Cook Islands Identity Through Staged Performances
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Dance encounters Exploring Cook Islands identity through staged performances. Camilla Aasmundsen Jensen Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the M.A. degree, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bergen, December 2012 Cover photo: Blondie’s Photography 2011, with the permission from Director and photographer, Regina Potini. ii Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... v List of illustrations ................................................................................................................... vii Prologue ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter one: ‘Dancing is who I am’- an invitation .................................................................... 5 Theme ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Contexts .................................................................................................................................. 8 Anthropology and dance ......................................................................................................... 9 Understanding dance ......................................................................................................... 11 Theoretical framework ......................................................................................................... 14 An inexperienced anthropologist meets Rarotonga .............................................................. 19 How did I approach field? ................................................................................................. 22 Writing the thesis .............................................................................................................. 27 Chapter outline ..................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter two: Approaching Cook Islands society and dance .................................................... 30 Cook Islands - a background ................................................................................................ 30 Rarotonga .......................................................................................................................... 35 A history of ‘culture’ ............................................................................................................ 37 National identity ................................................................................................................... 39 The National Constitution Celebrations ............................................................................... 43 Chapter three: Dance as identities ............................................................................................ 47 Performing local distinctiveness ........................................................................................... 50 A Manihikian example: Ngarima ...................................................................................... 51 Group identities and competitions ........................................................................................ 53 Exaggerated perceptions of difference… .......................................................................... 54 iii ...are really Disguised similarities ..................................................................................... 56 ‘Island Nights’ and national identity .................................................................................... 58 Concluding remarks: a comparison ...................................................................................... 61 Chapter four: Celebrating unity through diversity ................................................................... 63 A manifestation of the nation ............................................................................................... 64 Nation making ...................................................................................................................... 65 Te Puna Korero ................................................................................................................. 67 Dance institutionalized ......................................................................................................... 69 Articulations of culture under state governance ................................................................... 72 2nd August, National Auditorium ...................................................................................... 73 Between the state and the nation .......................................................................................... 76 Concluding remarks: alternative nation making ................................................................... 80 Chapter five: Situating Cook Islands dance in a global space ................................................. 81 Dancing for tourists, an economy of seduction .................................................................... 81 Modern and traditional ......................................................................................................... 84 Experimenting with modernity ............................................................................................. 87 Young mediators ................................................................................................................... 89 A global movement ........................................................................................................... 91 Concluding remarks: An opportunity to leave ..................................................................... 92 Chapter six: Looking towards the future .................................................................................. 94 Glossary………………………………………………………………………………………97 Acronyms ................................................................................................................................. 99 APPENDIX 1 ......................................................................................................................... 100 APPENDIX 2 ......................................................................................................................... 102 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 103 iv Acknowledgements First of all I want to acknowledge all the people I got to know on Rarotonga. Without you this thesis would not have been possible. You amazed me over and over again by your generosity and willingness to help me. I want to express my greatest gratitude to all of you. I find it difficult to express in words just how much I appreciated all of your help, your company and our conversations. A special appreciation goes to those who opened up their homes to me, and I especially want to thank mama and papa Nooana for your kindness, open-hearts and goodwill. I consider myself lucky and proud to have been included into your family. Thank you also Anjima for taking care of me as your sister, for opening up your home to me and for inviting me to come with you wherever you went. I think about all of you every day and I miss you. I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all the skilled and kind dancers I talked to. I am grateful to all dancers in Te Hiva Nui Dance Troupe. Thank you Vaka Puaikura for allowing me to perform with you on the imene choir. I was very proud that day when we stood at the stage and sang. I want to thank everyone who was part of the Pipirima-crew, and especially the producers who allowed me to attend practice and eventually gave me a part in the musical. A warm thanks to Jean Mason for your uplifting spirit, for always helping me and for your help also after my return. A special thank you goes to Jon M. Tikivanotau Jonassen, for guidance, advice and good conversations. Thank you Regina Potini and Blondie’s Photography, and thank you Cook Islands News for allowing me to use your photographs. I owe my supervisor, Edvard Hviding, a big thank you. Thank you for believing in me, for supporting me and for always being encouraging. I always left our conversations with lots of new positive energy. Edvard included me into the Bergen Pacific Studies Research Group, of whom I am extremely proud to be part of and I wish to thank all the members for your kindness, your questions and thoughts of my research. Many friends have been helpful and read through parts of the thesis. For this I am ever grateful, so thank you all for reading carefully through my chapters and for all your comments. My fellow students have been very supportive, and without your smiles, laughter and encouragements I would not have enjoyed myself during the year I spent writing the thesis. Thank you all so much for being as wonderful as you are. v Lastly I wish to thank my family, especially my mother who has been fascinated and impressed by me and my stories from fieldwork. Thank you “mamma”, for being deeply committed to my thesis and helping me out whenever I called you in frustration. I will also like to express a deep sense of gratitude to my stepfather Erik who has also contributed. I appreciate, from the bottom of my heart, the help I have received from by both of you. I also appreciate my friends for being patient with me and for inviting me out so that I would not always