Contemplating Tradition and Innovation at Polyfest
By Leki Jackson-Bourke
The buzz is still high and the town’s still talking after the annual ASB Polyfest which was held in Tāmaki Makaurau, March 2024.
The popular festival began in 1976 and is considered the largest Pacific Dance Festival in the world. This year saw an increase in the rise of contemporary inspired performances which left plenty to talk about on social media. “That’s not traditional… they should’ve placed… that school shouldn't have won.. it’s rigged."
Every year it’s the same old argument over traditional vs contemporary. Some are here for it, some are against it. We interviewed a few tutors who were subject to online criticism and we posed the question - Is there a place for cultural Innovation at Polyfest?
MANUREWA HIGH SCHOOL TONGAN GROUP
Traditionally, Tongan dance is taught by a Punake who is known as the cultural expert and lead knowledge holder of Tongan arts. To be bestowed the title of a Punake is a huge honour and one that few families can truly claim. Within the context of Polyfest being a school initiative, we decided we would do something different.
At Manurewa High School, we have enough teachers of Tongan heritage who are also practising professionals in their creative fields of music and dance. After much consultation with our students, parents & wider community, we decided not to use a Punake this year as we had enough capacity to run our group from within the school itself.
We acknowledged and understood that no one in our group was an anointed Punake, and we were careful with approaching the process as respectfully as possible. Three main roles were implemented and we worked collaboratively with our student leaders to create our performance. Bronson Seiuli was the teacher in charge of administration, organising and fundraising for the group.
The Pulotu Haka - Ailini Alatini was in charge of the choreography and the Pulotu Hiva - Sola Vuna was in charge of the musical arrangement and the teaching of the song. This framework also presented us with an opportunity to use students from within the group as musicians (drummers). Unlike other schools, we chose not to use an external langitu’a (choir) as we thought it was important for the students to be able to sing for their own haka.
Despite controversy and criticism from our Tongan community, we have seen the benefits of this way of working collaboratively with our Tongan students to grow cultural leadership and instill confidence.
What was your faiva about & what was the process behind it?
Our Ma’ulu’ulu was based on the famous Queen Salote composition - Siueli ‘Oe Pasefiki.
In the lyrics, Queen Salote records her experiences of visiting the islands of Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa & Hawaii. In each stanza, she praises these four islands and highlights specific things that make their cultures unique.
Whilst she praises these islands for their beauty she always makes reference to her homeland of Tonga, proudly naming it the ‘Jewel of the Pacific’. Like a jewel, which is grounded and unbreakable - Queen Salote used this as a metaphor for the strength and beauty of the Tongan Monarchy and its subjects.
Initially when we thought of the idea, we wanted to pay homage and tribute to the islands mentioned in the composition whilst maintaining and honouring the authenticity of our own Tongan culture.
Ailini choreographed the Haka Fakalongolonogo to the lyrics of the song so that the choreography was purposeful according to the composition. We researched actions and respectfully asked renowned choreographers of the Fijian, Tahitian, Samoan & Hawaiian communities to teach us their choreographic motifs.
We knew it would be controversial and immediately Tongans would question the concept. “Why are they holding flags, why are the actions not Tongan?” Yes, this is true.
But like Queen Salote did in the composition, we chose recurring motifs which always brought the choreography back to Tonga. One of the inspirations behind us choosing to innovate the choreography was the famous Uiha Ma'ulu'ulu by Peni Tutuila. Traditionally, the Ma’ulu’ulu is a seated dance, and the reason this Punake was innovative was because he choreographed a Ma’ulu’ulu which fused elements of the Lakalaka & the Kailao all whilst maintaining the fundamental values of the Ma'ulu'ulu.
We’ve seen multiple groups try to push the boundaries at Polyfest and we believe that the guidelines are still unclear as to where these boundaries begin and end. Culture is subjective and Tongans have a wide range of styles that have evolved over the years.
So to answer your original question - yes. We should allow for innovation at Polyfest, but it must be within a controlled framework that is understood by all. In NZ, it’s hard to maintain the original forms of many of our traditional practices. We have different materials and resources available here and we are influenced by a Pan-Pacific environment where we hold and share space with neighbouring cultures.
We see the incorporation of contemporary choreographic devices such as canon, retrograde, embellishment and augmentation. These choreographic devices are not traditional to the Tongan culture, but we see schools do this at Polyfest.
The incorporation of synthetic materials for costuming such as Chinese styled ta’ovala, plastic kiekie, synthetic dyes and raffia. Every year we are treated to the talented brass bands and new instruments are introduced into items such as the Kailao and Taufakaniua. We know we're not the first school to do something different and innovative and we probably won’t be the last. As a Tongan community, we are still exploring the balance of where we allow for innovation in our practise.
