Welcome to the Marquesas Islands Arts Festival. The Marquesas Islands Arts Festival is a biennial event, each time held in one of the six inhabited islands of the Marquesan archipelago. This year the festival will be held in Hiva Oa, the capital of the southern group. Marked with characteristic authenticity, this festival is now renowned throughout the Pacific and is a true place of exchange for Polynesian cultures that find their sources,among others, in the Marquesas, “Terre des Hommes”. Three valleys are hosting the festivities: Atuona, Taaoa and Puamau. Accommodation capacities on the Island are modest, but do not hesitate to contact the different hosts about their availability. We hope you will join this friendly and warm appointment on the most remote islands of any continent. In the Marquesas festival, no one is spectator, everyone gets involved.
THE THEME OF THE 2015 FESTIVAL IS “HAAHUA TUMU I TE”, WHICH CAN MEAN A RETURN TO BASICS, TO THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MARQUESIAN CULTURE. THE PREVIOUS THREE FESTIVALS HAVE PAID TRIBUTE TO THE MASTERS OF THE EXPERTISE AND KNOWLEDGE TO APPRENTICES BEFORE CAUSING THE CHALLENGE, INCLUDING UN-PUBLISHED DANCES. THE DELEGATIONS WILL BE INVITED TO HIVA OA TO PRESENT THEIR PERFORMANCES ON THE BASIS OF THIS THEMATIC THREAD.
The first logo of the 2015 edition of the Marquesas Islands Arts Festival shows the unbreakable link between the Marquisian man and “Land of Men”, his island essence of what it is. The Marquisian man blows in a pū to invite all the Marquesas Islands to the party and the tiki honors the legacy of previous generations.
The second festival logo is the tiki tohua Pehekua at Puamau, representative of the Marquesian tikis. The gesture of the hand-to-mouth evokes the Kaake pattern tattooed on the people that we had to protect and nourish even in times of famine. Associated with the image of the 2015 festival, this tiki recalls the importance of referring and protecting the foundations of Marquesian culture
© Festival des arts des îles Marquises
© photos by tahiti infos