Fatu-Hiva (the "H" is not pronounced, see name section below) is the southernmost island of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia , an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean . With Motu Nao as its closest neighbour, it is also the most isolated of the inhabited islands.
95-550: Fatu Hiva is also the title of a book by explorer and archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl , in which he describes his stay on the island in the 1930s. The name of the island in Marquesan is Fatu Iva (without "h": [ˈfatu ˈiva] ). However, the name was recorded by Europeans as Fatu-Hiva, perhaps under the influence of other Marquesan islands containing the element Hiva ( Nuku-Hiva and Hiva-Oa ) and also because in French
190-493: A Polynesian double-hulled wa'a kaulua voyaging canoe, from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti was partly a demonstration to prove that Heyerdahl was wrong. The Hōkūleʻa sailed against prevailing winds and exclusively used wayfinding and celestial Polynesian navigation techniques (unlike the modern equipment and charts of the Kon-Tiki ). Hōkūleʻa also remains fully operational, and has since completed ten other voyages, including
285-539: A basic lack of scientific methodology in his work. His central claims were based on similarities of names in Norse mythology and geographic names in the Black Sea region, e.g. Azov and Æsir , Udi and Odin, Tyr and Turkey . Philologists and historians reject these parallels as mere coincidences, and also anachronisms, for instance the city of Azov did not have that name until over 1,000 years after Heyerdahl claims
380-566: A chieftain led his people in a migration from the east, westward and northward through Saxony , to Fyn in Denmark , and eventually settling in Sweden . Heyerdahl claimed that the geographic location of the mythic Aser or Æsir matched the region of contemporary Azerbaijan – "east of the Caucasus mountains and the Black Sea". "We are no longer talking about mythology," Heyerdahl said, "but of
475-523: A common adder ( Vipera berus ) as the main attraction. He studied zoology and geography at the faculty of biological science at the University of Oslo . At the same time, he privately studied Polynesian culture and history, consulting what was then the world's largest private collection of books and papers on Polynesia, owned by Bjarne Kroepelien , a wealthy wine merchant in Oslo. (This collection
570-410: A machete and a cooking pot. They arrived at Fatu Hiva in 1937, in the valley of Omo‘a , and decided to cross over the island's mountainous interior to settle in one of the small, nearly abandoned, valleys on the eastern side of the island. There, they made their thatch -covered stilted home in the valley of Uia . Living in such primitive conditions was a daunting task, but they managed to live off
665-407: A much smaller population consisting mainly of Polynesians and living in privation. Heyerdahl notes the oral tradition of an uprising of "Short Ears" against the ruling "Long Ears." The "Long Ears" dug a defensive moat on the eastern end of the island and filled it with kindling. During the uprising, Heyerdahl claimed, the "Long Ears" ignited their moat and retreated behind it, but the "Short Ears" found
760-422: A new land. He named the archipelago "Marquesas de Mendoza", in honor of the viceroy of Peru at the time, who had helped him launch his expedition, "wishing to show his gratitude for the help he had given him". As Mendaña arrived during the vigil of St. Mary Magdalene in 1595, he named the place Isla Magdalena. In 1937 and 1938, Norwegian anthropologist and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl and his wife Liv lived for
855-442: A number of narrow valleys, carved by streams that lead to the interior. Between these valleys are headlands which terminate in cliffs that plunge directly into the sea, making travel between them possible only by travelling over the high mountain ridges between them, or by boat. The largest of these valleys is at Uia . The western coastline has two significant bays, Hana Vave (also known as Bay of Virgins or Baie des Vierges ) in
950-591: A race of "white bearded men" who supposedly originally sailed from Peru . He described these "Tiki people" as being a sun-worshipping fair-skinned people with blue eyes, fair or red hair, tall statures, and beards. He further said that these people were originally from the Middle East , and had crossed the Atlantic earlier to found the great Mesoamerican civilizations . By 500 CE, a branch of these people were supposedly forced out into Tiahuanaco where they became
1045-684: A state funeral in Oslo Cathedral on 26 April 2002. In May 2011, the Thor Heyerdahl Archives were added to UNESCO 's Memory of the World Register . At the time, this list included 238 collections from all over the world. The Heyerdahl Archives span the years 1937 to 2002 and include his photographic collection, diaries, private letters, expedition plans, articles, newspaper clippings, and original book and article manuscripts. The Heyerdahl Archives are administered by
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#17327719771021140-433: A three-year circumnavigation of the planet from 2014 to 2017, with other sister ships. Heyerdahl's hypothesis was part of early Eurocentric hyperdiffusionism and the westerner disbelief that ( non-white ) "stone-age" peoples with "no math" could colonize islands separated by vast distances of ocean water, even against prevailing winds and currents. He rejected the highly skilled voyaging and navigating traditions of
