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!
