THE SINGING MAMA RUAU OF will gather on sunday evenings for the tutuaaroiarol a lengthy meeting in which the congregation will crackrolirollopen and dissect a biblical verse that the minister has chosen As it would be too by tedious to listen to commentaries and nothing else the organizer wisely intersperses three explanations with a himenechimene taravacarava marvelee soon tahauri which is made up solely of biblical words and chanted like litanies 2.2 brother tihoni pu now a laie resident says he remembers his protestant mother going to those singing meetings when he was a small boy his wilewife tetuapetua who grew up in tubulitubuai some 600 miles they are commonly and collectively known as the mama ruauauau south of tahiti has childhood recollections of people gathering of tahiti smiling rotund women of a grandmotherly nature at nishtniahtnasht to sing the old traditional songs it was beautiful decked out in generous mother hubbard muumuus swishing with she says but there were no performing mama ruauauau as we know lace and ruffles you may see them at faaafaaea airport or at a them today bastille day celebration chanting singing and dancing in the unique style we identify as an endearing facet of old tahiti we should be aware that during the churchs years of growth from 1844 to the turn of the century the french polynesian it is difficult to imagine french without the mission was plagued by protestant and catholic opposition mis- warmth and charm of these older women whose performances add guidance from the reorganized LDS and always suspicious government as much life to public occasions as the throbbing lamuretamure beat officials the mormons were tolerated uneasily by the french yet thirty years ago the term mama ruauauau in a conversation administration which saw in them an american advance guard iin a simply meant grandma and groups of colorful entertaining territory that was already open to anglo saxon influences 5 grandmothers were not the order of the day modern tahiti may not realize or perhaps never acknowledge that the church of jesus with the many changes in lifestyle brought on by foreign chirst of latterlatterdayday saints played a subtle if not vital role in influences the mormons included the tahitian people were often reviving and developing this musical aspect of caught in an awkward transition from island culture to what was the singing mama ruauauau considered proper christian worship clergymen even early LDS leaders forbade many native practices especially dancing when even before the arrival of the europeans musical folklore they felt that there was anything immoral about had always been an integral part of french polynesia which in- it cludes people from the widespread area of the society islands another damper on tahitian culture occuredoccurred around 1901 when the leeward islands the tuamotu gamblergambier archipeligoarchipelagoArchip eligo the austral the government drew up local regulations requiring institutions to islands and the Marquemarquesasmarquesansas hold their classes in french the Morcormonsmormonsmons however flourishing in the amotustuamotusTu never even attempted to digress from the native they had poetry and a sort of literature they tongue to which they owed their missionary success they and the composed the most perplexed war chants and songs of french protestants agreed on this one early view pleasuredieDleasure they also had a sort of rhythmical prose thatbhat they would repeat resting on certain syllables to remain in contact with this people to prepare which were also marked with a beat of hands with a the youth to play a social and religious role to trampling of their feet or with movements of their preserve above all its originality and personality bodies there were even legends and genealogies it was necessary to make broad and justifiable con- among which were incluledincluded pieces of religious cessions to the tahitian language mission work in history and mythology 1 a native country which did not understand that fact would inevitably fail of its own accord at the same with the evangelical changes brought first by the london time as it would add to the destructiordestruction of the spirit missionary society and later the catholic mission the native of those whom it claimed to enlienilenliahtenenlightenahten forms of chanting and singing were adapted and incorporated into religious teaching sessions even today protestant worshippers it was this kind of attitude that kept the church growing

