Cradle of
Polynesian evangelization
The effects of the evangelization of Gambier Islands
were not all positive. The facts, alas, too often contradict the official
history of the Church.
The first Catholic Mission
of the South Pacific was founded in 1834, on Gambier Islands by Fathers Honoré
Laval and François d'Assise Caret, accompanied by Friar Colomban Murphy.
The imposing Cathedral of St. Michel before restoration |
They
built the first church of the whole South Pacific on the island of Akamaru:
it’s made of brushwood…
In
1836, Brother Soulié comes and undertakes an extraordinary work as a builder,
like rebuilding the solid construction of Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix in Akamaru.
The very
controversial Father Honoré Laval
If we refer to the official
texts, especially those of the Congregation of the
Sacred-Hearts (Picpus Brothers), Father Laval saved Mangarevan people from
ignorance and barbarism. Here is what Laval himself wrote about them:
“In former times, our islanders used to
wake up about three o’clock in the morning; they ate, walked cool until eleven
and were recovering to sleep until four in the afternoon; then they got up for
dinner and spent the evening to wander until midnight, provided the moonlight
should succeed immediately the day. When this didn’t occur, they slept again
after dinner until moonrise (…). It was a purely animal life. Today, they get
up at dawn, recite theirs prayers, take their popoi, attend Mass and instruction and set to work.”
The very controversial Father Honoré Laval |
If that’s how they lived
really, we are entitled to ask who was responsible for hunting, fishing,
cultivating fruits and vegetables, who prepared the meal and built the fare, who erected the marae…?
After a visit to Tahiti and
Tuamotu, Father Honoré Laval presides over the destiny of the archipelago of Gambier
and their people from 1855 (the date of the departure of Father Liausu) until 4
April 1871.
At that time, he was
recalled forcefully by his superiors of Tahiti. Many complaints were lodged against
him. And the facts don’t plead in his favor: he will never return to Gambier.
The Mangarevan
people’s agony
Upon arrival of the trio of
missionaries on August 7, 1834, the population of the archipelago is estimated
at about 5,000 souls. After Father Laval’s departure (1871), it’s just over 500
individuals and continues to fall, as Mangarevans are only more than 463 in
1887. In 1956, they are barely 580. And this number is further reduced, since
they are more than 560 in 1983.
Pearl farms in Mangareva |
It must also be considered
acts of piracy and kidnapping of young people for the market of slavery.
The explosion of the pearl
culturing will save the archipelago: the august 2007 census reported 1 337
inhabitants (source: Statistical Institute of French Polynesia). The reasons
for this collapse of population density are multiple. The Mangarevans are dying
like flies tuberculosis, childhood diseases, recurring epidemics, but also
moral decay.
The ruins of Re'e college on Aukena |
Some historians believe that
many died in desperation.
Indeed, the main reason for
the dramatic population decline seems to be the method of evangelizing Father
Laval. It could have led Mangarevans to exodus, refusing life that Catholic
missionaries imposed upon them by force, especially Father Laval. Some accounts
even speak of corporal punishments conducted publicly in the church.
One of the missionary watchtowers |
Here’s what you can read in
the “Report of the Imperial Commissioner La Roncière”, cited by Philippe
Mazelier in Volume III of his inescapable “Polynesian Memorial”
“ … These missionaries are
traders… It cannot be in the name of civilization as they whip the men, they
shave the women’s heads, etc.” Further, he’s quoting Laval namely: “He is for
violent means, floggings inflicted prove it. One day, in the midst of the
church, dressed in his priestly vestments, he gave a blow to a young man
because he had seen him smile…”
Young people seek by all
means to leave the Mangareva atoll, become a hell for them. They ship under any
conditions on any ship, albeit slaver. They steal each unsupervised boat, from
the outrigger to the rowboat, with the aim to escape the rules of a faith that
oppresses them, to flee mistreatments inflicted by Honoré Laval.
The remnants
of evangelization
From this painful past, it
remains that The Gambier are the only Polynesian islands where architectural
vestiges persist.
The Gambier an
archipelago like another
But these latter were produced
solely only by the missionary impulse. In order to be sure of eradicating the
old beliefs, churches and chapels were built over the marae, and with the
original stones thereof.
Thus today, there is almost
nothing left of what was once the site that preceded the evangelization of
Gambier Islands.
An article
of Julien Gué
Translated from French by Monak
See also these links:
Copyright
Julien Gué. Ask for the author’s agreement before any reproduction of the
text or the images on Internet or traditional press.
Aucun commentaire :
Enregistrer un commentaire
Cet article vous a fait réagir ? Partagez vos réactions ici :