Apresentação de O Tahiti E no Heiva 2016 Tahitian dance – Madeleine Bertrand. 7 de jul. de 2016
Each year the event Heiva i Tahiti is held where different groups compete against each other in many different dance categories. This is a portion of the performance from the group “O Tahiti E”
In Tahitian, the word Heiva (hei meaning to assemble, and va meaning community places) refers to activities, pastimes, physical exercise, and festivals. Music, dancing, singing and sporting events have always held an important place in Polynesian communities. In ancient times, they were essential components of religious and political ceremonies. Dance was one of the most sophisticated and ritualized art forms performed in groups or individually.
The origins of Ori Tahiti remain a mystery. The first traces of tahitian dance bring us back to the arrival of the western navigators in Polynesia. They discovered a culture with a singular passion for singing and dancing. A civilisation divided in three distinctive castes : ari’i, ra’atira and manahune. All of these three castes could be part of an artistic religious order : The Arioi, venerating Oro, the main deity and god of war. The Arioi were artists, they would perform acting and singing but their favorite art and the main subject of their performances was dance. Tahiti Dance Online
In the early nineteenth century, Christianity got increasingly successful in Polynesia. The missionaries eventually prohibit dancing and most of their habits actually, seeking to place the islands among the ‘’civilized nations’’.
In 1956, a teacher that was passionate by the dance created a group named Heiva with the patronage of Terii and Takau, the two princesses. For the first time after decades, we could finally see girls from an honorable family dance in public, which bothered some people a little bit in the beginning. Then, ten years later, a lot of dance groups were born, created by Madelaine’s former students and that still exist until today.
It was during the festivities of the 14th of July that the dance finally found a memorable place in the Tahitian official life. At the beginning of the century celebrations of “July” were organized by the Municipality.
The costumes weren’t a big deal at the time. They wore a ‘’more’’ (a Tahitian handcraft skirt used to dance), a waist fringe made of ‘’burao’’ fibers, handcrafted bra and a simple lei flower. Which are the base of the costumes that we still use today yet with more details and importance.
Thanks to Madelaine Moua, every year, you have the chance to participate at one the biggest dance contest the, Heiva I Tahiti.
Palavras Perdidas: Medina Slater, O NÚCLEO DA TERRA PAROU DE GIRAR! 1.2, ritos, Guia para quem vai a SP pela primeira vez na vida…e Sozinha!, Benefícios Da Música Na Aprendizagem Das Crianças, Eu danço, você dança?!?
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Art and culture of the native peoples of our planet. ART AMBA MIRIM
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