Transcription of Presentation for ‘Made in Oceania: Tapa – Art and Social Landscapes’ You‐Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70Ms1WJ2MGQ UNVEILING THE LIVES OF THE BOUNTY WOMEN by Pauline Reynolds My journey with this research began one day as I was sitting in a circle of young and older Norfolk Island women, weaving banana bark for our traditional hats. One of elders asked the rest of us, 'what about dem wahine orn aa Bounty?'. or ‘What about those women on the Bounty?’ It was such an important moment for me. The problem is, both as a descendant, and as a researcher, there is a large amount of literature and images depicting the mutineers as the only interesting figures in the Bounty story. They are vigorously celebrated with the Polynesian women being credited with little agency. Since the Enlightenment, Wallis’ and Cook’s arrival in Tahiti, Pacific peoples have been portrayed as the ‘noble savage’, the ‘dusky damsel’, the ‘South Sea Maiden’. The ‘maiden’ was central to the perceived utopia of Tahiti, and the perception of ‘free love’ so steadfastly believed in back in Europe, it almost seems inevitable that a mutiny would occur, a mutiny against authority, and according to some, for love. So, yes, the Bounty mutiny played a vital role in enhancing the allure and romance of Tahiti. Furthermore, the mystique of Tahiti, adorned with the mutiny, has remained essentially unchanged over the past 200 years. The women of Tahiti are an essential part of this mystique, yet in regards to the Bounty women, it has only served to make them more mysterious than interesting, seductive yet powerless, present yet so quiet, they can barely be heard, much less understood. The challenge for me, has been to step away from the accepted 'knowledge base' and look at what those women did, how they lived their lives, what they made, and establish those cultural activities and objects as my primary sources. The objects are, of course, the tapa cloths. With those sources, and a careful re‐reading of captain’s logs and sailor’s diaries, and, most importantly, an awareness of their culture of origin and the contemporary culture of Norfolk and Pitcairn Islands, the women begin to emerge … So I would like to introduce them to you – and I might just say here that it's a very beautiful thing to say their names here in front of the cloths they made and amongst the tapa cloths of other Pacific nations. Mauatua, Teraura, Vahineatua, Toofaiti, Tevarua, Teio, Opuarai, Faahotu, Teatuahitea Teehuteatuaonoa, Tinafanaea, and Mareva. The traditional Bounty narrative with its focus only on the mutineers, has made the story a European one, with Fletcher Christian and John Adams the heroes, not only for you, the interested public, or the academic, but also for us, the descendants. This loud and seemingly ‘real’ narrative has in part defined our idea of ourselves, simply because there was no information on the women. In 1808 when the American Mayhew Folger ‘discovered’ the little Pitcairn community, 18 years after the arrival of the Bounty, only John Adams remained with nine women, and around 25 children. The narrative would have us believe that Adams, (who conveniently shared the name of the American revolutionary) was the saviour of this little settlement. That he alone raised the children, and transformed himself from an illiterate mutineer to a holy man who saved the children and the women when he converted them to Christianity. It’s clear we must go beyond the widely accepted narrative to discover anything about the women. To begin, we need to remember that twelve women and a baby girl arrived aboard the Bounty in 1790, along with six Polynesian men and just nine mutineers. The majority of the population was overwhelmingly Polynesian, establishing their new society in a Polynesian space – the plants, the landscape, the fish and the birds would all have been familiar to the Polynesians. They were the ones who were needed most to survive on this new land. Over the following 10 years, all the men except Adams were killed or died of sickness. Their battles amongst themselves and with the women gave few moments of peace. Three women also died, two of them falling to their death whilst gathering eggs from the cliffs, and one from disease. It also fell on the shoulders of the women who, after the men had been murdered one by one, continued to raise, educate, clothe, and feed the children. The Bounty women were in fact powerful actors in the shaping of the culture that would emerge on Pitcairn. On Pitcairn Island they played key roles in all areas of society. Yet history has not highlighted their accomplishments. History, to a large extent, has chosen to ignore them. It’s not only in the European narrative that the women appear invisible. They were excluded from the Polynesian genealogies because they left Tahiti’s shores without