Singing in Tiurai

The month of July is called Tiurai in Tahitian, a typically odd adaptation of the English word – needless to say that until HMS The Resolution reached Tahiti, there were no such things as hours, days or months in Polynesia. And throughout French Polynesia, July is a month of great celebrations revolving around the traditional arts. Under various names and forms, most islands stage singing and dancing performances as well as traditional sport contests. In ancient Polynesia, such demonstrations were very frequent and took place on the village’s marae (sacred area marked by stone walls), in connection with religious or military celebrations. They sometimes surrounded the human sacrifices and cannibal feasts that long gave the Polynesians such a bad reputation.

Of course the Europeans were prompt to restrict such expressions of paganism and savagery when they assumed control of the islands. In Tahiti, under the influence of the Protestant missionaries who judged these expressive dances and their minimal costumes as “immoral”, if not obscene, King Pomare II banned all “heivas” (celebrations) from 1819.

For once, the French proved a touch more pragmatic after conquering the island in 1880: they chose to tolerate the traditional arts but only within a strict framework. Dancing was for instance only allowed two days a week, and in 1881, governor Henri Chessé decided to include traditional dances and music in the celebrations of Bastille Day. The Tiurai festival was born.

The event grew bigger and bigger in the first half of the 20^th century, and in 1956 a former head mistress named Madeleine Moua laid the foundations of the modern ori Tahiti dance when opening the first dedicated school. Her troupe Heiva became a celebrity in the 1960s, when European and American tourists started flocking to Tahiti courtesy of the brand new airport. Several other schools were created in its wake, raising the level of the Tiurai Festival so high that it was turned into a singing and dancing contest, with participants coming not only from all valleys of Tahiti but from other islands of French Polynesia. 

Among Madeleine Moua’s pupils were many future stars of the ori Tahiti, headed by Tumata Robinson, a legend in her own right. She is the daughter of W.A. Robinson, a wealthy American businessman and navigator who settled in Tahiti in the 1940s, and of his sixteen-year-old Chinese maid, Philomene, who died in obscure circumstances, aged 23. Many years later, when Tumata decided to learn the truth about her mother, she found out that Philomene, who had swiftly been replaced in Mr. Robinson’s bed after giving him three daughters, suffered an incurable heartbreak when the American decided to take their children, all still very young, on a indefinite trip to Hong Kong and left her in Tahiti. Incapable of coping with Philomene’s despair, her family took her to Papeete’s asylum, which at the time bore a close resemblance to a prison, where she died rapidly due to inappropriate treatments.

Tahiti Ora's 2011 show

Despite this rocky start into life, Tumata (who incidentally hasn’t got a drop of Tahitian blood) became one of the best dancers of her generation as well as one of the most influent costume designers. Following many years with Heiva, she teamed up with Teiki Villant and Lorenzo Schmidt to create Les Grands Ballets de Tahiti in 1998, a professional troupe based on an innovative style, mixing ori Tahiti with modern jazz and other dances. Traditionalists were shocked in Tahiti but the Grands Ballets were an instant international hit and raised the profile of Polynesian dancing from Australia to Canada via Japan, the USA, South America and several European countries. When the founders of the Grands Ballets decided to go their own way in 2008, Tumata Robinson set up Tahiti Ora, the troupe that won last year’s festival by a landslide. 

Renamed “Heiva i Tahiti” in 1985, the Tiurai Festival is now a countrywide event that sees over 3000 singers, dancers and musicians come on stage. The grace of the artists, the enthusiasm of the public, the visual effect of 150 dancers performing with perfect synchronisation, the magnificence of the costumes, some of which are 100% made of plants, make for a unforgettable experience.

Hiva Oa's July festival

A Marquesian Haka

Due to the great distance that keeps the Marquesas Islands and Tahiti apart, it is rare to see troupes from this archipelago taking part in the Heiva i Tahiti. But Hiva Oa has its own little “Juillet”, as the Marquesians call it, where amateur dancers, ukulele players and singers of all ages gather in the local sports hall to perform. Men’s war dances or “haka” (yes, New Zealand’s Maoris are close relatives) are particularly popular, yet not quite as impressive as when performed by Jonah Lomu...