Ua Pou

Ua Pou is the only major island that was unified under a single monarch prior to the arrival of European explorers.

Prior to the island's unification, reportedly about 1585, there is evidence that the tribes of Ua Pou were sometimes united in war with the tribes of Te I'i on Nuku Hiva against those of Tai Pi Vai. Despite the fact that tribes from both the eastern and western halves of Ua Pou were often united in war against each other, however, it appears that such differences among them were not considered when members of tribes from either side of the island sought refuge among the tribes of Te I'i on Nuku Hiva.

Hitoro, Chief of the Ua Pu Island (1863)

The early Polynesian settlers of Ua Pou lived under rock overhangs, as excavations from 1982 onwards at the Anapua rock shelter, not far from the village of Hakatao in the south of the island, have shown. Their main diet was fish.[3]

In the following centuries, independent tribal principalities arose in the valley incisions, still recognizable today by the location of the villages. At first, only coastal regions with access to the important food source, the sea, were settled; with increasing population density, settlements grew in the valleys. Little research has been done on the tribal society of Ua Pous; the German ethnologist Karl von den Steinen did pioneering work there in 1897/98.[4]

Important tribal principalities were located in the Hakamoui and Paumea valleys, whose architectural legacies are still visible today. The islanders built their houses and ritual structures on stone platforms (paepae) up to 3 m high. The actual houses were made of perishable materials and had a steep gabled roof made of palm fronds, the back panel of which reached the ground. The façade was open and the roof was supported by profusely decorated and beautifully carved poles.

In 1791, American Joseph Ingraham passed through the northwest group of the Marquesas on his way to China,[5] but without setting foot there. He gave the island of Ua Pou, visible in the distance, the name "Adam" or "Adams Island" after Vice President John Adams.

It was also formerly known as Trevenen Island. The name Ua Pou means "two pillars" and perfectly reflects its orography. It has also been written as Ua Pu, Hua Pu and Ropo.

It is considered that the real European explorer was the French circumnavigator Étienne Marchand (1755-1793), who arrived shortly after, on June 20, 1791, anchored with his ship Solide first in Vaiehu Bay, on the west coast, and then off Hakahau. He remained off the island for a total of three days, but contacts with the inhabitants during the brief excursions ashore were limited. Marchand named the island "Île Marchand," after his own surname.

The arrival of the U.S. whaling ship Tuscan from Nantucket on March 4, 1835, was a prelude to other encounters with whalers, adventurers, and shady traders in the following years, who brought firearms and alcohol to the tribes.[6]

The year of Ua Pou's final submission to French rule is considered to be 1880, when Rear Admiral Abel Bergasse Dupetit-Thouars (adopted son of Abel Aubert Du Petit-Thouars), forcibly removed the last resistance. The Marquesas then became a French colony.

Beach of Anahoa Bay

With 2200 inhabitants in the 2002 census, and 2,213 at the 2017 census,[8] it is the most densely populated island of the archipelago. The main village is Hakahau located in the northwest of the island with the main port and close to the airport. The population is known for the innate artistic qualities of artisans, sculptors and tattoo artists, as well as traditional singers and dancers. The Matava'a festival is held periodically and is an important center of Marquesan culture.

Geologically, Ua Pou is part of the Marquesas linear volcanic chain, which formed from a hot spot on the Pacific Plate and is moving WNW at a rate of 103–118 mm per year.[9] The island's igneous rocks are between 2.54 and 4.86 million years old.[10]

Ua Pou is located in the Earth's tropical belt. The climate varies from hot and humid in the coastal areas to cool and humid in the mountainous regions, with frequent and abundant rainfall.

Ua Pou's South Coast

The flora of Ua Pou is relatively poor in species compared to the other large islands of the Marquesas (Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa). Only 90 native species - 2 of them endemic - and 71 exotic species have been recorded. However, this may be related to the insufficient number of specimens collected so far; the steep and inaccessible peaks have prevented any systematic botanical study for the time being.[11]

The formation of the flora is strongly influenced by the trade winds, which contribute to lower temperatures and provide abundant rainfall. The coastal zones of the incised valleys have exuberant vegetation up to medium altitudes, although centuries of human settlement and intensive cultivation have considerably reduced the number of native plants, giving preponderance to anthropochorous plants.

In the intermediate regions, arid or semi-arid native plant communities predominate. In the high summits, low-growing shrubs predominate, mostly metrosideros. In the north, shaded from the wind and rain of the mountains, there are larger arid zones.[11]

The fauna of the Marquesas Islands is species-poor and is limited to land and sea birds, insects, butterflies and spiders. The island is named after a genus of canopy spider (Linyphiidae) that is endemic to Ua Pou. There are no animals that are dangerous to humans. Nono flies, a type of black fly, which appear in the interior, are usually extremely unpleasant.

Horse at Ua Pou

In a bay separated from Hakahau by a peninsula (Anahoa Beach), green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) lay their eggs. Unfortunately, this area is not yet protected, it is the most attractive bathing beach on the island.

In Hakahau there is a small museum with a collection of art and objects of worship of the island. Next to it, a traditional Marquesan dwelling (tenai paepae) has been reconstructed on a habitable platform.

Reconstruction of a traditional marquesan house on Ua Pou Island, Marquesas Islands

In several valleys are the remains of Polynesian aboriginal settlements, recognizable by their densely covered paepae (house platforms). Little has been discovered or restored. The settlement of Chief Heato and his clan, revered as divine, is in the Hakamoui valley, covered with coconut and fan palms, mango chestnut trees, pandanus and huge banyan trees. The widely branched complex covers the entire valley, although the residential and ceremonial platforms hidden in the dense undergrowth are not easy to spot. Associated buildings made of short-lived materials are long gone. Karl von den Steinen believed he had identified the ceremonial platform (marae) where Chief Heato was buried. He photographed the skeletal remains of his grandson Teiki Teiuao, which had been deposited on the stone pedestal in a celestial (temporary) burial.[14]

An excellent example of the island's highly developed stonework is an expressive tiki head made of light-colored Ke'etu tufa stone on the façade of a residential platform in the "Young Women's Plaza" (mata'aute'a). Another place worth seeing is the Paaumea Valley in the west of the island. Interesting, but not easy to identify in the dense vegetation, are the remains of a tohua, a kind of political and ritual center with chief's residence, meeting place and house (ha'e ko'o'ua or elders' house), warriors' house (ha'e toa), tattoo house (ha'e patu tiki) and cooking place (ha'e kuki).

The World Discoverer Vessel at Ua Pou

In Ua Pou you can find or buy so-called "flower stones.” These are rare trachyte stones with decorative inclusions that look like flowers.

Ua Pou is known for its excellent wood carvers. In Hakahau, there are several talented artists whose works can be purchased. Since the first Marquesas Art Festival was held on Ua Pou in 1987, it has become a regular activity, held every year in different locations.