Every Soviet schoolboy knew perfectly well that there are four human races, the main distinguishing feature of which is the color of the skin. In addition to it also took into account the color of hair and its curl, the shape of the eyes, the structure of the skull, facial features, etc. Some nations were singled out according to additional features. However, the rapid development of ethnography, many expeditions and chamber studies have led scientists to the idea that in addition to the basic clearly there are transitional races, combining the features of basic. Such are, for example, the mulatto, the mestizo, or the Polynesian.
Polynesia is the largest geographic area of Oceania, a triangle with the tops resting on Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island. Oceania also includes two smaller areas, Micronesia and Melanesia. In all, there are more than 10,000 islands scattered across the Pacific Ocean, of which not all are inhabited today, and those that are inhabited are far from being well studied, as they were discovered in the relatively recent historical past and have not been of much interest to science, industry and the world economy for a long time.
That all changed in the second half of the 20th century. Historians, geographers and ethnographers are seriously interested in the problem of inhabiting the islands, the origin of local population, their way of life and culture, which, by the way, has not changed so much under the onset of civilization.
Who are the Polynesians
Polynesians are a group of related indigenous peoples inhabiting many Polynesian islands in the central and southern Pacific. More than 1.1 million people live on these islands, half of them Maori.
The islanders are considered the bearers of the most "maritime" civilization in all of Oceania. The natives themselves say of themselves that the sea is their land. The people consist of several Austronesian national categories who speak Polynesian languages.
Several native Polynesian dialects were threatened with extinction by colonization. The arrival of European missionaries, who did not accept the pagan lifestyles of the natives, and their imposition of Christianity led to the loss of quite a few local ethnic traditions.
Women at the Sea (Motherhood) (1899)
Women on the seashore (motherhood). 1899. St. Petersburg. State Hermitage Museum.
A painting created by Gauguin in the last years of his life testifies to the artist's complete withdrawal from European civilization. This painting is inspired by real events - Pahura, the Tahitian lover of the artist in 1899 gave birth to his son.
The races and peoples of Polynesia
Anthropologically, the inhabitants of the Polynesian Islands are in a kind of species gap between the major races. The identity of their typology consists not only in the characteristic feature of their appearance, but also in the distinctive combination of differences inherent in other racial groups.
Anthropologists believe that Polynesians arose as a result of a mixture of early variants of mongoloid and australoid races. And this fact largely explains the peculiarities of the appearance of the indigenous inhabitants. And in this connection, of course, it would be interesting to understand the primary roots of the Polynesian population of Southeast Asia.
The inhabitants of eastern Micronesia are slightly different from the indigenous Polynesian inhabitants. Unlike the usually taller Polynesians, they are much shorter in height and have considerably less weight. Western Micronesians look more like natives of the Philippines. But as the people approach Melanesia, some signs of mixing with its inhabitants are noticeable.
Polynesian style tattoos: sketches and beautiful ideas
Among all the variety, we have selected beautiful sketches that look great on the body. In addition, in the selection of ideas, everyone will be able to find the most suitable tattoo option for themselves.
As you can see, tattoos in the Polynesian style are really different from all others. They are quite austere, restrained, but still occupy a large enough area on the body.
History of the origin of the Polynesian race
About the origin of the inhabitants of Polynesia and Micronesia, experts are debating to this day. Many the most incredible hypotheses were put forward on this topic: that Polynesians are descendants of ancient Egyptians, Sumerians, the lost tribe of Israel or natives of the continent that sank to the bottom of the ocean - the Pacific Atlantis.
There is no genetic confirmation of Thor Heyerdahl's theory about the resettlement of Polynesians from America: most scientists, nevertheless, agree that they come from Southeast Asia.
The origin of the natives of Polynesia can be explained by the evolutionary history of Indonesia and Indochina, which were inhabited by Australoids since ancient times. Where there are now many small oceanic islands, thousands of years ago the land occupied a much larger space.
There was a land route from Asia to Australia through present-day Indonesia. Therefore, the Mongoloid race influenced the Negro-Australoid peoples, who began to migrate southward little by little. Following them, the Asians, who maintained good relations with their neighbors and gradually mingled with them, also migrated.