1235-434: A vastly reduced scale, was still present there, they decided to cross over the island's mountainous interior to settle in one of the small, nearly abandoned, valleys on the eastern side of the island. There, they made their thatch -covered stilted home in the valley of Uia . It was in this setting, surrounded by the ruins of the formerly glorious Marquesan civilization , that Heyerdahl first developed his theories regarding
1330-466: A way around it, came up from behind, and pushed all but two of the "Long Ears" into the fire. This moat was found by the Norwegian expedition and it was partly cut down into the rock. Layers of fire were revealed but no fragments of bodies. The basis of the Kon-Tiki expedition was Heyerdahl's belief that the original inhabitants of Easter Island (and the rest of Polynesia ) were the "Tiki people",
1425-776: A year and a half in Fatu Iva, first in Omoa and then in Ouia, a now deserted valley on the eastern coast of the island. Officially commissioned by the University of Oslo to investigate the distribution and spread of animal species among the Polynesian islands, his most personal goal on this trip, which was also his wedding trip, was to "sail the South Seas" and never return. The couple landed on Omoa in 1937, but found that civilization
1520-483: Is a book published in 1974 by archaeologist and explorer Thor Heyerdahl detailing his experiences and reflections during a 15-month stay on the Marquesan island of Fatu Hiva in 1937–38. The book was based on Heyerdahl's original report På Jakt efter Paradiset ( In Search of Paradise ), which was published in Norway in 1938, but because of the outbreak of World War II was never translated and rather forgotten. On
1615-475: Is about as plausible as the tales of Atlantis , Mu , and 'Children of the Sun.' Like most such theories, it makes exciting light reading, but as an example of scientific method it fares quite poorly." Anthropologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis also criticised Heyerdahl's theory in his 2009 book The Wayfinders , which explores the history of Polynesia. Davis says that Heyerdahl "ignored
1710-586: Is composed mainly of basalt, picrite and hawaiite. Its age is dated between 2.46 and 1.81 million years. The second caldera , located within the first, has a diameter of three to four kilometers. It was created by a powerful eruption , as evidenced by the impressive basalt columns, the "statues" of the Virgin, in Hanavave Bay, caused by lahars. It dates to between 1.68 and 1.33 million years ago. The main explosion seems to date back to 1.40 Ma2. The valleys of
1805-408: Is only possible in the two bays on the west coast, where the villages are also located. The seventeen-kilometre road linking the two villages is very bumpy, especially near Hanavave, and the rains often make the road sweeping and dangerous for traffic. The inhabitants prefer to use a boat to reach the other village, which takes about 15 minutes. The island became better known through the book of
1900-430: Is still predominant, especially tuna, mackerel, bonito, swordfish and marlin fishing, as well as crayfish. The municipality has a cold storage facility that allows waiting for the arrival of cargo ships to sell the merchandise. Copra cultivation is still very important, as is the more recent cultivation of noni . Coffee cultivation was practically abandoned in the second half of the 20th century. For their personal needs,
1995-411: Is the highest point on Fatu-Hiva. Proceeding to the north and northwest from the plateau is a mountain ridge called Fa‘e One, the highest peak of which is 820 m (2,690 ft.). Fatu Hiva is formed by the eastern half of two interlocking volcanoes . The first caldera, about eight kilometers in diameter, has a sharply cut rim, formed by a hemicircular series of peaks rising to over 1000 meters. It
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#17327719771022090-597: The Kon-Tiki . The Kon-Tiki expedition was inspired by old reports and drawings made by the Spanish Conquistadors of Inca rafts, and by native legends and archaeological evidence suggesting contact between South America and Polynesia . The Kon-Tiki smashed into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotus on 7 August 1947 after a 101-day, 4,300-nautical-mile (5,000-mile or 8,000 km) journey across
2185-579: The Acali Experiment . After a number of weeks, Ra took on water. The crew discovered that a key element of the Egyptian boatbuilding method had been neglected, a tether that acted like a spring to keep the stern high in the water while allowing for flexibility. Water and storms eventually caused it to sag and break apart after sailing more than 6,400 km (4,000 miles). The crew was forced to abandon Ra, some hundred miles (160 km) before
2280-598: The Austronesian peoples and instead argued that Polynesia was settled from boats following the wind and currents for navigation from South America. As such, the Kon-Tiki was deliberately a primitive raft and unsteerable, in contrast to the sophisticated outrigger canoes and catamarans of the Austronesian people. Anthropologist Robert Carl Suggs included a chapter titled "The Kon-Tiki Myth" in his 1960 book on Polynesia, concluding that "The Kon-Tiki theory
2375-590: The Bering land bridge into Northwest America before sailing westward towards Polynesia (the westward direction is because he refused to accept that Polynesians were capable of sailing against winds and currents). He associated them with the Tlingit and Haida peoples and characterized them as "inferior" to the Tiki people. Despite these claims, DNA sequence analysis of Easter Island's current inhabitants indicates that