trace. However, there are clues along the way … if we look closely at their names. The women were known by their Polynesian names, and also the names given them by their mutineer husbands after a mother, or a sister, for example. Their Polynesian names indicate that at least 10 of the twelve women were of the noble classes. Four of the names contain “atua” the Tahitian name for god or gods, indicating they were royalty, or at least from the elite classes of the old Tahitian culture. Two of their names reference goddesses: ‘Faahotu’ and ‘Vahineatua’. One references 'Tina' the chiefly family from Tubuai, another 'Rai' ‐ the sacred sky, and another the sacred colour red, ‘Ura’. This disproves the often quoted premise by the linguists and would‐be historians Ross and Moverley that the majority of the women were ‘non‐descripts of the lower classes’. Their presence is felt day to day in the lives of their descendants on Pitcairn and Norfolk Islands. Polynesian words are sprinkled throughout the Norf'k and Pitkern language, serving as a constant reminder that these women educated their children in their own language. Also, their cooking methods and weaving techniques are still a large part of island living. The women made vast amounts of tapa, some of which were gifted to visiting captains and crews from the time of Folger’s visit in 1808, and fortunately, many of these have ended up in museums around the world. These tapa are important, as primary sources for a number of reasons. In certain cases, the woman who gifted the tapa was noted, in others, the collector was noted. Furthermore, occasionally these exchanges between ships' crews and the women are mentioned in journals and diaries. And lastly, the quality of the tapa cloth reveals the background of the maker. As a researcher, putting this data together provides me with a large amount of information. As a descendant of those women, there are no words to describe the experience of touching the tapa cloth made and used by an ancestor – something she touched and laboured over. Another thing to know is that the first six women in this list of names had children, the last six died childless. Of the five pieces on display here at the exhibition, we know that Mauatua, Teraura and Little Peggy Stewart made the Kew pieces, and the daughter of Vahineatua gifted (and therefore was the likely maker of) the Aberdeen ‘tiputa’. At Kew Gardens there are three pieces of cloth connected to the Bounty story. They contain some clues to the upbringing of the makers, their personalities and friendships, and the developing culture of Pitcairn at the time. All three were donated to Kew by Frances Heywood, Peter Heywood’s widow. The first I would like to talk about is one made by Mauatua. Fletcher Christian named her ‘Isabella’ after his cousin, and ‘Mainmast’ because of her height. This is a fragment cut from a larger piece. Plain white and incredibly fine, exhibiting the great skill used to produce it. These techniques were used by the upper classes in old Tahiti. Reverend Thomas Murray wrote that Frances Heywood had given him ‘a piece of beautifully wrought white tappa’, cut from a larger bale that Mauatua had sent via Captain Jenkin Jones in 1841. The captain’s surgeon, William Gunn described an outbreak of influenza on the island, and mentioned the ‘only two old persons on the island’, who were Mauatua and Teraura. From the time the Bounty had arrived in Tahiti to collect breadfruit, Mauatua appears to have been associated with the crew, travelling with them to Tubuai after the mutiny whilst Heywood was still on board. Christian and Heywood were close friends, and this must have impressed Mauatua enough to extend this friendship to Heywood's wife. According to Frances’ daughter, before being cut up, this cloth measured ‘several yards’ and she described it as ‘beautifully manufactured tappa cloth’. Certainly, it appears both Frances and her daughter treasured the gift. The museum tag accompanying the piece tells us the cloth was collected in 1842, although it was actually 1841, and that Mauatua was 100 years old, which may or may not be true. She was noted in the Pitcairn Register as remembering Captain Cook’s first visit to Tahiti. She must have been allowed to come very close to Cook as she was able to describe details of his rheumatism and the Tahitian massage and medicine that was given him. This is further testimony of her position in society, as she was allowed to approach and observe a man of Cook’s standing. Mauatua died only a month after Jones’ visit to the island, succumbing to the influenza. More pieces of Mauatua’s work can be found ‐ there are three more samples at the British Museum. The tags reveal interesting information. Often the women were referred to by the surname of their original partner on Pitcairn, even if he had died and she had moved on. Before arriving