This theory is considered more realistic and quite similar to the truth. The birth of the Polynesian race dates back to the 4th or 3rd century B.C., when the island of Oceania began to be settled rapidly. The future Polynesians demonstrated their talent as excellent and fearless sailors, able to sail their boats through the Pacific in stormy waters without a map or compass, guided only by the stars. And they succeeded in exploring the most remote islands of the Pacific.
Today there are about three dozen closely related languages in Polynesia. Micronesians speak 40 commonly understood dialects. Polynesians and Micronesians communicate with each other in Austronesian languages similar to the speech of Indonesians, Filipinos, Melanesians, natives of Madagascar and Taiwan.
Links between Oceania and South America
Numerous legends from one of the largest Polynesian islands, Rarotonga, contain much very convincing evidence that a maritime link between the island and South America did exist. One of the legends describes in great detail the great Polynesian expedition eastward, which resulted in the reaching of the "land of mountain ranges. Obviously, we are talking about the Andes. Even more convincing are the archaeological findings in the territories of Chile and Argentina: there Polynesian arrowheads were found. The stone telas used by the Incas and the Polynesians are very similar, not to mention the fact that in the languages of both peoples the instrument is pronounced in the same way. The yam, a sweet potato native to the continent of South America and grown everywhere on the islands of Oceania, speaks in favor of contact.
The famous traveler Thor Heyerdahl in the mid-20th century tried to prove the theory that the contact between the two peoples occurred thanks to the Indians of South America, who reached Polynesia on balsa rafts, using the system of sea currents in the area. He even traveled on a similar raft himself. However, modern historians and ethnographers are finding more and more evidence that members of the Polynesian race were also able to travel there and back, using knowledge of the Equatorial Current and countercurrents, trade winds and west winds.
Polynesian Appearance
The appearance of the native inhabitants of the Polynesian islands is a clear example of the combination of the characteristic differences of several races. Their facial features and skin color bear the features of the Negro and Mongoloid races. But Polynesians differ from the representatives of the Negroes, for example, by having a lighter shade of skin, a noticeably prominent nose and rather large facial features.
Although, in comparison with, say, Caucasoids, their skin color and hair are much darker, and the body hair on men is less developed. Their common features with Mongoloids are also the strongly prominent nose. The inhabitants of Polynesia have curly black hair, like the southern Caucasoids and Australoids, although people with straight hair do occur on the islands.
The yellowish-brown color of the Polynesian skin is darker than that of the swarthy Europeans, and more reminiscent of the color of the inhabitants of Egypt and Indonesia. From the Mongoloid Polynesians borrowed slightly flattened face with sharply outlined cheekbones, but the characteristic narrow eyes and the specific fold above them in the faces of the islanders are almost absent.
The wide nose of the islanders is similar to that of the Negro, but the bridge of the nose is straight like that of the Europeans. The lips are of medium thickness: more plump than those of Europeans, but thinner than those of Melanesians.
The Polynesians are also characterized by their rather tall stature - up to 180 cm - with a very developed musculature of the body. With a rather elongated and stocky torso, the lower limbs are perceived as slightly shortened. Over the years, most people of this race put on extra pounds, and they look, as a result, quite heavy. But this happens, it should be noted, only in our time: changes in diet have not bypassed anyone. In the past, however, the whole world admired the mighty bodies of Polynesian bogeymen.
The physiques we have described generally diverge from classical ecological patterns. The theory states that the development of large biological individuals is characteristic of the colder zones of our planet. Experts, on the other hand, explain the athletic development of natives living in hot Oceania by natural selection.
In the course of long sea voyages and in conditions of constant hypothermia, survival and stress, this nation has turned into a sturdy people, able to withstand the elements. They purposefully changed the proportions of their bodies and increased their musculature also for the preservation of the heat so necessary for any organism.
Genetics
Thus, the information on the genetics of Polynesians and Melanesians is very disparate. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down through the female line, and Y-DNA, which is passed down through the paternal line, has revealed that these peoples appeared in the process of mixing mongoloids from East Asia with the indigenous Papuans.
