The causes are worthy, the course is daunting — about 500km across a stretch of the Pacific Ocean in a large canoe.
It is the Hoki Mai Challenge, which started on Saturday in Rapa Nui, a territory in the Pacific that is part of Chile and is better known as Easter Island.
The event consists of a canoe voyage in which nine Rapanuis, two Chileans and one Hawaiian seek to raise awareness about the importance of women in the world, urge environmental protection and celebrate the union of the islands of Polynesia.
Photo: AP
The 12 athletes have been training six days a week since mid-September, preparing for a voyage that would take them from Rapa Nui to Motu Motiro Hiva, another island in the mid-Pacific that belongs to Chile.
“It won’t be easy,” Hoki Mai coordinator Gilles Bordes said. “Three days and three nights.”
Bordes moved to Rapa Nui earlier this year, but he has lived in Polynesia for three decades, devoting much of his time to rowing.
Photo: AP
“I am very grateful to all the Tahitians for teaching me their culture and how to row,” he said. “I came from France, but they accepted me and allowed me to share this with them.”
Hoki Mai pursues three goals. The first is to honor canoeing in Polynesia, which has been practiced for centuries.
The second relates to the environment. Motu Motiro Hiva — also called Isla Salas y Gomez — is an uninhabited island, but its land and the surrounding waters have been affected by pollution.
The third purpose relates to gender equality. The team is carrying a small female Moai — one of the ancient statues that Easter Island is famous for — to raise awareness about the importance of women in the world.
A bigger statue — carved by a local artist for Hoki Mai — is due to be taken to Motu Motiro Hiva in March.
During the voyage, rowing would be done in relays: Groups of six row for about four hours, and are replaced by the next shift. Those who need to rest can do so in a Chilean navy ship escorting the canoe.
“The training has been hard, especially for those of us who are less experienced,” said Konturi Atan, a 36-year-old historian.
Atan said a crew member invited him to join a few months ago while he was out paddling a one-person canoe.
“He told me: I need you to come on Tuesdays and Thursdays to help us; we’re lacking enough people to train,” Atan said, adding that after rowing and sharing a meal with them, he agreed to join the challenge.
On training days, they often started before dawn to get accustomed to the darkness they would face during much of the Hoki Mai.
“We practiced rowing at night, we practiced getting little sleep, we practiced training every day,” Atan said.
“Gym, rowing, gym, rowing, gym, rowing, except for Sunday, when we rest,” he said.
Spirituality and sacredness are pervasive in Rapa Nui, including cooking rituals and songs about its history. Sports also incorporate spirituality.
Several days before the trip, the canoe built for Hoki Mai was blessed with an umu, which involves cooking underground with hot stones in a sacred ceremony.
“We did it with a white chicken,” Atan said. “It is something spiritual, eating a piece is a connection to our roots.”
Their cultural legacy is also linked to the Moai, like the one they are carrying to Motu Motiro Hiva.
Carved in volcanic stone between 1000 to 1600 AD from the slopes of the Rano Raraku volcano, they represent the ancestors of the clans whose descendants still inhabit Rapa Nui. They were placed on ceremonial platforms called ahus with their torsos facing the island to provide protection.
They attracted international attention in October after a fire damaged dozens of them.
Ahus were built in some other places in Polynesia, but Moais are exclusive to Rapa Nui. The bond between neighboring islands is still strong.
Rapa Nui, Tahiti, Hawaii and even New Zealand share language similarities and other features.
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