on Pitcairn, John Adams maintained that the mutineers married nine of the twelve women whilst still aboard the Bounty, probably as a way to claim ownership over them, as there were more men than women in the early days. Fletcher Christian was killed in 1793, and Mauatua consequently settled with Edward Young and had another three or four children. But she always remained ‘Mrs Christian’. Teraura, who arrived at Pitcairn as ‘Mrs Young’ went on to settle down with Mauatua and Christian’s son, Thursday October Christian, yet was still known to visitors as ‘Mrs Young’. Mauatua and Teraura were the oldest and youngest women to arrive on Pitcairn in 1790. They outlived all the other original settlers. They worked together making fine white tapa cloth. In 1833 after a visit, Frederick Bennett wrote briefly about them, describing Mauatua as active, both mentally and physically. Teraura appears to have taken a shining to the young Bennett, giving a lock of her long and dark curly hair as a gift, along with a ‘native cloth of brilliant colours, which she had herself manufactured’. So now we know that Teraura made both plain and coloured cloth. The story of Peggy, George Stewart, and their daughter Charlotte, known more often as “Little Peggy”, is a fascinating tale. Peggy and George were married in a traditional ceremony in Tahiti before the mutiny. She was the daughter of the great chief TePau of Tetaha (today known as Faa'a where the airport is), who also had extensive contacts and influence over Pare, Mahina and Matavai. His sister was the woman known to Wallis as the “Queen of Tahiti”. She is the only one I can definitely place in the genealogical charts because Charlotte, or “Little Peggy” stayed in Tahiti. No one writes more beautifully of Peggy and her fate than by the missionaries who arrived in 1797 aboard the Duff. 'The history of Peggy Stewart marks a tenderness of heart that never will be heard without emotion: she was the daughter of a chief, and taken for his wife by Mr. Stewart, one of the unhappy mutineers. They had lived with the old chief in the most tender state of endearment; a beautiful little girl had been the fruit of their union, and was at the breast when the Pandora arrived, seized the criminals, and secured them in irons on board the ship. Frantic with grief, the unhappy Peggy (for so he had named her) flew with her infant in a canoe to the arms of her husband. The interview was so affecting and afflicting, that the officers on board were overwhelmed with anguish, and Stewart himself, unable to bear the heartrending scene, begged she might not be admitted again on board. She was separated from him by violence, and conveyed on shore in a state of despair and grief too big for utterance. Withheld from him, and forbidden to come any more on board, she sunk into the deepest dejection’ Little Peggy grew up with the missionaries after her mother died, it is said, of a broken heart. At some stage, Little Peggy made a fine tapa out of 'aute and gifted it to Lieutenant John Marshall of the Royal Navy, who later presented it to Peter Heywood or Peter’s widow. We must remember that Peter Heywood and George Stewart were the closest of friends. Vahineatua’s daughter Dinah gifted the beautiful tiputa which is on display. This one is very special as it shows signs of having been worn and repaired. The ‘tiputa’ is made of a number of layers of cloth made from the paper mulberry, called 'aute, the breadfruit called 'uru, and possibly the banyan which is called 'ora. They are strengthened with the pasted red stripes over the shoulders, and are carefully lined. The assembly of patterned and dyed cloth is repeated in a several tiputa, most of which are held in the British Museum and the National Museum of Scotland, and thanks to the symposium this past week, another one has been located by Michaela Appel of the Munich Museum of Ethnology. There are also several examples of patterned and layered tapa, not yet cut for tiputa, perhaps meant to be used as blankets or mats. The particular stamped patterns and pasting of rows of straight or zigzagged lines in this way is unique to Pitcairn. Remember, we know that Teraura made ‘brightly coloured cloth’ as did, it appears, Dinah, Vahineatua’s daughter. Perhaps this was an experiment involving both generations. Both men and women wore the patterned fabric. Dinah’s sister Hannah is here with her husband George Young. Here they are depicted preparing an 'ahima'a, or earthoven, wearing fairly short tiputa, unlike the longer ones in Tahiti, and dark red pareu. Frederick Bennett described Polly Young as ‘the finest and most intelligent woman on the island’ in 1833. Polly and her sister Dolly were both daughters of Mauatua and Edward Young. And like her, they made beautiful plain cloth. It makes sense that the mother would pass on her skills to her daughters. Polly’s