But the mix of genes is usually distributed in different ratios along the maternal and paternal lines. Polynesians and Micronesians are dominated by Asian ancestry, and Melanesians by Papuan ancestry.
Clothing
The traditional closet of the islanders is simple and consists of a loincloth, a tapa (pressed bark) or pandanus (a tropical plant) skirt, or a special apron. Men's and women's clothing, in fact, did not differ much, but the model depended on the social status of the owner.
Chiefs wore capes and headdresses made of colorful feathers of birds, beautiful plants and shells. However, garlands or flower wreaths were also worn by the lower class. The tattoos often seen among the islanders also attest to their social status.
Polynesian garments were not subject to washing, they were simply disposed of as soon as the tapa started to spoil from water. Nowadays, the islanders use mostly European clothes.
Social relations and way of life
There were two social strata in Polynesian society: the upper class and the lower class. In Tahiti, Hawaii, and Tonga, people of medium social importance were also distinguished. In New Zealand and the Cook Islands, captured enemies were turned into slaves. On most islands the authority of a chief was hereditary, and only on Samoa was the leader chosen by the tribe itself.
On the whole, the differences between the nobility and the plebeians were considerable on the islands. Though not the same in different places. The local patricians on the Marquesas, for example, enjoyed minimal benefits, while those in Hawaii and Tahiti enjoyed maximum benefits. The attitude to genealogy among the islanders was truly reverent everywhere: Polynesian chiefs had to learn by heart and remember the lives of tens of tribes of all their forefathers.
If the aborigines had to fight, they did not aim to seize someone else's land: they only had to chase away enemies from their own territory.
The ceremony of marriage among Polynesians was limited by a large number of rules and conditions. The most reprehensible was the union of a chief with a commoner, and such a marriage could lead to the abdication of power by the chief.
It was customary for young people before marriage to have freedom of intimacy. Fidelity was valued in marriage, but adultery was not condemned. Europeans often noted the immorality of the natives, although their habit of walking around unclothed was only due to the warm local climate.
The King's Wife (1896)
The King's Wife. 1896. St. Petersburg. The State Hermitage Museum.
Gauguin painted The King's Wife during his second stay in Tahiti. The Tahitian beauty with the red fan behind her head, which is the sign of royalty, makes one think of Edouard Manet's "Olympia" and Titian's "Venus of Urbino." The beast creeping down the slope symbolizes feminine mystery. But most importantly, according to the artist himself, the painting has color. "...It seems to me that in color I have never yet created any piece with such a strong solemn sound," Gauguin wrote to one of his friends.
Reasons for the resettlement of Polynesians on different islands
The patterns of Polynesian and Melanesian displacement were also different:
- Papuans and Australians migrated in typical Stone Age fashion, using mostly landward movement during the ocean's retreat. Long sea voyages and distant islands were inaccessible to them;
- the ancestors of the Polynesians, the bearers of the Lapita culture (an ancient archaeological Pacific culture), on the contrary, possessed excellent navigation skills and managed to reach the uninhabited Pacific margins bypassing Melanesia.
There are two theories of Polynesian settlement of Oceania: the "speed train" hypothesis and the "slow voyage" hypothesis.
- The first assumes a rapid spread of ancient Polynesians in unoccupied territories from island to island. Therefore, the advanced groups of settlers did not have time to mix with the Asian aborigines here.
- The second hypothesis speaks of their gradual migration, as a consequence of which a high percentage of mixing of different kinds of population could be expected.
Nevertheless, both of these theories do not provide a reliable explanation of this phenomenon. The averaged model looks more realistic, perhaps, in which the first stage was the rapid settlement of people and then the secondary migration of mestizo groups, following the path of the first settlers.
Language and culture of the island peoples
Today there are about three dozen closely related languages in Polynesia. Micronesians speak 40 dialects that are commonly understood. The Polynesians and Micronesians speak the so-called Austronesian languages which are similar to the speech of Indonesians, Filipinos, Melanesians, natives of Madagascar and Taiwan.