2470-746: The German explorer Karl von den Steinen described nine tribes inhabiting the Hanamoohe, Hanateone, Hanahouuna, Ouia, Hanavave and Omoa valleys. In the Hanavave valley, four tribes are known from the stones. Systematic archaeological excavations have not yet been carried out. Surface investigations were carried out by the American anthropologist Ralph Linton on behalf of the Bishop Museum of Honolulu in 1920–1921. The finds are less numerous than on
2565-589: The Hanau epe and Hanau momoko was a memory of conflicts between the original inhabitants of the island and a later wave of "Native Americans" from the Northwest coast, eventually leading to the annihilation of the Hanau epe and the destruction of the island's culture and once-prosperous economy. Heyerdahl described these later "Native American" migrants as "Maori-Polynesians" who were supposedly Asians who crossed over
2660-661: The Kon-Tiki Museum and the National Library of Norway in Oslo. Heyerdahl was born in Larvik , Norway, the son of master brewer Thor Heyerdahl (1869–1957) and his wife, Alison Lyng (1873–1965). As a young child, Heyerdahl showed a strong interest in zoology, inspired by his mother, who had a strong interest in Charles Darwin 's theory of evolution . He created a small museum in his childhood home, with
2755-470: The Marquesas , most of the time on Fatu Hiva , were told first in his book På Jakt etter Paradiset ( Hunt for Paradise ) (1938), which was published in Norway but, following the outbreak of World War II , was never translated and remained largely forgotten. Many years later, having achieved notability with other adventures and books on other subjects, Heyerdahl published a new account of this voyage under
2850-529: The Pacific Ocean in a primitive hand-built raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands . The expedition was supposed to demonstrate that the legendary sun-worshiping red-haired, bearded, and white-skinned "Tiki people" from South America drifted and colonized Polynesia first, before actual Polynesian peoples . His hyperdiffusionist ideas on ancient cultures had been widely rejected by
2945-443: The Pacific Ocean . Heyerdahl had nearly drowned at least twice in childhood and did not take easily to water; he said later that there were times in each of his raft voyages when he feared for his life. Heyerdahl's book about The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas has been translated into 70 languages. The documentary film of the expedition entitled Kon-Tiki won an Academy Award in 1951. A dramatised version
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3040-563: The Pyramids of Güímar on Tenerife and declared that they were not random stone heaps but pyramids. Based on the discovery made by the astrophysicists Aparicio, Belmonte and Esteban, from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias that the "pyramids" were astronomically orientated and being convinced that they were of ancient origin, he claimed that the ancient people who built them were most likely sun worshippers. Heyerdahl hypothesised that
3135-677: The Sea of Azov at the northeast of the Black Sea . He searched for the remains of a civilisation to match the account of Odin in Snorri Sturlusson, significantly further north of his original target of Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea only two years earlier. This project generated harsh criticism and accusations of pseudoscience from historians, archaeologists and linguists in Norway, who accused Heyerdahl of selective use of sources, and
3230-656: The Tigris was deliberately burnt in Djibouti on 3 April 1978 as a protest against the wars raging on every side in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa . In his Open Letter to the UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim , Heyerdahl explained his reasons: Today we burn our proud ship ... to protest against inhuman elements in the world of 1978 ... Now we are forced to stop at the entrance to
3325-769: The United Nations . Heyerdahl built yet another reed boat in 1977, Tigris , which was intended to demonstrate that trade and migration could have linked Mesopotamia with the Indus Valley civilization in what is now Pakistan and western India. Tigris was built in Al Qurnah Iraq and sailed with its international crew through the Persian Gulf to Pakistan and made its way into the Red Sea. After about five months at sea and still remaining seaworthy,
3420-467: The commune (municipality) of Fatu-Hiva, part of the administrative subdivision of the Marquesas Islands . The commune consists solely of Fatu-Hiva itself. Its administrative seat is the settlement of Omoa , on the island's southwestern side. Fatu-Hiva's population was 584 at the 2002 census, 611 in 2012, and 600 in 2022. Its main villages are Omoa, the capital and Hanavave, in the bays of
3515-545: The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany , he served with the Free Norwegian Forces from 1944, in the far north province of Finnmark . In 1949, Heyerdahl married Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen (1924–2006). They had three daughters: Annette, Marian, and Helene Elisabeth. They were divorced in 1969. Heyerdahl blamed their separation on his being away from home and differences in their ideas for bringing up children. In his autobiography, he concluded that he should take