5131 3 4 under the most adverse conditions in the amotustuamotusTu a scattered pres mckay his wife and his accompanying party following chain of 80 coral atolls extending more than 600 miles northwest that they presented a program of dances and local chgntschants the to southeast of tahiti the branch members retained the old whole program was directed by the saints themselves chants6 chants and the more conservative dancing styles besides the himenehiraenechimene taravacarava mentioned earlier other types of music includeincludedds president mckays visit edified the membership and even fafagumaguu sacred chants lamentslainenlarnents incantations and prayers types of included a short but agreeable visit with the governor of the dutu hand clapping chants teki and mereuru love songs island A few months later the new mission president president work songs also used as welcoming chants faatenitenifalateniteni his- christensen met for 30 minutes with the governor who politely torical chants tuatau used to restoreresree ore courage and energy and asked that the church not make unfavorable comparisionscompari sions between aparima graceful hulalikehula like dancesdancdanedancesleslebl the french government and that of the united states they had a very cordial meeting however and the next year the church was bro and sis teahuleahu mariteragi and bro and sis pu mentioned allowed to bring in 20 more missionaries and to begin construction some additional types of song and dancedances kapas patautaupa tautau ute of a mormon school in tahiti riparipariparipa paoa lere mo korea mihi these I1 have yet to distinguish but I1 was assured that they were all distinct and working in papettepapeete during 1956a1956 a time of diplomacywasdiplomacy was an functional parts of the archipeligos musical lore and daily life enthusiastic young elder named thomas R stone blessed with a sense of knowing members needs and simultaneously improving along with accepting this traditional music the mission in public relations he began to organize and use the auxiliaries 1920 established the first brass band in the on the to full capacity he saw much potential in the natural talents island of takaroatamaroaTakaroa it was under the direction of elder leroy and energies of the local congregations and shifted the scout mallory a talented missionary whose family generously donated the proramproprogramram and youth choir into high gear he also realized the gleaming instruments to the takaroatamaroa band it was made up of needneej for the senior women to be involved in the action and sug- approximately 25 young island men who eventually mastered their gestedff ested that they get together to practice songs of their heritage new toys the group was called the pupu pu mononi elder mallory also organized the women and youth into church choirs hiriataviriata mariteragi of hikueru was appointed the first leader he is highly spoken of as the person who raised the peoples of this musical segment and she rounded up twelve faithful musical consciousness by introducing true choir concepts and women all with a tuamotu background this was the formal begin- in some instances drilling the singers english diction so that ning of the singing mama ruauauau they would meet in the chapel an unsuspecting listener might think it was an american choir after relief society or in their mormon neighborhood open the practice with prayer and share the old songs of their forefathers so it was that the tuamotu saints were blessed with such diverse experiences in music over the course of the years for it should be noted that not all of the churchs women many reasons many LDS tuamotu families began migrating to the oreciatedoreciaaddreciatedted this type of music the tahitian dialect is different main island of tahiti where the mission had established hea- from the tuamotu dialect also called Paupaumotumotu the latter being dquarters in Papeete 11 closer to maori or rarotongan with its k consonant ng nasal and other inflectional and vocabulary differences besides some by 1950 the french polynesian mission was showing positive regarded the Tuamotus as a backwoods culture my husband growth and the saints enjoyed gathering in papettepapeete or on the whose family is from takaroatamaroaTakaroa says hedheldhead fight with other boys who outer islands for conferences where choirs were always ivengiven called Tuamotutuamotuansans amu olaaopalaopaaopaga coconut eaterseaters but despite the opoortunitiesopdortunitiesopportunities to display their talents inhousein house gossip these women kept on supported by their musician husbands who also joined them in certain types of songs towards the end of 1954 the mission was informed that pres david 0 mckay would be visiting tahiti the news caused a that same year 1956 the members of the church were invited flurry of preparation among the members on jan 18 1955 to present a welcoming show of dances and polynesian chants for pres mckay his wife and bro franklin J murdock arrived the tourists vellingtratravelling on the mariposaonemariposa one oftwoof two sister ships that evening after the days formalities were over the poly with the matson line elder tom stone organized and directed the nesians prepared and sserved a dinner tdto all the missionaries to halfhourhalf hour spectacular which principally featured the youth choir