On the whole, scientists know about forty Polynesian languages, spoken by about 900 thousand local inhabitants. Though, only half of these languages are constantly used in everyday life: the rest are usually used when people perform certain rituals.
The names of the dialects usually coincide with the names of the ethnic groups. Among the largest in terms of their number of speakers are languages:
- Samoan;
- Tongan
- Maori;
- Tahitian;
- Hawaiian.
The Polynesian languages and dialects are in many ways similar to each other, many words in them have a common meaning and the same sound. Thus, identical in many dialects are the words: "sky", "home", "parent", "woman", "north wind".
Tahitian women on the coast (1891)
Tahitian women on the coast. 1891. Paris. Musée d' Orsay.
In Tahiti, Paul Gauguin painted more than 50 paintings, his best. Women were a special subject for the temperamental painter. And the women in Tahiti were special compared to the prim Europe. The French writer Defontaine wrote: "It is impossible to please them.
It is impossible to please them, they are always short of money, no matter how generous you are... To think about tomorrow and to feel gratitude - both are equally alien to Tahitian women. They live only in the present, do not think about the future, and do not remember the past. The gentlest, most devoted lover is forgotten as soon as he steps over the threshold, forgotten literally the very next day. The main thing for them is to intoxicate themselves with songs, dances, alcohol and love.
».
Art
The Polynesians created a richly developed culture on the islands, based on the division of labor and the development of crafts. The islanders were perfectly able to build boats, houses, decorated them with intricate wooden or stone carvings and themselves with intricate tattoos.
Dwellings
Maori houses are remarkable works of art with carved and painted facades, frames and rafters. Their ornamentation includes human images surrounded by scrolls and spiral patterns that symbolize ancestors and alternate with figures of demons with frigate bird heads. The role of birds in the local tradition is clear and understandable: birds helped sailors to find new islands.
The protruding parts of Polynesian ships, as well as the chests for storing Polynesian valuables: feathers, weapons, tools, are usually also covered with elaborate carvings.
The Art of Tattooing
An important part of Polynesian culture is the traditional tattoo. It was applied to the skin as a sign of a person's belonging to his tribe or as a symbol of adulthood.
The islanders with fair skin widely practiced tattoos, communicating the social status of its owner and his achievements in life. Moreover, tattoos were used for different purposes and in different variations, including being used to resemble sculpture models.
Folk folklore
Polynesians also created many folklore works: - myths; - legends; - fairy tales; - songs.
Folk poetry has accumulated legends of their sea voyages and wanderings to distant islands. The plots of these legends are similar in many ways, as they were based on approximately the same realities.
Colorful Polynesian traditions and rituals
Regardless of one ethnicity or another, most Polynesians believe in ancestral spirits, in their appearance in reality and even in contact with them. They are assisted in communicating with ghosts by shamans and prophets taula and kaula, who are endowed with a special mystical power - mana.
This concept includes many things: charisma, beauty, intelligence, power, dignity, and even genius. When it is said that this or that person has mana, they mean that he has grasped some very important truth. Every line of his tattoo also connects him with his mana.
"Nafea Faa Ipoipo" ("When Will You Marry?") (1892)
"When Will You Get Married?" 1892 г.
In early 2015, Paul Gauguin's painting "Nafea Faa Ipoipo" ("When Will You Get Married?") became the most expensive work of art - it left the auction for $300 million. The painting, which belonged to a Swiss collector Rudolf Shtekhelinu, is dated 1892. The fact of the sale of the masterpiece, he confirmed, on the amount of the transaction did not voice. The media managed to find out that bought a painting organization Qatar Museums, which buys works of art for the museums of Qatar.
The importance of teaching
The nobility, who valued their genealogy, sent their children to study in special schools. Myths about legendary chiefs were passed down from generation to generation.
The Polynesians also took seriously the study of astronomy, which they needed to navigate the stars and the sun during their voyages at sea. They knew the names of many planets and constellations. They had knowledge of lunar phases and all that was associated with them in nature: sea tides, the laws of growing crops, and human relationships.