3610-537: The 36 people living on Rapa Nui who survived the devastating internecine wars, slave raids, and epidemics of the 19th century and had any offspring were Polynesian. Furthermore, examination of skeletons offers evidence of only Polynesian origins for Rapa Nui living on the island after 1680. Heyerdahl's hypothesis of Polynesian origins from the Americas is considered pseudoscientific , racially controversial , and has not gained acceptance among scientists (even prior to
3705-560: The Caribbean islands, and was saved by a yacht. The following year, 1970, a similar vessel, Ra II , was built from Ethiopian papyrus by Bolivian citizens Demetrio, Juan and José Limachi of Lake Titicaca , and likewise set sail across the Atlantic from Morocco, this time with great success. The crew was mostly the same; though Djibrine had been replaced by Kei Ohara from Japan and Madani Ait Ouhanni from Morocco. The boat became lost and
3800-743: The High Commissariat of the Republic in French Polynesia ( Haut-commissariat de la République en Polynésie française ) based in Papeete. Fatu Hiva forms an independent municipality ( Commune de Fatu Hiva ) with 636 inhabitants (2012), the population density is about 7 inhabitants/km. The official language is French. The main town and administrative centre is the village of Omoa, on the west coast, with about 250 inhabitants. The inhabitants of this 8,400 hectare island live mainly in
3895-586: The Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific ) and Heyerdahl later added a third ( The Art of Easter Island ). Heyerdahl's popular book on the subject, Aku-Aku was another international best-seller. In Easter Island: The Mystery Solved (Random House, 1989), Heyerdahl offered a more detailed theory of the island's history . Based on native testimony and archaeological research, he claimed
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3990-462: The Polynesians had golden-brown skin, raven-black hair, and rather flat noses. Heyerdahl claimed that when Jacob Roggeveen discovered Easter Island in 1722, he supposedly noticed that many of the natives were white-skinned. Heyerdahl claimed that these people could count their ancestors who were "white-skinned" right back to the time of Tiki and Hotu Matua , when they first came sailing across
4085-423: The Red Sea. Surrounded by military airplanes and warships from the world's most civilised and developed nations, we have been denied permission by friendly governments, for reasons of security, to land anywhere, but in the tiny, and still neutral, Republic of Djibouti. Elsewhere around us, brothers and neighbours are engaged in homicide with means made available to them by those who lead humanity on our joint road into
4180-463: The abundance of fruit trees and readily available unpolluted river water. The charm soon wore off, however, as they had to face the reality of elephantiasis -bearing mosquitos , as well as other unfamiliar tropical diseases . Eventually, also, Thor and Liv found it impossible to live among the local people and ended up sheltering in a cave, anxious to get home. The book begins with Heyerdahl's optimistic idea that paradise could still be found. By
4275-532: The ages. From a Western perspective, the first explorer to discover Fatu Iva was the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña , on 21 July 1595. It was the first island in the archipelago that he saw, but he was unable to land there because he could not find a safe anchorage. He mistakenly believed that he had found the Solomon Islands , the goal of his voyage, before realizing that he had just discovered
4370-517: The creatures, and indeed, certain of the carved tiki figures seemed very much to represent felines : The observation prompted Heyerdahl to ask Tei Tetua from whence his people had come, to which he replied "the east": Heyerdahl went on to explore this possibility a number of years later, as is detailed in his books Kon-Tiki and Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island . Initially, the Heyerdahls found life on Fatu Hiva to be idyllic, what with
4465-455: The day before they sailed together to the Marquesas Islands in 1936, Heyerdahl married Liv Coucheron-Torp (1916–1969), whom he had met at the University of Oslo, and who had studied economics there. He was 22 years old and she was 20 years old. Eventually, the couple had two sons: Thor Jr. (1938–2024) and Bjørn (1940–2021). The marriage ended in divorce shortly before the 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition, which Liv had helped to organize. After
4560-634: The early 1960s, until 1966, most of the island's men went to work in Moruroa, in the Tuamotu archipelago, on the construction of the Pacific [Nuclear] Experimental Center. On 11 March 2011, Swiss explorer Raphaël Domjan, expedition leader of the PlanetSolar adventure, the first ship to circumnavigate the planet on solar power, called at Fatu Hiva. The eastern coastline of Fatu-Hiva is characterized by
4655-455: The end of the book, Heyerdahl bitterly concludes: Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ ( Norwegian pronunciation: [tuːr ˈhæ̀ɪəɖɑːɫ] ; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology , botany and geography . Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, in which he drifted 8,000 km (5,000 mi) across
4750-603: The entire blame for their separation. In 1991, Heyerdahl married Jacqueline Beer (born 1932) as his third wife. They lived in Tenerife , Canary Islands , and were very actively involved with archaeological projects, especially in Túcume , Peru, and Azov until his death in 2002. He had still been hoping to undertake an archaeological project in Samoa before he died. In 1936, on the day after his marriage to Liv Coucheron Torp,
