This month, I’d like to introduce you to some literature about Polynesia with the book “Celles de la bounty” by Rowan Metcalfe. Based on the historical facts of the Bounty period, the novel plunges us into the Polynesia of yesteryear through the eyes of Mauatua, a young Polynesian woman who is also Rowan Metcalfe’s ancestor.
From History to fiction
“Celles de la Bounty” is a novel by Rowan Metcalfe, a direct descendant of Mauatua and Fletcher Christian. In this novel, she traces the history of her ancestors and plunges us into the Tahiti of yesteryear, from 1769, when Captain Cook first arrived, to the generations that followed before the exile of the 86 Pitcairnians to Tahiti.
Please note that this post is based on the French Edition Au vent des îles. It is a translation of “The Transit of Venus”, first published by Huia Publishers. If you’re an English-speaking reader, you can therefore read the original version.
The Bounty as told by Mauatua
Her name is Mauatua, meaning “attached to the gods”, fascinated from an early age by Tute (Captain Cook), curious to know more about these lands so far away, about the mysterious books, impatient to see the sails of the ships crossing the pass to anchor in Tahiti.
When the Bounty arrived in 1788, her desire to set sail on this ship became stronger and stronger, just as her destiny would decide.
In the heart of Tahiti
In this historical and cultural novel, Mauatua tells the story of the Bounty. Her Polynesian perspective transports us to another era, to the island of Tahiti, before Western culture forever transformed these remote islands, cut off from the world, where nature and man are one.
The novel includes Tahitian words to best interpret Polynesian culture, and features many cultural elements such as marae, ceremonies, ori tahiti, arioi, tapa and tattoos that immerse us in Polynesian culture and its roots.
A women perspective
Through Mauatua’s woman eyes, the story is transparent in its passage from childhood to adulthood, her emotions and experiences, her relationships with her family and with men.
Throughout the novel, Rowan Metclaf tells the story from the point of view of these Polynesian women. Passages from the lightest to the harshest are described in their uncensored words.
The end of an era
This book takes you back in time to reflect on the impact of the arrival of these ships on these unspoiled islands, as the excerpt below so aptly illustrates :
“Everything was upside down, like in the comedies of the ‘arioi’: Taina paraded in English uniform and practiced with a musket on the ship’s deck; Titiriano fished on the reef by the light of the ni’au torches.
The moon rose and fell, rose and fell again; the English seeds were sown, deep, and the dreams of the old men were full of omens. The tapu were broken without a shudder, and it was a never-ending party. Until one day, a sailor carried off a branch torn from a sacred tree on the marae, and the priests rushed in, plantain shoots in their hands and curses in their mouths, scattering the people, demanding reparation from Parai.”
Please note that this is a translation from the French version of the book. The original quote might be different in the original version.
Celles de la Bounty is a touching, heartfelt account of an era in an oral culture. A must-read if you’re interested in Polynesian culture and history.
To order your book, click on the link* below: https://amzn.to/42ARZHe
*remunerated link by Amazon
