Conch shells summon festival spirits

Tuesday, 22 July 2008

You know you’re somewhere special when you can’t tell whether it’s the drums or your heart that’s just going boom boom. 

But when the prayers, speeches and flag raising were over at the opening ceremony of the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts, I had no idea what was about to hit me. I had just told Isabelle Genoux on our radio program “In the Loop” on Radio Australia that proceedings were quite formal. And I had read that there was going to be a presentation of delegates and gifts. I did fear more sacred reflection was to be fed into my recorder. But then …

Woooaaah ! That’s the only way I can describe how I felt when the Veterans’ Pavilion just exploded in hakas, mekes (Fijian dance), chants and spontaneous displays of cultural pride by some of the most beautiful people I have ever seen.

And this was only the beginning. From the crowd favourites like the Cook Islands dancers, to the small and shy Kiribati delegation, there were beaming smiles everywhere.

And of course there were the competing Polynesian hakas, the seemingly endless line of gift bearers from some delegations, and the Rapa Nui (Easter Island) performers that just blew us all away.

One of the more memorable moments was when the Papua New Guinea delegation came out. Their’s was a very long line of delegates and yet each provincial group had their own rhythm. As we watched the delegation move past us, waves of chants and songs floated over us, each one different from each region, yet merging into a remarkably united sound.

As I often do, I found a partner in Leilani Momoisea from Radio New Zealand International. And before the presentation was even over, we dashed onto the centre of the stadium green to hang out with the delegates. You get much better shots with a tiny camera that way!

I have to admit, watching Fiji’s contingents come out into stadiums always gives me instant goose bumps. But this time it was also the Australian contingent who did it to me. Go figure. But to me, thousands of kilometres from home, why try and figure it out. As the unofficial slogan goes at this Festival – just go with the flow.

Your Comments

Make a Comment

Name:

Comment: