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UA HUKA, Nature and Culture
The first homeland for the settling of the "Polynesian Triangle”, dating back to the beginning of the modern era, this "Land of Men,”Henua Enata”, clustered near the equator, includes around ten islands with jagged mountain peaks about 1,500 kilometers from Tahiti. As there are no barrier reefs, the Marquesan coastlines are either indented with bays or end in abrupt cliffs, swept by the surf, and consist of stunning natural scenery. Nature runs wild in these islands where herds of goats and packs of wild horses roam in complete freedom. Fruits of the earth and of the sea abound here in this incomparable domain. The myth of the Garden of Eden or of dreamy islands lost at the end of the Earth continues to enchant navigators and adventurers of the heart. Melville, Radiguet, Stevenson, and Segalen grasped it and Gauguin and Brel left their spirit there. According to legend, the gods Oatea and Atanua made the six main islands in the shape of the "Great House” and divided them into two distinct
groups: the northern group with Nuku Hiva, the big island, Ua Pou and its sugarloaf mountains, and Ua Huka, the island of horses; and the southern group with Hiva Oa, the island of the tiki statues, and Tahuata and Fatu Hiva, the islands discovered by the Spaniard MendaÒa.
Each island has a fierce pride in its own integrity and the Marquesan cultural revival makes a point of showing its difference or even preeminence over Tahiti. The lilting Marquesan language, its songs and rhythmic haka dances, the traditional cultural and decorative art of tattooing, carving, tapa cloth, the fine art of cooking, and the comeback of sandal wood are equally a source of pride and identity for these people descended from valiant navigators and great warriors. Transportation has to adjust to the steep and tortuous mountains, and to the dirty and stony tracks that isolate some valleys. The fastest of these means of transport from one island to another, within Nuku Hiva, and also from Taiohae to the airport at the other end of the island is the helicopter. Hiring an out-board for want of a sea shuttle service is the way often used to get from one village to another, or across to a neighboring island. The state of the trails requires four-wheel drive vehicles whereas road journeys are not recommended under rainy conditions. Lastly, the horse is a good mean for exploring, and a practical mode of transport for those who can ride.
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