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In 1894, Paul Gauguin left what he considered to be a culturally bereft Europe to live an unfettered life in a tropical paradiseTahiti. It was there that he produced some of his most beautiful and best-known paintings, as well as another masterpiece: this enchanting journal. Complete with sensuous woodblock prints and sketches, this exquisitely designed editionfirst published by Chronicle in 1994 and now reissued with a beautiful new jacketis still the only translation to contain all of Gauguin's richly colored illustrations of the Tahiti diary. Including Tahitian myths and legends, affectionate tales of Gauguin's encounters with the captivating Tahitian people, and fascinating glimpses of the inspiration behind his most famous paintings, Noa Noa assumes its rightful place among the masterworks of an extraordinary artist.… (more)
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A considerable section toward the end of the book is given over to an attempt to describe indigenous Tahitian religion, with special attention to cosmogonic myths and the rituals involved with the secret society of Areois which is supposed to have ruled the island in the pre-colonial period. Most spectacularly, Gaugin relates his understanding of the Matumua ceremonies transacted with the enthronement of a new king. This rite allegedly culminated in a royal gang-bang: as Gaugin suggests (in more circumspect phrasing), it was a formalized opportunity for the people to screw the king before he screws them.
Gaugin's language emphasizes the sensuous throughout, although he refrains from being too explicit regarding the conspicuous erotic contents of his own experiences. His relationship to his eventual native bride offers the unselfconscious intimation that the way he exploits the island paradise may not be so far removed from the other agents of that prudish and dirty Christian civilization he professes to deplore.