4845-457: The film documentary Ra (1972) were made about the voyages. Apart from the primary aspects of the expedition, Heyerdahl deliberately selected a crew representing a great diversity in race , nationality , religion and political viewpoint in order to demonstrate that, at least on their own little floating island, people could co-operate and live peacefully. Additionally, the expedition took samples of marine pollution and presented its report to
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#17327719771024940-501: The flora with the support of the Smithsonian Institution in 1988 revealed the number of 175 native, 21 endemic, and 136 anthropochoric plants. The rich flora contrasts with a relatively species-poor fauna . It is limited to land and sea birds, small mammals, insects, spiders and lizards. The Fatu Hiva monarch ( Pomarea whitneyi ), a bird of the family Monarchidae , is endemic. Administratively, Fatu-Hiva forms
5035-562: The flora. Peak tops and extensive leeward areas of the mountains are arid. The mountain rainforest still harbours some endemic plants, such as Ochrosia fatuhivensis and Melicope fatuhivensis (syn. Pelea fatuhivensis ), a tree of the Rutaceae family which may already be extinct . Pterophylla tremuloides is an endemic shrub which grows in low ridge top and cliff shrubland with Metrosideros , Dicranopteris and Lycopodium from 700 to 850 metres elevation. A systematic study of
5130-536: The history of ancient Nordic Kings. He spoke of a notation made by Snorri Sturluson , a 13th-century historian-mythographer in Ynglinga Saga , which relates that " Odin (a Scandinavian god who was one of the kings) came to the North with his people from a country called Aser ." (see also House of Ynglings and Mythological kings of Sweden ). Heyerdahl accepted Snorri's story as literal truth, and believed that
5225-422: The inhabitants also hunt wild pigs and goats, and gather seafood and fruit in great abundance. They do not hesitate to offer fruit spontaneously to visitors. Since the 1960s and 1970s, handicrafts have developed considerably, thanks mainly to tourism. The Island's speciality is the tapa. Today they are still made in the traditional way, mainly in monochrome. However, chemical dyes are now used instead of soot from
5320-504: The island was originally colonised by Hanau eepe ("Long Ears"), from South America, and that Polynesian Hanau momoko ("Short Ears") arrived only in the mid-16th century; they may have come independently or perhaps were imported as workers. According to Heyerdahl, something happened between Admiral Roggeveen's discovery of the island in 1722 and James Cook's visit in 1774; while Roggeveen encountered white, Indian, and Polynesian people living in relative harmony and prosperity, Cook encountered
5415-405: The land, and work on their academic goals, by collecting and studying zoological and botanical specimens. They discovered unusual artifacts, listened to the natives' oral history traditions, and took note of the prevailing winds and ocean currents. It was in this setting, surrounded by the ruins of the formerly glorious Marquesan civilization , that Heyerdahl first developed his theories regarding
5510-425: The letter "h" is silent . The spelling Fatu-Hiva has now become official. The island was named Isla Magdalena ("Magdalene Island") by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, a name rarely used. Hatauheva is another name form that appears in 1817, by Camille de Roquefeuil during his voyage around the world on the "Bordelais". The spelling Fatou-Hiva appears in 1838 in a work by Jules Dumont d'Urville . Like
5605-481: The lower and middle areas of the island. The present inhabitants cultivate breadfruit, coconut, yam, taro, sweet potatoes, bananas and other fruits. The higher areas of the mountainous island are covered with mountain rainforest and cloud forest interspersed with tree ferns. Above 600 m, grass forests, with the trees Metrosideros sp. and Pterophylla marquesana , dominate. However, even these inaccessible areas are threatened as feral goats are seriously affecting
5700-595: The luminous walnut. The currency is the CFP franc, which is pegged to the euro. The islanders live mainly from subsistence farming. Selling monoi oil, carvings and painted bark raffia to infrequent cruise ship tourists and other sailors generates some income. Tourism is limited due to the lack of an airport, though the island is visited by cruise ships. There is only limited tourist infrastructure, with no banks, ATM machines or taxis, and only limited accommodation. Fatu Hiva has no bathing beaches . The three-hour hike between
5795-465: The name Fitu-Iva. In the story "Feathers of the Sun," Fitu-Iva falls under the influence of a cunning Solomon Islands swindler who, with the connivance of the ever-elusive chief, introduces paper money and exchanges all valuables for domestically manufactured currency. When the fraud is discovered, he is beaten with a dead pig, a particularly dishonorable punishment, and banished from the island. Fatu Hiva (book) Fatu-Hiva - Back to Nature
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#17327719771025890-482: The north, one of the most picturesque sites in the South Pacific , and the well-protected harbor of Omoa near the south. There are several smaller valleys between these two. The centre of the island is a plateau which is covered largely by tall grasses and pandanus trees. To the south of the plateau, running to the south, is a mountain ridge, called Tauauoho , its highest peak, at 1,125 m (3,691 ft.)
