has two meanings she thinks of the spirit or the spirit watches over her. gauguin was fascinated by the ancient religious traditions of tahiti with their ghosts and legends. much of his knowledge was derived from a book written by a french adventurers jacques antoine moore and howard. gauguin copied entire passages into a manuscript that he illustrated with watercolors and called ancient maori religion . in his paintings he revived forgotten divinities as if they'd never been swept aside by the advance of civilization. two years after arriving in tahiti he was again beset by difficulties he was coughing blood and suffering from heart problems. i am practically worn out and at any rate i've come to the end of my rope i'm still here working and