“Regarding the movements and rhythms borrowed from other cultures, Tongans have incorporated these into our own faiva since long before our own time. I admit that Manurewa’s performance, along with other schools was something new, but the joy it brought was both familiar and warm.” - Hon. Phaedra Fusituʻa
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After interviewing Manurewa staff members, we went back to other stages to see if they were experiencing similar conversations. Again, we posed the question - Is there a place for innovation at Polyfest?
Māngere College Cook Islands Group
There is heaps of room for innovation at Polyfest especially on the Cook Islands stage. But innovation must not override the sacredness of our Cook Island Peu (culture).
As like every indigenous dance style, we hold vibrancy, in-depth meaning, purpose and sacredness through the way we create art and perform it. As a multi-disciplinary Cook Island Creative, I use traditional culture as a foundation but I also explore weaving in Contemporary elements. This involves movement, sound & costuming. I don’t see it as disrespectful.
I see it as using the contemporary elements available to us in Aotearoa, New Zealand to enhance and empower our young people and to improve the aesthetic quality of our cultural performance. Ultimately we want our Cook Islands culture to live on. And Polyfest is a good platform to plant the seed of our Peu.
Introducing a contemporary category would be too much as I feel that this platform is not ideal for that. We want to allow innovation, but we shouldn’t make a big song and dance out of it. The target audience is young people, and the young people need to learn the foundations of culture before they can dive into contemporary exploration.
I believe other platforms such as Te Maeva Nui NZ are ideal for this, but the Cook Island Stage at Polyfest should be led and guided by our elders who can use it to create a solid foundation for young up and coming dancers and choregraphers.
Marcellin College Samoan Group
If we keep dancing to appease the criteria then we end up with robotic dances that are aesthetically clean but lose the heart of story-telling. It’s not about winning for us. It’s about preserving culture and teaching our history whilst allowing for innovation so that upcoming generations can feel confident in their identities to express themselves.
We’re in a new country. Our parents and grandparents had to adapt to the lifestyle here, and so do we. What was traditional 100 years ago is not traditional today and what is considered traditional now will change in 100 years to come.
Tradition is ever-growing and there is room for both tradition & contemp to exist in harmony. The way Samoans Siva in NZ, is different to the way Samoans Siva in Hawaii, America, Australia and Samoa itself.
We need clarity around the rules and regulations of our dance forms. We need to lock down the true meanings of our siva and it needs to be agreed upon by all who are involved with the festival. We owe it to ourselves to be critical and to question ourselves and our work so that platforms like Polyfest can continue to serve our people and bring out the absolute best in our community.
The challenge for Pacific peoples in Aotearoa NZ is to honour our heritage as best as possible without losing the essence of what makes us who we are. We need all generations on board, to work together as one. E sui faiga ae tumau le fa’avae - Principles may change but the foundation remains the same.
Alfriston College Niuean Group
Every year we bring something new and different. We try our best to honour the culture but we don’t have enough tutors to keep teaching us the traditional songs & movements. We work closely with our teachers to make sure we honour the past and are not disrespecting the work that came before us.
There should be a category for contemporary performance so that the audience can understand and see what our generation is trying to do. Instead, we get hate comments online from people who don’t understand. It’s not our fault, we just want to do what we can to represent our culture and our ancestors.
When we look at international festivals like the Merrie Monarch festival, there is a clear framework in place which separates traditional and contemporary. Groups are judged for Hula Kahiko (traditional Hula) and Hula ‘Auana (contemporary Hula).
There is a clear understanding of what separates each category and this is widely understood by all competing groups. Perhaps Polyfest could benefit from a framework like this which allows for both parties to be happy without blurred lines.
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One thing is clear - there is a definite need for the criteria to be rewritten so that there is one general consensus and consistency across the board. We need to strive for cultural balance so that our future generations can still uphold traditions whilst trying to adapt to a new environment.
Regardless of the results of the competition, students should not be subject to online bullying. Critique is necessary and totally warranted when it comes to competitions like Polyfest, but as a community we need to draw the line with how far our critique goes.
Words stick, and when we are trying to build resilience in our young people we need to cloak our words with wisdom. Our young people should feel proud of the work that they do to uplift and promote Pacific culture here in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
It’s not easy, but they’re doing it and the performances we’ve seen this year have been absolutely amazing. We can argue till the cows come home over what is considered traditional/contemporary. Or we can keep exploring and working collaboratively to find a balance that unites us as one.
It is a long conversation worth having and we are here for it.