Manao Tupapau - The Spirit of the Dead is Awake (1892)
Manao Tupapau - The Spirit of the Dead is Awake 1892. Buffalo. Albright Knox Art Gallery.
The title of the painting "Manao Tupau" has two meanings, "she thinks of a ghost" and "the ghost thinks of her." The occasion for the painting was given to Gauguin by a domestic situation. He went away on business in Papeete, and did not return home until late at night. The house was shrouded in darkness because the oil in the lamp had run out. When Paul lit a match, he saw Tejura trembling with terror, clinging to the bed. All the natives were afraid of ghosts, and that is why they did not turn out the lights in their huts at night. Gauguin put this story in his notebook and finished prosaically: "Actually, it's just a nude from Polynesia.
Polynesian cuisine
All island peoples grew crops: yams, yams, sugarcane, used bananas, coconut and breadfruit. Traditionally, men cooked the national dishes. Women usually harvested coconuts and shellfish and watched over the crops. Polynesians hunted meat, caught fish and seafood, raised livestock: pigs and chickens.
The main feature of Polynesian cuisine is the very method of cooking: they put meat or fish wrapped in banana leaves on the heated stones in special earthen stoves. They ate meat dishes on holidays and ate fern rhizomes on weekdays.
The islanders did not neglect pork, dogs or even rats. The national treasure of the islands is the recipe of Ia Ota: a fish and vegetable dish in a marinade without heat treatment.
About the cannibalism of the natives
Stories of this sad tradition, it should be noted, greatly exaggerated. Although human meat was used by the islanders. But it happened rather rarely, as a rule, in ritual ceremonies and not on all the islands.
Ea haere ea oe - Where are you going? (A woman holding a fetus). (1893 г.)
St. Petersburg. State Hermitage. " style=">
Ea haer ea oe - Where are you going? (Woman holding a fetus). 1893. St. Petersburg. State Hermitage Museum.
Gauguin was brought to Polynesia by a romantic dream of complete harmony - a world mysterious, exotic and not entirely unlike Europe. He saw the embodiment of the eternal rhythm of life in the bright colors of Oceania, and the islanders themselves were a source of inspiration for him. The painting's title from the Maori language translates as a greeting, "Where are you going? The most seemingly simple motif took on an almost ritualistic solemnity. The pumpkin (the way the islanders carried water) in the painting became a symbol of Tahitian paradise. The peculiarity of this painting is the sense of sunlight, which is materialized in the swarthy body of a Tahitian woman, who is depicted in a red-fiery sarong.
Faith and Religion
Polynesian beliefs are similar to those of Melanesia, due to the similarity of their cultures. The differences are due to the higher degree of social development of the Polynesians. The religious traditions of the people reflect deification of the chief (the cult of chiefs) and the separation of the professional priests as a separate clan.
The social division of the islanders was also reflected in their beliefs about posthumous fate: the chiefs, according to them, ended up in the land of bliss, while the souls of commoners went to the underworld.
The inhabitants of Tongo believed that there was no life beyond the grave for the poor. The chiefs were worshipped as gods after their death, shrines were built on the site of their burials, and sacrifices were made to them.
Compared to the primitive mythology of Melanesia, the Polynesians created intricate myths with a complex pantheon of deities. It included personifications of heaven, earth, moon, sea, and even war. One of the main gods symbolized the sun.
Thor Heyerdahl wrote that the Polynesian navigators, great masters of star navigation, considered their ancestor the god Kane and called the equator "the golden road of the sun god.
Europeans and Polynesians
The first time the Portuguese navigator Fernand Magellan saw Polynesia was in 1521 when he discovered the island of San Pablo. However, for the first time in 1778 James Cook met the natives, who were mistaken by the islanders for their god Lono, who, according to legend, returned home on a floating island.
A monument to James Cook, similar to that of New Zealand (cf. The monument was also erected on one of the Hawaiian islands: the island of Kaui. It should be noted that this monument is not too big, but it is also very expressive.
