ITEA Heiva EN.indd

Heiva
i
Tahiti
The Celebration of Life
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Heiva i Tahiti
The Celebration of Life
F
or more than 125 years, July has been the
month of festivities in Tahiti and throughout
French Polynesia. During these celebrations,
which are called HeivĀ i TĀhiti, dancing and singing
performances as well as sports competitions and
games take place over the course of the month.
Condemned and stifled by 19th century Christian
missionaries, these extravagant displays of art
and revelry have managed to re-emerge and stand
out on 21st century stages. More than just a simple
festival, the HeivĀ i TĀhiti has become a moment
of artistic sharing, technique, folklore and the
symbol of a culture, proud of its past.
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The Heiva i Tahiti
of ancient times
In Tahitian the word heivā (hei meaning to assemble and vā community places)
refered to activities, distractions, pastimes, physical exercise and festivals.
The music, dances, songs and games integrated under this notion, held a very
important place in Polynesian communities. While being distractions, songs
and dances were also essential components in religious and political ceremonies
of ancient times. Dance was one of the most sophisticated and ritualized arts
and was practiced in groups or individually, with men and women dancing
separately or together. Songs, ceremonial or popular, kept pace with daily life
and accompanied everyday chores as well as complex religious ceremonies.
This type of activity was particularly present during festivities to mark the
changing of the seasons (“Matāri’i i ni’a” at the end of October and “Matāri’i i
raro” at the end of May) or periods such as the fruit harvests, community jousts,
allied championships, etc.
Entertainers, trained in these arts and pastimes, became distinguished
through theatrical performances and through the transmission of their artistic
knowledge. They would travel from island to island in pahī, double outriggers,
and give dance, singing and theatre performances, more often than not
representative of life, while imitating the actions of men and women they
observed on a daily basis.
The first explorers, who arrived on the Tahitian coast at the end of the 18th
century, noted the importance of these manifestations and the great fervour
that the Polynesians had for these festivities. Certain were particularly struck
by the beauty of the dances while others were deeply troubled. As such, the
arrival of these strange visitors in their "large canoes without an outrigger
balance," saw the decline of these age-old pastimes.
Arriving not long after the explorers, the missionaries quickly labelled these
distractions a waste of time while the dances and the gestures, described as
erotic, were perceived as a form of debauchery. In 1819, under the influence of
the missionaries and the Christian faith that he had recently embraced, King
Pomare II forbade the practice of dance in the code of legislations bearing his
name. Banished from public areas and damned, dancing became a clandestine
practice.
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"Tahitians dancing the Upaupa", 1880’s. © G. Spitz - Tahiti and its islands museum collection - Te Fare Manaha
The birth of the Heiva
In 1881, at the end of a long struggle with England and the Protestant
missionaries, France managed to annex a large part of what is today
French Polynesia. Bastille Day, the national holiday on July 14th, was
celebrated in style and the new colonizers decided that in order to combat
Anglo-Saxon influence and satisfy the Polynesian’s taste for festivities,
they would allow sports and singing on this one day. Dance made a
resurgence whilst being severely restricted, particularly the dancer’s
costumes which could no longer reveal certain parts of the body (navel,
women’s legs, thighs and the buttocks of men).
It was thus in 1881 that the first official Heivā i Tāhiti, baptized Tiurai
(July, the month of festivities) took place. This began a long history of
the Tiurai, later named Heivā i Tāhiti, and a long pursuit to rehabilitate
pastimes and Polynesian arts.
In 1946, the French colony, then known as the Etablissements Français
de l’Océanie (Settlements of Oceania), received the status of a overseas
territory. The inhabitants were granted nationality and were no longer
part of what was before considered a "native regime." It’s no surprise that
only ten years later, Polynesian dance emerged from being taboo and
forbidden. Mémé de Montluc and Madeleine Mou’a were two women who
gave an artistic, social and cultural legitimacy to traditional dance via
their dance troupes: “Arioi” and “Heiva”. From 1956, dancing and singing
competitions became popular events during the Tiurai.
In 1977 French Polynesia gained even greater political autonomy from
France. This political and cultural emancipation led authorities to organize
the Heivā i Tāhiti in June 1985, which replaced the public holiday festivities
of the Tiurai. The name change was intended to renew the festival with its
cultural roots and to give rise to a festive manifestation typically mā’ohi,
one that was authentic and belonged to French Polynesia.
