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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by L. Gauthier 



ONE POSTURE OF THE FAMOUS "UPA UPA" DANCE OF TPIE TAHITIANS 



Note the musical instrument. Add to its drawl and to those weird contortions the effect 

 of the droning "himinies," or folk-songs, which, like the dance, have varying effects upon 

 the auditors. Some visitors report the monotones insufferably tedious; others have professed 

 to find in the undertones, that give an effect like a bagpipe, a crude precursor of Wagnerian 

 music. It is interesting to note that Tahiti parents do not permit their children to indulge 

 in the dance until thev have reached the age of eighteen or are married. 



the island. Suddenly sunbeams bathed 

 mountain summit and valley floor. The 

 great Ra of the Polynesian was now well 

 advanced on his daily march across the 

 sky. In the solitudes of the interior, 

 dark with luxuriant foliage, vapor shad- 

 ows fantastically flitted about. In the 

 burst of light I saw more clearly the 

 strange features of rocky height, the 

 palm-sheltered shores, and the secluded 

 town beneath leafy sunshades. 



SUNRISE AT PAPEETE 



Straight ahead was the long, high ridge 

 of Aorai, culminating 7,000 feet above 

 the tides. Standing at the head of the 

 historic Fautaua Valley, it overlooked 

 La Diademe and lesser heights and 

 guarded a difficult entrance to the inner- 

 most recesses of the island. 



To its right rose 



great crown of 



nature's fashioning — La Diademe of the 

 French, the Maiauo of the Tahitians. 

 The loftiest of its jutting spurs, which 

 fancy had sculptured into kingly insignia, 

 towered 4,000 feet above the sea and 

 seemed to be covered to its tip with vege- 

 tation. Between Aorai and the lengthy 

 ridges to the right was a mighty gap. 

 Through this the Fautaua River cut its 

 way, spilling itself, six miles from the 

 sea, in a cascade more than 600 feet high. 



Somewhere beyond Aorai the still 

 loftier Orohena lifted its steepled head. 

 Its sheer walls had baffled all who had 

 attempted to surmount them. Up to a 

 certain distance human feet had trodden ; 

 above that only vegetation had found a 

 resting place. 



In the foreground, mirrored in a deep 

 and clear harbor that swarmed with ma- 

 rine life of great variety and diversified 