5985-430: The occasion of their honeymoon , Thor Heyerdahl and his first wife Liv determined to escape from civilization , and to "return to nature". They nominally had an academic mission, to research the spread of animal species between islands, but in reality they intended to "run away to the South Seas" and never return home. The couple arrived at Fatu Hiva in 1937, in the valley of Omo‘a . Finding that civilization, albeit on
6080-453: The other islands of the Marquesas , the dead of Fatu Hiva were occasionally mummified (smoked) and often buried in the dwellings. No colossal stone statues have been found on the island, but some small, crude stone sculptures have been preserved. This does not mean that there were no outstanding works of art on Fatu Hiva in prehistoric times. The island was known for tattoo artists and wood carvers, whose ephemeral works have barely survived
6175-676: The other islands of the archipelago , Fatu Iva was originally populated by Polynesians, who probably came from Western Polynesia. Rivalries between the different valleys were frequent. In one of them, around the middle of the 19th century, the Anainoapa tribe of Hanavave and the Tiu of Omoa confronted each other. The latter, defeated, fled the island on bamboo rafts and ended up in the Tuamotus , on Napuka Atoll, where their descendants still live. The Tiu sorcerer, who remained on Fatu Iva, revealed to
6270-612: The other islands of the Marquesas and indicate less extensive building activity. Linton found the remains of several tohua (ceremonial and power centers) with dwelling platforms (paepae) and small me'ae in the Omoa Valley. This led Linton to suspect that several tribes had resided there. During his brief visit to the Hanavave Valley, Linton was only able to find small remains of a tohua and a ceremonial stone platform. Unlike
6365-413: The overwhelming body of linguistic, ethnographic, and ethnobotanical evidence, augmented today by genetic and archaeological data, indicating that he was patently wrong." In 1969 and 1970, Heyerdahl built two boats from papyrus and attempted to cross the Atlantic Ocean from Morocco in Africa. Based on drawings and models from ancient Egypt , the first boat, named Ra (after the Egyptian Sun god ),
6460-405: The possibility of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact between the pre-European Polynesians , and the peoples and cultures of South America . Despite the seemingly idyllic situation, the exposure to various tropical diseases and other difficulties caused them to return to civilisation a year later. They worked together to write an account of their adventure. The events surrounding his stay on
6555-428: The possibility of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact between the pre-European Polynesians , and the peoples and cultures of South America . During several exchanges with an elderly Marquesan man who lived in Uia with them, a former cannibal named Tei Tetua, Heyerdahl determined that, although prior to the arrival of Europeans, cats were not to be found in Polynesia , the Marquesans were nonetheless familiar with
6650-404: The professional archaeologists who travelled with him spent several months on Easter Island investigating several important archaeological sites. Highlights of the project include experiments in the carving, transport and erection of the notable moai , as well as excavations at such prominent sites as Orongo and Poike . The expedition published two large volumes of scientific reports ( Reports of
6745-524: The realities of geography and history . Azerbaijanis should be proud of their ancient culture. It is just as rich and ancient as that of China and Mesopotamia ." In September 2000 Heyerdahl returned to Baku for the fourth time and visited the archaeological dig in the area of the Church of Kish . One of the last projects of his life, Jakten på Odin , 'The Search for Odin', was a sudden revision of his Odin hypothesis, in furtherance of which he initiated 2001–2002 excavations in Azov , Russia , near
6840-539: The rock carvings that date back to about 8th–7th millennia BCE at Gobustan (about 30 miles/48 km west of Baku ). He was convinced that their artistic style closely resembled the carvings found in his native Norway. The ship designs, in particular, were regarded by Heyerdahl as similar and drawn with a simple sickle-shaped line, representing the base of the boat, with vertical lines on deck, illustrating crew or, perhaps, raised oars. Based on this and other published documentation, Heyerdahl proposed that Azerbaijan
6935-602: The ruling class of the Inca Empire and set out to voyage into the Pacific Ocean under the leadership of " Con Ticci Viracocha ". Heyerdahl said that when the Europeans first came to the Pacific islands, they were astonished that they found some of the natives to have relatively light skins and beards. There were whole families that had pale skin, hair varying in colour from reddish to blonde. In contrast, most of