I remember, being on Hawaii, I even photographed it, and all that remains is to find it among the hundreds of pictures taken at different times and in different parts of the world... Then I remembered Vysotsky's version of "why the natives ate Cook". It turned out that they didn't eat him, they just killed him. And years later, they erected a monument to him.
As often happens in life, monuments are erected to those whom they first destroy. That's what happened to Cook, too.
In 1779, the natives killed the courageous navigator simply because they did not want to return his stolen velotte the day before. Fortunately, this circumstance did not complicate their diplomatic relations with other mariners...
In the 19th century, Germany, France, and Great Britain fiercely divided islands.
This division included Western Samoa, French Polynesia, and New Zealand. At the end of the century, some of the islands came under U.S. administration, and in the mid-twentieth century, Hawaii became a full-fledged U.S. state. Hawaii became a full-fledged American state.
I have traveled through almost all of Hawaii, having visited the main islands of the Hawaiian archipelago. And I can say that Hawaiians made, at one time, a very wise decision in joining America.
However, some of the Polynesian island territories have managed to achieve independence. What it gives them today - we can only guess at the fate of some Bahamas, "freed from under the yoke of the British crown"... But this is the subject of another story.
To live beautifully is not forbidden. Issue #17. French Polynesia
Frankly speaking, until today I had no idea where French Polynesia was, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. It turns out that it is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And if anyone hasn't heard much about this beautiful country, the islands of Tahiti and Bora Bora will probably tell you a little more 
Brief Background: - Is an overseas community and constituent country of France; - Population nearly 270,000; - Consists of 118 islands, the largest of which is Tahiti.
Interesting Facts: - many islands of French Polynesia have second, Russian, names: Rurik, Lazarev, Raevsky and others. The Tuamotu Archipelago itself has a second name - the islands of the Russians. And all because these islands were discovered and described by Russian explorers Bellingshausen, Lazarev and Kotzebue. - The descendants of the Russian general Leontief played an important role in the fate of French Polynesia. His grandson Alexandre was elected from Polynesia to the French Parliament, where he helped give it (Polynesia) internal self-government, and later became president of the French Polynesian government (1987-1991). The second grandson, Boris, founded the New Star Party, which advocated greater rights for indigenous Polynesians. The third grandson, Igor, was a multiple Tahiti bodybuilding champion and eight-time Mr. Polynesia title holder. (thanks, Vicki)
Lot #1.
A luxurious villa on the island of Tahiti overlooking the capital of FP, Papeete. 4 floors, rooftop terrace with solar panels, 20 m pool. Total area 367 m², 4 bathrooms, 5 bedrooms. Price: 121,597,000 rubles. (2 124 600 $)
Lot № 2.
Villa located in Punaauia. Total area 431 m², 3 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms. Price: 70,814,000 rubles. (1 237 300 $)
Lot #3
Apartment located in Punaauia on the island of Tahiti. Total area 306 m², 3 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms. Price: 45 355 000 rubles. (792 470 $)
Lot #4.
Typical island house, looking like a budget option Area unknown, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Price: 42,542,000 rubles. (743 320 $)
Lot #5
Villa located in Moorea on the island of Tahiti. The total area of 270 m², 3 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms. Price: 127,073,000 rubles. (2 220 288 $)
Lot № 6
Villa on Huanine Island. The island is 32 bungalows, there is a small lake. About the bungalow itself, there is no information except price. 
Price: 576.2 million rubles. (10 067 825 $)
Prepare your wallets, now there will be islands!
Lot #7
The island of Motu Tane (Bora Bora) belonged to the famous French polar explorer Paul-Emile Victor. At the moment, the island is owned by the founder of the cosmetics brand Nars - François Nars. The area of the island is about 4 hectares. Several villas, many bedrooms and bathrooms. Unfortunately, video from the site can not be inserted, and photos do not convey how beautiful it is! Price: 2.4 billion rubles. (42 000 000 $)
Lot #8.
Island of 8 hectares is located 5 minutes by boat from the island of Tahaa, where there are stores, doctors and other benefits of civilization. 25 minutes by boat to the airport, 15 miles to Bora Bora. The island has a master bungalow, 3 guest bungalows, a bungalow for relaxation, a bungalow for sports, a bungalow for staff and a junk house. Price A hermit's paradise: 543.7 million rubles. (9 500 000$)
Lot #9.