5232 costumecladcostume clad primary children and of course the new mama ruauauau on a private level individual members of the group were group dressed in colorful motherhubbardmother hubbard uniforms this program sometimes contacted by hotels such as the belair andanz travel lodge which took place on the docked ship was also historical in that to present mama ruauauau style programs service fees given to these it was the first time a mormon program had ever been carried on performers helped to pay for their instruments and uniforms the airwaves of radio tahiti although the church itself never sponsorsponsoreddd a group in the july bastille day festivities the mormon mama ruauauau would practice on with tahitistahlTahitilstiss coconut wireless communication the church their own and enter the singing competitions here are the gainedvainemaine d instant socialsocialrecognitionrecognition people took notice more than comments of one missionary in papettepapeete in the 160sigos ever ofwhatof what the church was doing for the youth and the native 60s culture as well some of the recognition was negative coming the mama ruaisruaus also performed during the fete from the oldguardold guard religious faction of the local population and their dances and singing were unusual and fresh they felt it was shameful for a church to be publicly indulging As usual they performed well and gave a good name in fun factivities instead of teaching the gospel as it should to the church and earned 2000020.000 CPFCPP prize money7moneys they cited some youth activities especially ballroom dancing as examples of deviation women in other circles felt that the the papettepapeete mama ruaisruaus motivated other districts to start mama ruauauau were a part of a heathen influence not only because their own groups was a blessing to the activation program their performances were musically and culturally unusual but as indicated by one itmissionary in paeaipaeatpacat because they had allied themselves with a western influence the LDS church our mama ruauauau group here in paea has really improved hiro mariteragi told the group they within the framework of the church however the mama ruauauau needed about 20 women so the members went out and enjoyed new status their slightly primitive style of song and found 10 more womenwomgn for the group most of them dance were still the target of jokes especially from the younger inactive members set but that didnt dampen their joy in performing they sewed new dresses made beautiful floral crowns for their hair received another missionary on maupiti indicated an example of the the applause had their pictures taken the social prestige was mama ruaulsruanaruaua contribution to a fundraisingfund raising soireesoirees infectious and little by little more women began joining the group whether they could speak paumotu or not because the this saturday we sawasamasawr a soiree at avera was one church at papettepapeete now included families from all the outlying of their better efforts including some excellentit districts women originally from farfarremovedremoved tubulitubuai and main mama ruauauau numbers the piecespi6ces were a great island tahiti had to leamleemlearn the other dialect used by the original financial success for the avera branch 19 mama ruaisruaus the group gave them a common cause for unity in 1931963 when the first tahitian excursion to the new zealand they were asked to perform himenechimene taravascaravas at conferences temple was organized the mama ruauauau within that group poured out building dedications and sacrament services they perfected their joys in performances for the saints in new zealand was little dance routines and even composed new chants the mama a very touching experience for these women it ruauauau took their talents to orafaraOrafara a leprosy colony some 203020 30 miles away from town where they entertained the afflicted deadledeodlepeople by the late 1960s19601s mormon mama ruauauau from tahiti had also As a service to tahitis tourism department they continued to cut a record album and performed with touring groups at disneyland greet the mariposa and the monterey with other members of the and the polynesian cultural center in laie church then as now they delighted their audiences with a spontaneous charm at christmastime they visited the hospitals in jan 1966 they were an important part of the program where they the warmth of their performances as well as in one of the missions most successful soiree musicale anndelleannuelleAn left they would to nuelle presents for the patients with the choir sail where the guests of honor were the governor1 of tahiti and his outer island conferences on the paraltaParaita a small yacht owned by wife gov and madame jean sicuraniSicsiguraniurani mission president thomas the mission and used for interislandinter island travel by the members the R stone reDorrecorreportedrenorted on the significance of the occasionoccasions group also performed at a grand ball for the french marines

