 2017-03-05 13:53

Hello Bulent,
Beautiful photo from the tropical paradise, have seen a report about the South Seas!

Best regards
wolfgang

worldcitizen (9818) 2017-03-05 15:05

Hello Bulent,
This scenery is so lush and green, and the palm trees are so tall. The bit of mist over the hills adds to the tropical feeling, too. I guess the cannibals felt no repulsion in eating members of their own society as sustenance. I've heard of certain tribes eating remains of the dead, but it was solely for spiritual purposes.

macjake (74795) 2017-03-05 15:41

Hi Bulent
yeah this is not the France we're used to seeing is it :)

Not exactly a downtown city view, or modern buildings, but I like it just the same. there are alot of places to discover on our blue planet, this is one of them.

I would imagine the weather conditions here are very changeable and unpredictable. the diffused light is actually perfect for your scene. and if we look closely, we can see how tall those trees extend up to, its quite impressive. Wish I could have been here as well, seems like a memorable experience. cheers
Craig

jemaflor (105811) 2017-03-05 23:10

Hi Bulent,
Nice view from the paradise ? lovely island, well framed with these palm trees, nice green color.

Fis2 (110707) 2017-03-06 1:50

Witaj Bulent!
Beautiful place, nice palms.
Good vertical frame and composition.
Excellent colors and sharpness.
Well done.
Warm regards.
Krzysztof

Royaldevon (45999) 2017-03-06 2:20

Hello Bulent,

This is what TE is about, learning new and interesting facts with visual confirmation!
What a great place to be buried!

Your photograph reveals the amazing vegetation and topography of this island, clearly confirming how different it is from where I live! I like how your composition shows the thin-trunked trees competing with the misty-topped mountains for precedence!

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

Nicou (155496) 2017-03-06 2:28

Hlelo

On voit que cela soufflet quelle vue avec ces branche en premier plan ces très long tronc fantastique compo en fond le découpages des montagne la paroi végétative sueprbe ensemble.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

jhm (164032) 2017-03-06 10:05

Dear Bulent,

We life middle of a Paradise with the tropical trees and area. .
A very fine photographic work.
Sharpness and clarity are very nice.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

COSTANTINO (72102) 2017-03-06 13:30

Hello dear Bulent and have a nice time
and a happy new day
I red carefully all your useful notes
thanks for sharing with us your experience
about the cannibalism but generally
this photo is dedicated to the Paradise
regards
Costantino

kordinator (15447) 2017-03-09 23:45

Hello Bulent
Lovely landscape composition in portrait format.
Wonderful part of nature in your capture.
I like natural colors and details.
Kind regards
Saša

mkamionka (41081) 2017-03-13 13:11

Hi Bulent,
I suppose that is a solution for overpopulation, isn't it? But I don't eat much meat at all, a bit of chicken, rarely anything else...
Beautiful scenery, although I am sure it would look brighter in the full sunshine and with the blue sky at the back, nevertheless the fog adds a lovely mystical atmosphere here. I like very much the silhouettes of the palm trees set against the sky.
Very attractive composition from the paradise,
M