Monette, a survivor testifies
In a previous article titled "When heaven becomes hell," I told you the
tragedy that struck the small Faaite atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia.
What follows is the first
part of a story that has three sequences. A story which, as you will see,
raises more questions than it answers. But also a story that introduces us to a
being unusual. A being for whom the words love and forgiveness have a sense
that few of us are able to give them.
Saved from burning alive on
the stake by the arrival of the gendarmes, Monette Tetahivi brings a moving
testimony on the case of "the pyres of Faaite".
When the policemen arrived
on the atoll, the report says, four
women were tied up and doused with gasoline, ready to be sacrificed. Monette
Tetavahi was one of them.
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| Human sacrifices: the battle of Missionaries |
As anyone who lived through these events from ''within', Monette has
always been silent on this incredible deal. Today, plagued by memories of the
tragedy, she decided to talk to tell his truth about what happened to her during
those fatal days of September 1987.
For reasons best known of herself, it's to me that she
has chosen to give the exclusivity of her testimony.
The happy years of Monette at Faaite
"I left my island of Tahiti to follow my tane (partner) who was from Faaite. I
was 19 when we got on his atoll. We had four children together. He was a man
very hardworking, a good father for our children, and he was a good husband to
me. I was really happy on Faaite, it was like a Garden of Eden for me...
 |
| Monette Tetavahi, survivor of "the pyres of Faaite" |
(Here Monette weeps
bitterly, crying buckets, citing what she
presents as the best years of his life.)
“... We had lived wonderful
eight years together. Five at Tahiti where we first met and three on Faaite
(...)”.
The three priestesses of the Charismatic
Renewal
“Everything changed in a few
days. Three women came from Tahiti, Sylvia Alexander Rahera Teanuanua and
Avehina Tekurarere. They were representatives of the Charismatic Renewal
movement. My husband went back and collected them from Fakarava because he had
the only large boat of Faaite that could make this journey safely. (...)
“They were sent on a mission
to our homes by Bishop Hubert Coppenrath (in 1987,
he was the priest in charge of the movement for the diocese, Ed). At the time,
to Faaite if our Bishop or priest told us something, we did not discuss. It's
not that we were afraid, but we did everything they told us (...).
 |
| The location of the pyre before the church of Faaite |
“Upon arrival at Faaite, the
three women have established (started up) "charismatic prayers."
Although we could see there were abnormal things, but as they were recommended
by His Lordship Coppenrath, nobody said anything and we all did as they wanted
(...).
“For example, prayer
sessions are taking place in our homes, not in church. One day, it was held
at home, but it did not ask me anything.
I was not even notified. They agreed and they said everyone "It's at
Monette's," and everyone came to my home (...).
“They told us to burn our
prayer books, because there were things wrong in them. Even the Bible and the
Gospels (...). I was not okay, so I'd hidden my Bible and my prayer books; then
I took all my newspapers ( Paris Match and everything I had) and these are
that I burned (...).
“My husband noticed it and,
for the first time, he was violent with me (...).
“Even when I went to see him
in prison later, he always said he did not remember anything and he never
touched me. Yet even my children remember (...).
“One day when I left the
church, I heard them talking with young people. They said them: "You
should not trust the politicians and elected officials. These people are "tiaporo" (devils, demons).
They are more dangerous than "tupapau"
(ghosts) "(...).
 |
| The memorial at the site of the pyres of Faaite |
“After a few days, prayers
were held throughout the day. When we were finished in a house, we had to
immediately go to someone else's and start over. All day without stopping
(...). In the evening he had even pray in the dark: they prohibited us to light
(...).
“We were a few not to be
okay, but not much. The mayor was in Tahiti, but the first deputy was there,
and he thought like me and a few others. But as Monsignor Coppenrath sent the
women, and everyone seemed to agree, it
was decided to say anything (...).
“Normally, they came for
three days, but finally they remained two weeks. As time went on, they took the
youth and my husband aside and spent time talking with them. And the more they
spoke with them, the more prayers sessions became severe and the atmosphere in
the village was getting weird. People were not speaking as before. As if we had
become sad and we were suspicious of each other.
“After two weeks they went
away. My husband took them back with his boat, him and a group of some young
people. I don't know what happened during this trip, but when they returned to Faaite,
they were different. I no longer recognized my husband nor the young people who
were with him.
“It's as if I no longer
existed for him. He spoke only to me to give me orders and criticizing me
because I did not want to worship the Virgin Mary. But what I learned in church,
me is that we can’t worship the Virgin. We love only God and the Eucharist...
"
An article
of Julien Gué
Translated from French by Monak
To find out
how Monette Tetahivi lived "The slaughter of the innocents", click
here.
Copyright
Julien Gué. Ask for the author’s agreement before any reproduction of the
text or the images on Internet or traditional press.