7030-472: The same name by Thor Heyerdahl , who spent about eight months on the island in 1937 with his first wife Liv in a self-imposed robinsonade . The couple lived first near the west coast in the Omoa Valley, and later on the east coast in Ouia, which is now uninhabited. In 1937 there was also an old man named Tei Tetua, by his own account the son of one of the last true cannibals, who lived there accompanied by his twelve-year-old adopted daughter. A first book about
7125-424: The same name. The population lives mainly from agriculture, handicrafts and tourism. The island's orography does not allow the construction of an airstrip; it is accessible only by boat. Fatu-Hiva experienced a demographic decline beginning in the late 1990s, mainly due to two types of emigration : However, since 2007 there has been a demographic recovery, with a 4% increase in five years, spread primarily across
7220-586: The scientific community, even before the expedition. Heyerdahl made other voyages to demonstrate the possibility of contact between widely separated ancient peoples, notably the Ra II expedition of 1970, when he sailed from the west coast of Africa to Barbados in a papyrus reed boat. He was appointed a government scholar in 1984. He died on 18 April 2002 in Colla Micheri , Italy, while visiting close family members. The Norwegian government gave him
7315-540: The sea "from a mountainous land in the east which was scorched by the sun". The ethnographic evidence for these claims is outlined in Heyerdahl's book Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island . He argued that the monumental statues known as moai resembled sculptures more typical of pre-Columbian Peru than any Polynesian designs. He believed that the Easter Island myth of a power struggle between two peoples called
7410-796: The seas, and yet small enough to run the same risks unless those of us still alive open our eyes and minds to the desperate need of intelligent collaboration to save ourselves and our common civilisation from what we are about to convert into a sinking ship. In the years that followed, Heyerdahl was often outspoken on issues of international peace and the environment. The Tigris had an 11-man crew: Thor Heyerdahl (Norway), Norman Baker (US), Carlo Mauri (Italy), Yuri Senkevich (USSR), Germán Carrasco (Mexico), Hans Petter Bohn (Norway), Rashad Nazar Salim (Iraq), Norris Brock (US), Toru Suzuki (Japan), Detlef Soitzek (Germany), and Asbjørn Damhus (Denmark). Heyerdahl made four visits to Azerbaijan in 1981, 1994, 1999 and 2000. Heyerdahl had long been fascinated with
7505-449: The stay was published in 1938 by Gyldendal in Oslo , sold poorly despite the best reviews and was never translated, probably also because of the war . Heyerdahl's well-known book Fatu Hiva was later rewritten, according to the author's note: After the success of his book his first work had become outdated. In Jack London 's short story collection "A Son of the Sun", the island appears under
7600-440: The third millennium. To the innocent masses in all industrialised countries, we direct our appeal. We must wake up to the insane reality of our time ... We are all irresponsible, unless we demand from the responsible decision makers that modern armaments must no longer be made available to people whose former battle axes and swords our ancestors condemned. Our planet is bigger than the reed bundles that have carried us across
7695-596: The title Fatu Hiva (London: Allen & Unwin , 1974). The story of his time on Fatu Hiva and his side trip to Hivaoa and Mohotani is also related in Green Was the Earth on the Seventh Day ( Random House , 1996). In 1947 Heyerdahl and five fellow adventurers sailed from Peru to the Tuamotu Islands , French Polynesia in a raft that they had constructed from balsa wood and other native materials, christened
7790-484: The two villages is steep but offers views of the island, ocean and waterfalls. The Grélet Museum in Omoa holds a collection of local artifacts, including war clubs, tikis and carved wood bowls. Politically, the island belongs to French Polynesia (Pays d'outre-mer - POM) and is therefore affiliated with the European Union . It is administered by a subdivision ( Subdivision administrative des Îles Marquises ) of
7885-423: The two villages of the island are located at the extremes of the space between the two calderas. The landscape surrounding the settlements in the coastal zone and in the valleys has been extensively remodelled for human food production, so little of the original vegetation remains. Massive interventions, already in historical times, probably caused the extinction of an unknown number of endemic and native plants in
7980-494: The victors the names of the places in the valley (a way of acknowledging their sovereignty), and had himself buried alive, head down, symbolizing his defeat and the end of his tribe. Little is known of Fatu Hiva culture before European influence, as it was greatly affected by the arrival of the missionaries. Stratified tribal societies were formed in the great valleys, as in the rest of the Marquesas Islands. In 1897,