In the term Heivā i Tāhiti, the use of the word Tāhiti refers to all of the
main islands once considered as frontier islands of the geographical,
social and cultural area of the current French Polynesia. The Heivā i Tāhiti
is therefore a period of festivities for all these islands and not only the
island of Tahiti.
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The prestigious singing
and dancing competitions
Today the singing and dancing competitions capture the limelight of
the Heivā. Each year in July, more than ten troupes of 60 to 150 artists
from Tahiti and all the archipelagos of French Polynesia come together
to perform on the To’atā Place stage in Papeetē. The size of the troupes,
the splendour of the costumes and the strength of the music at these
competitions unveil the quintessence and diversity of the ’ori (dance) of
Tahiti and its islands. These performances bring together a drama worthy
of an opera, movements as entertaining as a ballet and the distinct
imprint of an ancestral tradition.
The magic is further reinforced by the original character of each show.
The dances are unique creations from beginning to end and take around
six months to complete. A historical or legendary theme must be chosen
and tailored, the text and music written, the choreography established
and at last a myriad of original costumes must be prepared. Each dancer
changes into at least three different costumes during the 45 minute show.
Great care is taken with these stunning costumes that are made almost
entirely from natural materials and prizes, highly sought after, go to the
finest creations in this category.
Live music and singing accompany the dancers. The orchestras are made
up of five to fifty musicians. They use traditional instruments such as the
nasal flute or vivo, made from a portion of bamboo, marine shells or pū
and more recently, the ’ukulele, a small, Hawaiian guitar with soft tones.
The percussion instruments give rhythm to the performance thanks to
a musical theme : it is primarily the drums (pahū, fa’atete and tariparau)
as well as the famous tō’ere or drum with lips, made from a hollowed out
log with a slim opening along its length. Along with these traditional
instruments, more modern ones are also used such as guitars. The
fervour of the audience adds an additional dimension to this grandiose
performance.
A beautiful and unique performance
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The traditional singing competition accounts for another powerful moment
of the Heivā i Tāhiti. The melodies sung a cappella in reo mā’ohi (Polynesian
languages) by choirs made up of men and women, express moments of joy and
melancholy. Harmonious and enchanting, the singer’s voices resonate and rise
from the tahua To’atā (To’atā stage).
The strength of this melodic expression surely comes from the amazing origins of
the songs themselves. Before the arrival and establishment of the first Europeans
in the islands at the end of the 18th century, the pehe or lyrical and polyphonic
poems, accompanied the collective manifestations of daily life. They were a
necessary support for the transmission of myths, epics and sagas regarding
the initial identity of the islands and its men. Today these songs are a complex
mix of traditional pre-European songs and religious songs that would have
been imported by Catholic and Protestant missionaries since the 19th century.
Moreover their actual name, hīmene, comes from the English word hymn. It is
followed by the type of pehe which characterises these songs (hīmene rū’au…).
The hīmene tārava is the most complex of the singing performances and is executed
by a choir composed of 60 to more than 100 singers. It tells the legendary story
of an island and refers to its high places, its prestigious characters and its heroic
facts. The head of the choir, the ra’atira, conducts with passion and accuracy the
dictum, the tone and the pitch of voices. As well as the recitation being specific
to each community or vā’a mata’eina’a, the hīmene tārava also differ depending on
their archipelago of origin: tārava Tahiti, tārava Raro māta’i (Windward Islands)
and tārava Tūha’a pae (Austral Islands).
In contrast the hīmene rū’au, which has a similar melody to religious hymns,
possesses a slower tempo, a very nostalgic melody and is generally based on
one of the dominant themes developed in the hīmene tārava. It can be interpreted
by the whole group or part of the group.
The last type is the ’ūtē, a rhythmic type of song performed by two or three
singers and accompanied by string instruments. There are two types of ’ūtē :
the ’ūtē paripari in which the lyrics valorise the names of important places or the
actions of heroes who can be found in the hīmene tārava and the ’ūtē ’ārearea based
on word games, often times improvised, and humorous, mocking and amusing
anecdotes assisted by expressive gestures to tell the story of daily life.
