The story behind the artwork

Excerpt from travel-log entitled "Fiji Adventure Style," 12 July, 2006

When I first arrived at the plantation resort, I saw a list of activities. One in particular caught my eye immediately amongst the usual entries such as, "jet skiing, massage, fishing, snorkeling," etc... It was "wild boar hunting."  Yes, I went wild boar hunting in Fiji.
 
I met "the hunter" at his house on a Monday morning. He was calmly having a cup of tea with some relatives.  His wife let out a chuckle at seeing me arrive on her doorstep. I had been "decorated" for the hunt by my scuba diving buddies, with black charcoal markings on my face and arms, a red bandanna tied around my forehead, Rambo-style, long pants and good running shoes. I waited on a bench outside while he sharpened his machete and the dogs became increasingly excited. They knew what this meant, and they were getting pumped up.  We started walking into the jungle. The hunter pointed to a mountain and said that there is where the wild pigs are and also where we would go. 

As the bush became thicker and more dense, he chopped a path with his machete. As soon as he stepped through, the jungle seemed to close up again behind him, leaving me to push myself through blindly behind him, stumbling on roots and vines that seemed to reach up and around my ankles with every step. We walked this way through the jungle for hours and hours. The hunter found many tracks along the way. He had made me a spear from a large stick, by cutting a sharp tip at one end with his machete. He showed me how to hold it if a pig were to charge me. A defensive technique, that the pig would hopefully cooperate with and ram himself onto the point chest first while I held it firm.

We followed pig tracks. Some of large pigs, some of small pigs. We saw the tracks of a wild bull as well, and curiously the tracks of a pig running around with the bull, obviously for protection, but possibly companionship. We were both intrigued by this coupling of tracks. I thought, how crazy would it be to come across the wild bull and the wild pig both at once. Were we prepared for such an event? One hunter, one apprentice with a stick, and two scrappy dogs. Would it be a good match? I began to keep an eye out for good climbing trees.

We had been hiking quite a while already and the dogs were showing some weariness. One, the younger of the two, "Whiskey," a yellow dingo-like dog, had all the tell-tale scars of past battles. One of his pointy ears was nipped off at the top, and his body had many scars, one on his side just below the ribcage bore the unmistakable curl of a boar's tusk. The hunter told me how sometimes the pig will kill his dogs. He's lost five in the past. We continued to follow the mysterious tracks up and down the ancient lava flow gullies, and hills. Suddenly Whiskey let out a single clear bark. We both froze and looked to the dog. He was standing very alert and pointing with his whole face to something hidden behind a tree. He briefly broke his gaze to look at us, and again, release a single sharp clear bark.  We approached quietly and cautiously, and turned our heads around the side of the tree. There we saw... what could only be described as...  a large piece of wild bull's poo. ... Alas, this would be as close as I would come that day to our prey. I am somewhat sad, and somewhat relieved to say, the wild boar's of Fiji are safe from my fury.

tusks
acrylic on canvas
40x30"

Additional Links:

More about Wild Boars with good photos from the San Diego Zoo.

Lots more about Fiji Islands Culture and History...