Holidays in Bora Bora
Vacation in Bora Bora BoraThirty men from the London Missionary Society moored in Matavai Bay near Point Venus in Tahiti on this March 1797 with the goal of evangelizing Fr. 2 nights later they got out and were welcomed on the shore by King Pomare II and his family. Both were held high on the local people's back.
In 1970 a memorial to the missionary arrives at Point Venus. They were literary & only 2 had an idea of handwork - Nott was Maurer & Bambridge Zimmermann. Though Pomare II was a friend of the Pomare II brothers, the evangelists left Tahiti before they returned in 1812, after Pomare had given up paganism.
Conversion to Christianity was quick & many with a supporting king, & perhaps one can say, because of the anxiety caused by the effects of the illness from misfits who came to Tahiti, against whom the Tahitians had no opposition. Tahitians had been frightening so far: "Do not capture a warrior for hundreds of years - Pomare II was the first to grant a reprieve to those who laid down their weapons.
They also supported production, especially sugars and fabrics. Pomare II also introduced the first Tahitian legislation to protect lives and properties, sanctify marriages and appoint a judicial system to manage the work. March 5 is now a feast day that will be commemorated with an eccumenical worship in Protestant temples throughout Polynesia.
This worship contains an extended English liturgical readings as a token of appreciation that the evangelists speak English. Celebrations will be hosted by the Taurua Varuawith members of the attending Rotary Peace Fellowships who are dressed in their own colors and whose faces are decorated with beautiful flower courtyards, as shown in the picture above.
Immediately the Tahitian friars recognized the Tahitian passion for singing & quickly adapted the old Himene to a variety of religions to win conversion. It is said that Vaita a Tahua prophesied the arrival of Europeans in Tahiti. Middle of 1700, during a ceremonial on Marae Taputapuatea in Raiatea, Vaita recounted to the king that they were at the time when a race of a different color - whites - would be arriving in a "va'a" (boat for a Tahitian) without Amazon & that they would be bringing their god, who would reign over all other deity.
Uncomfortable with what he was hearing, the king asked for evidence that a Va'a could swim without an Amazon. He fetched an umte (a large, oblong wooden bowl), which he put on the surface of the sea, while the king & saw it floating without difficulty. A group of artists and vocalists known as Bora Bora Gospel will accompany the performances:
In the following pictures you can see some of our most famous folk dances, the performances of two oreros, some more contemporary dances & the Sunday school dances that have all sung: it is a joyful festival with a great feeling of community: At Bora Bora, the arrivals of the coordinators are enthusiastically welcomed every year.
Since March 5 is a feast in all of Polynesia, most Vaitape visitors are not allowed in Bora Bora. However, they should inquire about the location of the festivities around the arrivals of the missionsaries.