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Spectacular, traditional sports
and games
Since its creation, the Heivā i Tāhiti has been a showcase for traditional sports and
games. Today it’s still the biggest event of the year and places in the limelight these
games, modern and codified, based on athletic activities and ancient warriors.
Among the major events are the Polynesian style outrigger or double outriggers
canoe va’a races.
These endurance and sprint challenges on the open ocean or on the lagoon can
include outriggers which hold one, three, six or sixteen paddlers.
In the javelin throwing events, called Pātia fā - Pātia ’ai, athletes must display
astonishing precision. The point of their te’a - teka (wooden javelin) must hit
coconuts attached to the highest point of a pole around 10 meters high and
positioned over 20 meters away from the thrower. Originally Polynesian warriors
engaged in this activity in order to train for war at the same time refining their
shooting precision and speed and strength of launch. Tradition has it that on
certain atolls in the Tuamotus, the target that victorious warriors would train on
was in fact the head of the warrior they had defeated.
The stone lifting competition, called amora’a ’ōfa’i, originates from the island of
Rurutū in the Austral Islands. Men or women attempt to lift giant stones that
weigh between 60 and 150 kg as fast as they can and then hold them still while
resting in a standing position for a specific amount of time.
A similar challenge of strength is repeated by those participants who take place in
the fruit carrying competitions called horo tīmau rā’au / horo tāmaiho’a. In this race,
reserved for men, the rivals compete on foot while carrying on their shoulder a
stick or a double stick on which a load of fruit and vegetables weighing 15 to 50 kg
is hung.
Finally, the copra preparing competition, called pā’aro ha’ari, which testifies to an
activity that has become a daily occurrence in the islands and source of income for
the islanders since the creation of large coconut plantations by the missionaries
and settlers in the 19th century. Owing to the virtues of this family activity which
include physical endurance, speed and dexterity this activity was registered in
the list of sports and festive events of all large manifestations. In fact it requires
competitors, in a minimum amount of time, to split open the coconuts and
entirely extract the meat (the copra) from the coconut. The weight of the copra
will determine who the individual or team winner is.
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Beyond festivities
More than just a succession of activities, Polynesian life revolves around the
Heivā festivities for nearly two months. In a symbolic gesture, the youngest
performers, those who are to carry on the traditions, open the celebrations
with a competition between the dance schools in what is called the “Heiva
Tama Hiti Rau”. After the period of learning comes the period of action.
Each community, island or archipelago supports its groups of singers, dancers
and athletes with vehemence and each participant performs to their best to
honour the community they represent.
Jean-Daniel Devatine, Ethnologist and Professor at the Centre des Métiers d’Art
(Arts Centre) in Papeetē states that the Heivā i Tāhiti is a "giant community
festival," that reinforces "family unity, local unity, confirms the unity of the
whole of French Polynesia and contributes to social peace." The festival marks
the end of many months of preparation. Each year, in the shadows, some 8000
Polynesians work mostly voluntarily to make the Heivā what it is. The artists
rehearse tirelessly and the athletes train daily. The implication of families is
essential, particularly in the fabrication of costumes. These preparations are
considered to be a time of learning, discovery and sharing in the same cultural
fervour.
As a pre-European Polynesian term, the word heivā is highly symbolic. It links
up with the past, to a time before the establishment of colonies and the
influence of Europeans, when great chefs, ancestral beliefs and rites, talents
and humility and the principles of life were most important.
The material, physical and spiritual investment of everyone that participates
relates to a pride recovered and a pride in bringing back to life what is most
wonderful in the Polynesian culture. The practice of traditional arts and sports
is today back in the spotlight. Heivā i Tāhiti festivities are a moment of timeless
sharing amongst Polynesians as well as between Polynesians and their visitors.
In describing the Heivā i Tāhiti participants, Jean-Daniel Devatine concluded,
"Everyone opened their hearts and showed who they are, what they were
capable of and where they were from!”
opened their hearts
" Everyone
and showed who they are
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"
Text : tahiti communication & GIE Tahiti Tourisme - acknowledgment to Jean-Daniel Devatine
© Pictures : G. boissy - cover, pages 2, 15, 19 • P. Collignon - pages 9, 10-11, 12, 16-17
• Anonymous (1960’s) - Museum of tahiti and its islands collection - Te Fare Manaha - Page 6
Edition 2009 : GIE Tahiti Tourisme - Conception : TAHITI COMMUNICATION
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