piece is held at the Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand, and Dolly’s piece is at the Pitt River Museum in Oxford. However, the majority of Pitcairn Island cloths do not have a known maker. Sometimes just the writing on the cloth, or a tag, gives some information. Certainly, there are three main groups of tapa cloth – very fine white cloth, the patterned pieces, and the thicker pieces which appear to have been made by the later generations, when perhaps, the technique was not as exacting. This piece from the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge simply states that it was made by the Pitcairn Islanders, and has very little accompanying information. At the British Museum there are another two pieces of tapa which show great skill and knowledge. These are very rare specimens. This piece was possibly made by Hannah, Vahineatua’s daughter. It would have been made as an ‘ahufara, or shawl to be worn over the shoulders. By 1850, Teraura died. She was the last of the original settlers. Six years later, the entire Pitcairn population was moved to Norfolk Island. One of the last activities the women were seen involved in before leaving Pitcairn, was making tapa. However, that ended on reaching Norfolk Island where the flora and climate are different – tapa would not have been warm enough for the Pitcairners on Norfolk, and furthermore, active missionaries began to train the women on how to run their lives in an English fashion, with a ready supply of cotton. On Norfolk, cloth was still gifted to visitors, but it was tapa made on Pitcairn. This tag is as important as the tapa cloth it accompanies – showing us that it was now the second generation of women gifting cloth. On the return of some families to Pitcairn years later, some of the women resumed making tapa, but the practice stopped again in the 1940s. Forunately, this practice is being revived while the Pitcairn tapa are becoming better known and understood. The ‘Ahu Sistas are a group of women descendants who initially formed in order to protect the tapa images from being reproduced on a commercial venture of little benefit to the descendants of the makers. But since then, we have achieved much. Meralda Warren has developed her own successful practice and is now passing on her knowledge to the children on Pitcairn. Her deep cultural knowledge and passion for growing 'aute in her gardens and making tapa has been a true inspiration. With trial and error she has revived the art of dyeing and decorating cloth. Jean Clarkson was the first to discover the existence and importance of the Pitcairn tapa cloths, when she opened Simon Kooijman’s Tapa in Polynesia. Her art practice has blossomed with the knowledge of this practice and and has begun making tapa with her daughter in New Zealand. Similarly, Sue Pearson is a prolific artist who has been exhibited internationally and is well recognised for her work around the tapas and the Bounty women. These artists continue to celebrate the accomplishments of our foremothers through their artwork, and exhibitions have been held in Tahiti, Norfolk Island, New Zealand, but perhaps the most important one was held recently on Pitcairn Island. Meralda and the school children put their work on display at the school to raise awareness of their heritage. For me, I feel it is important to never again forget the legacy of these women who, by love or kidnapping, ended up far from their homelands and began a new culture and society. So, in closing, the women on Pitcairn actively contributed to the identity of the island, defining themselves and their children each time they produced a bale of tapa using the techniques and knowledge of their cultural and social background. This was affirmed each time they honoured the age‐old ritual of gifting tapa, each time they passed their knowledge onto their own daughters and granddaughters, and each time they clothed themselves in the tapa. Finally, by presenting the Pitcairn tapa here at this exhibition in this context of Pacific‐ ness, the pieces are validated as contributing to the Pacific story. Also I'd like to thank the organisers of the symposium and the exhibition for asking me to participate and talk with you today. It's such an honour. I'd also like to thank all those wonderful curators over the years who have been so generous with their time in allowing me to access the cloths and the collection catalogues. Museum people are really very special people. The Pitcairn tapa cloths provide valuable insight into the world of the Bounty women and their daughters. By using the cloths as primary sources, and combining this information with oral histories, linguistic and cultural awareness, the women emerge from the fantasy of the South Sea Maiden and the widely accepted Bounty narrative. The Pitcairn tapa cloths remind us to go to the source and dig deeper.