SOCIETY ISLANDS

“The most important thing is to say what happened to us. When the first European arrived here, he shot at us! That was the first contact. We got alcohol, we got illnesses… That’s what you’re not told about. Don’t come here telling me that Polynesian women threw themselves into the beds of European sailors. Hang on! The sailors at the time turned up after six months of sailing, they had scurvy, bleeding gums, and wobbly teeth. We called them the papaa, the “burnt skins”: they had skin that peeled and beards down to here. They smelt bad because they didn’t bathe.

At the time, hygiene wasn’t a priority in Europe. And they want us to believe that our grandmothers rushed into their arms even if they had their own gorgeous guys, with smooth skin, who bathed fifteen times a day? Don’t give me that! Of course there were love stories! But you just need a bit of common sense. Since the dawn of time, women have been the best currency.” (…)

Chantal Spitz, writer

Extract from L'Errance et le Divers, 2018, Éditions Gallimard