3533 in addition the largest gathering of french the movie houses that isie where they will be lets government officials and their wives to ever attend have the action chelchetchez nous at the Morcormonsmormonsmons the church a mission activity were present along with U S should be the social center for the members and for the senator and sister frank E moss utah and senator community if the members are alive if the church is and mrs hiram fong who happened to be working converts will come 11 visiting tahiti at that time 10 one can see that this story of the singing mama ruauauau is it was hoped that the amicable relationship of the evening simply a focused example of love and sensitivity towards a was a step toward better communications between the church the certain population of the saints in a certain culture not french government and the united states only did the increased involvement of mama ruaisruaus strengthen the church it also gave life and popularity to songs and dances for many years other community churches eyed and criticized of french polynesia the mama ruauauau since then have helped to the domonimomoniMomomomonillMo moninillnilanisa style of fellowfellowshippingshipping and its ensuing publicity perpetuate pacific tradition up to this point it is somewhat but a number of years after president stones release from the disturbing to realize that tahitis sophisticated new breed has mission they began to organize youth programs and mama ruauauau shown little interest in learning or performing the old songs groups too the latter gave rise to more revived folklore as themselves well as new compositions today all mama ruauauau groups in tahiti are regarded with pride and affection we who believe the to be of the house of israel we who believe in keeping recordrecordssl we who have a cultural center I1 asked poura mariteragi originally from the main island of founded on holy purposes must be sure that we do not allow the how she about being one of the idamamamamema ruaisruaus as spiritual and cultural knowledge of our mama ruauauau to slip from wetahiti felt first1 know them today in translation she said I was happy to the grasp of future generationsI1 leamlearn the songs on rairoa our mama ruauauau were a new thing to them the other saints would host us when we traveled to the and now wed like you to hear some of the songs of our outside islands before most of the activities were for singing mama ruauauau the youth and younger adults although the relief society had quilting and handcraftshandicraftshandcrafts 11 at this point in the presentation bro and sis tihoni pu and sis mahana molomoomoso pulotu delighted the audience with examples tetuapetua pu expressed the same happiness in being able to actively of himenechimene tataravascaravasravas kapas and aparimasaparimas participate in the missions growth she said the old folks are hapoyhapdyjchapoy they can contribute people would call the mission if they wanted us the mission would call the group leaders some of us had never been to the outer islands whenever we traveled with the mama ruauauau it was exciting and we didnt even have to pay the philosophy of the church leaders in tahiti from the turn of the century until now was summed up in this 1968 message from elder scott anderson an assistant to the mission president at the times let us build a strong mission with strong branches that can be made into stakes and wards the first work is to strengthen members they will as mission- aries bring new converts into the church enthused members are the keys to success here in french polynesia tahitiansTahiti ans like everyone want to go where the action is if the action is taking placeatplaceanplace at the bars or at

5434 NOTES

edmond de bovis tahitian society before the arrival of the europeans translated by robert D craig laie hawaii institute for polynesian studies 1961976 appp 28 29 2daniel mauer the protestant church in tahiti les editions du pacifique 3colinmcolincolin newbury tahiti nui honolulu hawaii university press of hawaii 1980 p 148 4ibidbibid4ibid quoted from charles vernier tahitiensTahitiens ahierdhier et daujourdhui 2nd ed parisparisiparist 1948 5eaeE G burrows native music of the Tuamotus honolulu hit bernice P bishop museum bulletin 109 1933 gyves yves R perrin lhistoire de leglise mormone en polynesiepolynesicPolynesie francaise de 1844 a 19ettp1982 Papeete tahiti Imprimerie CESSTPCES STP 1982 uD 21 7teatete velaveavesa french polynesian mission vol VII no 7 aug 19681966 p 160 bibid8ibidbid p 164 91bidbid p 164 lote10 vea vol V no 1 jan feb 1966 p 3

te vdaveavga vol VII no 7 augau 1968 p 146

in addition much of my information came from a roupnoupgroup interview with the following people on mar 20s20 19831983i brabro pu tihoni sis tetuapetua tihoni brabro teahuleahu mariteragimarlMari sis poura mariteragiteralterai sis tearo tahauri brabrobuo etua tahauri and a separate interview on april 10 1983 with sirsis mahanamahane molomoomoso pulotu

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