I was invited yesterday to attend a fund raiser for the Tahitian dance group “O Tahiti E”, which was created in 1986 by Marguerite Lai, who named the group after the original name for Tahiti (or Otahiti which was used on early navigational charts). It is one of the oldest dance troupes in French Polynesia.
I was invited to attend by Tehani, the person who is running Tahiti Crew, the organization I hired to help me with the bureaucracy of checking into and out of French Polynesia. Tehani asked me if I was going to do some sight seeing. I told her I was very busy working on the boat, and I asked her if there was one thing I should see while in Tahiti, what would she recommend. She asked what I was interested in and I replied “the culture.” Tehani arranged for me to ride with her aunt Corinne and mother Sarah (and two friends Cathy and Tania) to the event, which was held at the restaurant for the Gauguin Museum near the isthmus that connects Tahiti Nui (the larger, western section) and Tahiti Iti (the eastern peninsula).
I had been told I should were a colorful shirt. My wardrobe is limited, but I did manage to find a shirt with some palm trees, albeit in muted colors. Fortunately, Corinne presented me a beautiful lei of fresh flowers to make me more presentable.
During the 45 minute drive to the restaurant, Corinne, who has a PhD in the history of Tahiti, gave me a history lesson. The southwest corner of Tahiti Nui is relatively flat, and therefore the land is very valuable. They grew cotton there during the US Civil War and supplied the north. They grew sugarcane there and made rum during the US prohibition. Today it is mostly a golf course.
When arrived, we were greeted by the “chief “ if the dance troupe, none other than Marguerite Lai. Corinne and Sarah were friends with Marguerite, and Marguerite‘s sister, whom Sarah had worked with together with Tania. Marguerite’s sister joined us at our table.
A meal was served. The food reminded me of Chinese stir fry, with rice and chicken, pork, and beef dishes. The entertainment started with a group of men playing ukuleles and percussion instruments. We were encouraged to buy raffle tickets. I won a coupon for a dress and gave it to Sarah.
The dance troupe entered the stage as people finished eating. The traditional dances told stories where the words were retold symbolically in the dances moves themselves. The aparima is a dance from Tahiti (and the Cook Islands) where the mimicks (ʻapa) with the hands (rima) are central, and as such it is close to the hula or Tongan tau’olynga. It is usually a dance for groups, although the talents of individuals were also showcased during the performance. There are two types of aparima: the aparima hīmene (sung handdance) and the aparima vāvā (silent handdance), the latter being performed with music only, and no singing. The music is often played on the guitar or the Tahitian ukulele, and both were used during the performance.
At the end of the performance, the entire dance troupe posed for a photograph (Marguerite Lai is in the center of the group).