8075-579: The villages of Hana Vave , Omoa and Uia . The island was converted to Christianity by Catholic missionaries in 1877. The Catholic Church administers two religious buildings on the island under the Diocese of Taiohae ( Dioecesis Taiohaënus seu Humanae Telluris or Diocèse de Taiohae ): The Church of Saint Michael in Hanavave ( Église de Saint-Michel ), and the Church of Our Lady of Peace in Omoa ( Église de Notre-Dame-de-Paix ). The primary sector
8170-416: The villages of Omoa and Hanavave, on the west coast, which are connected by a dirt road through the mountains. The largest of the villages is Omoa, with a Catholic church , a nursery and elementary school , a small shop, a post office and a satellite telephone . Fatu Hiva has no paved roads between the two villages, no harboir dock for large ships and no airfield. Safe landing on the difficult-to-access coast
8265-465: The voyage). It is overwhelmingly rejected by scientists today. Archaeological, linguistic, cultural, and genetic evidence all support a western origin (from Island Southeast Asia ) for Polynesians via the Austronesian expansion . "Drift voyaging" from South America was also deemed "extremely unlikely" in 1973 by computer modeling. The 1976 voyage of the Hōkūleʻa , a performance-accurate replica of
8360-584: The young couple set out for the South Pacific Island of Fatu Hiva . They nominally had an academic mission, to research the spread of animal species between islands, but in reality they intended to "run away to the South Seas" and never return home. Aided by expedition funding from their parents, they nonetheless arrived on the island lacking "provisions, weapons or a radio". Residents in Tahiti, where they stopped en route, did convince them to take
8455-556: The Æsir dwelt there. The controversy surrounding the Search for Odin project was in many ways typical of the relationship between Heyerdahl and the academic community. His theories rarely won any scientific acceptance, whereas Heyerdahl himself rejected all scientific criticism and concentrated on publishing his theories in popular books aimed at the general public. As of 2024 , Heyerdahl's Odin hypothesis has yet to be validated by any historian, archaeologist or linguist. In 1991 he studied
8550-582: Was constructed by boat builders from Lake Chad using papyrus reed obtained from Lake Tana in Ethiopia and launched into the Atlantic Ocean from the coast of Morocco. The Ra crew included Thor Heyerdahl (Norway), Norman Baker (US), Carlo Mauri (Italy), Yuri Senkevich (USSR), Santiago Genovés (Mexico), Georges Sourial (Egypt), and Abdullah Djibrine (Chad). Only Heyerdahl and Baker had sailing and navigation experience. Genovés would go on to head
8645-485: Was later purchased by the University of Oslo Library from Kroepelien's heirs and was attached to the Kon-Tiki Museum research department.) After seven terms and consultations with experts in Berlin , a project was developed and sponsored by Heyerdahl's zoology professors, Kristine Bonnevie and Hjalmar Broch. He was to visit some isolated Pacific island groups and study how the local animals had found their way there. On
8740-703: Was released in 2012, also called Kon-Tiki , and was nominated for both the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Golden Globe Awards . It was the first time that a Norwegian film was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe. In 1955–1956, Heyerdahl organised the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island . The expedition's scientific staff included Arne Skjølsvold, Carlyle Smith, Edwin Ferdon , Gonzalo Figueroa and William Mulloy . Heyerdahl and
8835-401: Was still too much for their liking. They crossed the island and settled in Ouia, on the east coast of the island, a valley formerly inhabited by marqueses. However, after a year and a half, mosquitoes , disease and bad weather dampened their enthusiasm. He recounted his experience in the book Paa Jakt efter Paradiset (1938), rewritten in 1974 and published as Fatu Hiva, the return to nature. In
8930-476: Was the site of an ancient advanced civilisation. He believed that natives migrated north through waterways to present-day Scandinavia using ingeniously constructed vessels made of skins that could be folded like cloth. When voyagers travelled upstream, they conveniently folded their skin boats and transported them on pack animals. On Heyerdahl's visit to Baku in 1999, he lectured at the Academy of Sciences about
9025-478: Was the subject of a United Nations search and rescue mission. The search included international assistance including people as far afield as Loo-Chi Hu of New Zealand. The boat reached Barbados , thus demonstrating that mariners could have dealt with trans-Atlantic voyages by sailing with the Canary Current . The Ra II is now in the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo , Norway. The book The Ra Expeditions and
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