The Marquesan Creation Myth
In the beginning there was
just a blue sky and a deep blue ocean, and the gods lived among the white fluffy clouds.
One day the wife of the chief god got tired of living in the clouds and started nagging
her godly husband to build her a house. God was very perturbed by this new domestic
development because he did not know how to build a house. He pondered and meditated the
entire day upon this subject right up until a glorious south pacific sunset including a
green flash. Finally. as he finished his last Hinano beer, he called the builder deities
to him and told them what he wanted, or rather what his wife wanted, and that they had
this one night to complete the job. He explained that the ocean would be the foundation,
the pai pai, of the house.
So the builder deities set two
posts into the ocean for the main supports. This is the island of Ua Pou, with its
volcanic plugs, sharply pointed like cathedral spires. Then they placed a ridge pole, Hiva
Oa, the long island, across the two pou’s. Attached to the ridge pole they placed the
joists, Nuku Hiva. The roof made of woven coconut palm fronds in 9 segments is the island
of Fatu Hiva (fatu means nine). Around three sides of the house they placed woven palm
frond walls. This is the little island of Eio. By now, dawn started creeping in and the
night was almost over. It was time to clean up the work site to meet the morning deadline,
so the deities dug a square hole, a garbage pit, Ua Huka, in front of the house in the
middle of the pai pai. But this was only a small joke being played on the island of Ua
Huka. This was really a sacred pit to hold the ancestral relics and is known as Ua Huna.
Finally, just as the sun was about to rise, the Moho Tane bird started to sing on the
island of Motane. The sun finally rose illuminating the finished house, complete with a
fire in the hearth, the island of Tahuata.
As told to us by Jean Marie
of Hiva Oa, and Todi and Benjamin of Ua Pou.
Liberally edited by Vlad.
 Ua
Pou
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Marquesas