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Air Tahiti Magazine 65
destination akamaru prayers and stones from the 19th century, evangelization inspired a frenzy of construction in the gambier islands, all with considerable effort from the community. on akamaru, the well-preserved buildings of today are a living testament of this period. w hen father honore laval arrived on akamaru on august 7th 1834 he was impressed by the faith of the inhabitants who he knew had only recently been converted to monotheism. laval would stay in the archipelago for over 35 years (1834-1871) and said in one of his correspondences: «we have already made it known that these people have a great confidence in the missionaries i believe that this confidence comes from the fact that they already hold the idea of a big agod and that is what they call our god. they now call the other gods etna aka rarerure, meaning false gods or gods who mislead.» (1) the new beliefs, taken from the picpus order, which father laval was a part of, were taught with conviction and effectively persuaded the inhabitants of the gambier. little by little the polytheist temples (marae) disappeared to be replaced by catholic edifices. it was in this particular context that catholic churches began springing up all throughout the archipelago. these harepure («houses of prayers»), an expression coined by father laval, were often constructed on ancient marae that have been discovered because of their perimeters of stones and/or basalt rocks. this process unfortunately explains why there are so few archaeological sites and ancient polynesian vestiges in the gambier - most places would have been destroyed during the intense evangelization of the archipelago. nostalgia notre dame de paix church was constructed in 1845 in vaikato village on akamaru by missionaries and islanders. all was built under the will and direction of father laval who lived on the island for a few years. history buffs will appreciate the architectural resemblance of this church to the cathedral in chartres, france (where father laval was born), especially in the asymmetry of the two bell towers. the striking church on akamaru has detailed ornamental details that was sculpted into the coral with remarkable skill. the colors of the building s exterior - blue and white make all the surrounding greens of the jungle and gardens feel more intense. this vast contrast hasn t lost its allure and still charms and fascinates visitors today. to better understand the style of life of father laval, it s important to make a detour to his presbytery. it is here at the back of the north facade of the notre dame de paix church where the missionary passed his days in a small house and in a well-maintained garden. the area has been kept up by the island s inhabitants and today the kitchen, wells and bread oven are still in excellent condition. the beautiful neoclassical paleo-christian church is reached by walking up a grand and gorgeous walkway lined with coconut palms. these buildings are only a small part of the structures built under the religious directives of the picpus order by the gambier people. in all they built more than 116 (as counted in 1909) edifices that eventually gave them the name the «father builders.» (1) letter from m. honore laval, of the picpus society, missionary of eastern polyneisa, to m. aymard, of the same society, in «annales de la propagation de la foi, recueil periodique,» septeber 1836, tome 9, in the lyon editor s office mission of notre-dame-de-paix, gambier islands, february 25, 1835 16 revue de bord n°65 / air tahiti / on-board magazine n°65
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