Niue Independence Celebration

This evening, we were lucky enough to get to attend a multicultural presentation at the high school. This again was part of the 40 years of independence celebration. There was music and dances performed by many, many groups. It was amazing!! First the Niueans performed, then groups from the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, the Phillipenes, ex-Niueans who now live in New Zealand, and Tulukava. Fiji didn’t make it for some reason, so they were skipped. The introductions were in Niuean, so I missed most of the “background” information. There was such diversity of traditional costumes, dance styles, and music. Most of these groups live here in Niue, but continue to practice their traditional dances and music in groups, which was nice to see.

The hall was packed with people! It was very interesting to be at the performance. While the dancers were dancing, it appears to be a cultural norm here for people to show their appreciation by putting money either pinned to their hair or tucking it into their clothing. I’ve seen it twice before at dance presentations here on Niue. I’m sure it’s in support and appreciation of their beautiful dancing and hard work, etc. I think it’s a cultural bias, another American cruiser and I were talking about it. We were both put off by it, but in our minds, this is how you treat strippers. I think also, to a larger extent, I found it very disruptive of the dancing. Many people went up there, walked on stage between the dancers, in front of them, etc. Then people, not teens, but older, more conservative looking generation type folks, would go up on stage and start dancing doing their own thing. The crowd laughed and applauded and they were all having a great time, so it’s great, it’s normal, and I need to adjust. I found it distracting from the pre-practiced dances.

This community does not have crime, graffiti, theft or other issues. There is tremendous respect and love for other people that we’ve experienced. You can leave your car open with things in it, the keys in your motorcycle, etc. This behavior at the dance is certainly not out of any form of lack of respect. It was very interesting to see and we have to put our social norms to the side and appreciate that they were all having a great time, a bonding experience, while sharing and appreciating the cultures of those that have migrated here from surrounding island communities.

These are the subtleties that you miss when you don't get to spend enough time in any given place. I love watching the social dynamics and the more background information you get, the better you can read it. Got to hit the sack, been a long day with the navy ship and the dancing show!!!

It's down to a frigid 73 degrees here, we're all bundled up in blankets since we're just not used to it being this cool!