GREAT REASONS TO GO A SPLENDID UPLIFTED ATOLL, WITH A PRESERVED ENVIRONMENT A LAGOON OF « JADE » WHOSE COLOR IS REFLECTED BY THE CLOUDS SUPERB WHITE SAND MOTU LITTERED WITH LARGE BLOCKS OF FOSSIL CORAL A WELCOMING POPULATION, AN ANCESTRAL HISTORY THAT ONCE MORE TAKES PRIDE OF PLACE AN ECO-TOURISM PILOT PROGRAM AND A FLY-FISHERMAN’S DREAM DESTINATION GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES (LATITUDE/LONGITUDE) : LATITUDE : 17°20’31» SOUTH, LONGITUDE : 145°30’31» WEST SURFACE AREA : 184 km 2 DISTANCE FROM TAHITI : 430 km POPULATION : 500 inhabitants AIR TAHITI FLIGHTS : one flights a week PRACTICAL INFORMATION : Lodging : two family run guesthouses and homestay options Businesses and restaurants : three small stores in the village of Tukuhora and a few snack bars. Services : Post offce (OPT) offering bank services : notably cash withdrawals (bank cards are not accepted by the stores), medical dispensary, cellphone reception (except in certain zones) and internet accessin Tukuhora village. LA PÊCHE VIVRIÈRE SE PRATIQUE ICI AU QUOTIDIEN ET À TOUT ÂGE. FISHING FOR FOOD IS PRACTICED ON A DAILY BASIS BY ALL AGES. 44 A rich history, that’s been studied and recorded For more information about Anaa’s ethnohistory, it is worth referring to Frédéric Torrente’s study : Buveurs de mers, mangeurs de terres, histoire des guerriers d’Anaa aux îles Tuamotu (Seawater drinkers, island eaters, the history of Anaa’s warriors in the Tuamotu), published by Te Pito o te Fenua. This (2010) doctoral thesis uses information taken from a large body of traditional knowledge (a several thousand page-long transcript in the local language) from an inhabitant of Anaa, Paea-e-Avehe, born in 1889, who had received the information from his uncle. This information was corroborated by archaeological and botanical research. The work of interpretation, documentation and translation was carried out in collaboration with local informants, specialists in the parata language (one of the archipelago’s dialects), members of the pau’motu language academy, created a decade ago. The work was also carried out in partnership with learned members of Anaa’s cultural association, Pu tahi haga no Ganaa. In comparison to most of the atolls in the Tuamotu, the island of Anaa has « soils that are richer and more variable, numerous freshwater sources and more abundant plant resources. The reef provided a greater potential for fishing and gathering sea-food », notes Frédéric Torrente. Which « provides an unprecedented insight into the creation stories, the mythical foundations of social organization, ancient religion, resource use techniques, legends and the epic journeys of great warriors, songs praising the prowess of warriors or great chiefs of the island and their genealogies, linked to their main cosmogenic beliefs », says this academic, who sees Anaa as « an inexhaustible subject of research ». This body of information, as wellas information preserved in the puta tupuna (family history books) continues to be the focus of reconstruction and clarification. This work is carried out by focal individuals, able to document and transmit this information, came from an uncertain past, where it could so easily have vanished from memory. It is also worth noting that in 2016 the Putahi haga no Ganaa association received EU funding through the BEST program, to undertake multidisciplinary scientific studies on the atoll’s endemic flora and fauna. Training courses oriented towards careers in tourism have also been organized for the island’s youth (on ethno-history, botany, archaeology). |