Motu Matatahi Island for the budget buyer. The area of only 0.7 hectares (70 hectares for vacationers), no buildings, communications no, there is a pristine nature. Price: 14,231,891 rubles. (248 668 $)
Thank you for your attention!
Previous issues: Paris, Venice, Prague, Rome, Riga + Jurmala, London, Barcelona, Vienna, Budapest, Moscow, St. Petersburg, British estates. Part 1, British Estates. Part 2, Malaga, Costa Rica, Sweden (cities at sea), Norway (cities at sea)
Next issues: 18. Miami (USA) 19. San Francisco (USA) 20. Malibu (USA) 21. Key West (USA) 22. Uruguay 23. Lake Garda (Italy) 24. Tokyo 25. Amsterdam 26. Florence 27. Los Angeles 28. Greek Islands 29. Seoul 30. Montenegro 31. Istanbul 32. Portugal 33. Tuscany (Italy) 34. Provence (France) 35. Geneva 36. Rio de Janeiro + Sao Paulo 37. Loire Valley 38. Cape Town 39. Massachusetts (USA) 40. Normandy 41. Small Caribbean Islands 42. New York 43. Brittany 44. Estonia 45. Cannes 46. Malta 47. Sydney 48. Melbourne 49. Milan 50. Naples 51. Ibiza 52. Amalfi Coast 53. Hamburg 54. Ireland 55. Mallorca 56. Genoa 57. Izmir (?)
Information for those who are for the first time looking at my column: 1. I am not a professional market appraiser, and I am not a realtor or involved in real estate in any way. 2. In this column I express only my opinion, based on the large number of properties I have viewed. If it differs from reality, see p.1. I don't fact-check, I don't go to the sites, I trust the description on the website. 4. The rubric is only for entertainment "came-see-maybe found ideas for their interiors-forget", I do not teach anyone anything, I do not advise the best or luxury areas in town. 5. The reason for creating the rubric: I love to look at luxury real estate in different countries and cities, I love the historic center (please forgive me) look at the ceiling, fireplaces, stoves, old interiors, thanks to those who do not curtain the windows tightly. 6. This section presents options that I like, which I do not like, but generally reflect what I saw all viewed, some interesting or shibzanuyu options, classic options that convey the spirit of the city (underline the point). 7. If you have any valid comments, please express them in polite form, not in the style of "stupid yourself.
I liked the lot best.
Polynesian Achievements
The island civilization was far from being as unpretentious as it had once been painted. Yes, there were no metals mined on the archipelago, no pottery or weaving, no bows and arrows, and no clothing. But all this can be explained by the lack of appropriate conditions. On the other hand, the Polynesians were famous for their skillful farmers who were able to use artificial irrigation and competent feeding. Besides, archeologists found on the islands the remains of monumental buildings, built according to all laws of classical architecture.
Sailing
The islanders were great seafarers and knew all the tricks of the sea. It was they who invented the idea of connecting two canoes for stability and invented the modern catamaran.
Every Polynesian boat was of artistic value, even though stone cleats were used to make it, and the hull parts were connected by harnesses of plant material. Polynesian legends have preserved not only the names of famous steersmen and chiefs, but also the boat's own names and their sails.
Te avae no Maria - The Month of Mary (1899)
Te avae no Maria - The Month of Mary. 1899. St. Petersburg. The State Hermitage Museum.
The painting, the main theme of which was the blossoming of spring nature, was painted by Gauguin in the last years of his life, which he spent in Tahiti. The title of the painting, The Month of Mary, is due to the fact that in the Catholic Church all the May services were associated with the cult of the Virgin Mary. The entire painting is imbued with the artist's impressions of the exotic world in which he was immersed. The pose of the woman in the painting recalls a sculpture from a temple on the island of Java. She is wearing a white robe, considered a symbol of purity by Tahitians and Christians alike. The artist combined different religions in this painting, creating an image of primordiality.
