MUNANUI / 1999

Choreography Makau Foster Delcuvellerie

Dance performance Compagnie Tamariki Poerani

« Munanui » is the first Tamariki Poerani production entirely choreographed by Makau Foster Delcuvellerie for the Heiva i Tahiti annual dance competition. “Munanui” won First Prize Overall in the “Hura ava tau” category during the 1999 edition of the Heiva I Tahiti.
In an interview she gave for the program of the 1999 Heiva i Tahiti, Makau presents the show: “I am going back to the traditions of the atoll of Hao, my birthplace. That legend goes back to the creation of the Tuamotu archipelago and should be full of emotions for the new generation we represent. It tells of  king Munanui's heroics and of his combat skills.
I have been working on this show for a year with the help of my mother. She is very much attached to the “Paumotu” traditions. She teaches me a lot about the tradition of our island in particular and of our archipelago in general.
That show I created has to be authentic, very close to the Paumotu tradition. I surrounded myself with artists, singers who are very proficient in the wonderful Paumotu language.
For the past year I have been learning the texts by heart, reciting them constantly so they sink in, for I cannot make any mistakes. The old folks, my mother in particular, are seeing to the exact telling of all these texts that are still considered sacred or “tapu” (taboo).
To me, dancing is a second nature. It is a privilege to be able to present that legend to the public. The songs are incredible, the words are beautiful and the melodies so moving that I get goose bumps every time I hear them. It is important that we sing these old paumotu songs to our kids to show them how beautiful our traditions are and how much they deserve to be kept alive. We have to show them the way.

Sources : Marc E. Louvat

Credits

Tamariki Poerani
Choreography Makau Foster Delcuvellerie (Tamariki Poerani Company)
Video direction RFO Polynésie
Production Polynésie 1ère
Produced in july 1999
Heiva i Tahiti 1999 was organized by Te Fare Tauhiti Nui.

Updating : July 2011

Makau Foster Delcuvellerie spent the first years of her life on the atoll of Hao and was brought up, as customary in those days, by her grand parents. They were very simple folks who lived like their parents, and the parents of their parents before them, to the soothing rhythm of the islands, fishing and foraging. Then she had to go to Tahiti for school and to Hawai'i for a college education.

Whenever you start a conversation with her on that period of her life, she remembers the Paumotu (inhabitants of the Tuamotu islands) whom she says taught her everything and had been living in Hawai'i for the longest time, teaching young Hawaiians the traditions of the South Pacific Islands. Their classes were hard, very demanding for these youngsters who had been brought up according to the “American way of life”. She always seems to get a bit emotional when she talks about these moments. She remembers the pain of the long warm up training sessions when yours body does the talking and tells stories. She didn't learn in the books but from the oral tradition that allowed generations to preserve the knowledge of their ancestors.

« At the age of 16 I was already dancing on stage at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawai'i. For years I travelled the world extensively to dance and finally came back to Tahiti to keep on learning from Coco Hotahota, the famous choreographer and director of the “Temaeva” dance company. Then time came for me to start teaching “Ori Tahiti” (Tahitian dancing) and to create my own dance company Tamariki Poerani  ».

Since then the company has created various productions: "Munanui" (1999), "Merehenua" (2001), "Te ariki Tuohea" (2003), "Mokorea" (2004) et "Mono'i" (2009).
Choreographies by Makau Foster Delcuvellerie have been recreated by different “Ori Tahiti” dance companies in Japan, Mexico and the USA.

Source : The company Tamariki Poerani 's website

More information

tamarikipoerani.com