Tahiti celebrates life in Kaua‘i

KAPA‘A — The 11th annual Heiva I Kaua‘i Iaorana Tahiti will run Saturday and Sunday at Kapa‘a Beach Park this year. The international Tahitian dance and drumming competition includes solo and group competitors from Hawai‘i and the Mainland.

“Our mission is to keep our Tahitian traditions alive and vibrant,” said Sally Jo Manea, founder of the non-profit event with co-founder and husband Tepairu Manea.

Since its inception in 2001, the festival has attracted more and more visitors from around the world. According to the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, attendance more than doubled between 2006 and 2011. Last year’s visitors number was a record 3,347, with more than 160 volunteers, performers and staff in attendance.   

On Saturday morning, a traditional welcoming ceremony will start the festivities. Gates open to the public at 9 a.m. with solo competition beginning at 10 a.m. Group competition is scheduled to begin Saturday afternoon and will continue through Sunday, when gates open at 9 a.m.

Festival participants will be able to enjoy a weekend of unique Tahitian entertainment, browse through an array of Polynesian arts and crafts, savor delicious local foods and participate in craft making, along with dance and coconut husking contests.

The multi-cultural exhibition also features Samoan fire-knife dance, scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday and 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

This year’s theme is a Polynesian diet staple known as ‘ulu in Hawaiian, uru in Tahitian — and as breadfruit at Safeway. ‘Ulu symbolizes growth, perpetuation and inspiration.

Last year, the committee selected the tiare, a Tahitian gardenia, to represent the children’s purity. The tiare also commemorated with simple elegance one fully accomplished decade of educational entertainment.

This year’s festival features competition and exhibition performances of otea, aparima and ahupurotu dances on both days.

The otea is a traditional dance from Tahiti characterized by a rapid hip-shaking motion to percussion accompaniment. The aparima also is a Tahitian dance that emphasizes hands mimicking. In this respect, the otea closely resembles the hula, and, for that matter, echoes the ahupurotu, which only women are allowed to perform. The word ahupurotu was derived from the ankle-length dress worn by the female dancers. It is not considered an original Tahitian dance, but rather the Tahitian version of the Hawaiian hula.

Admission is $5 a day at the door. It is free for children age 6 and younger.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority and the County of Kauai are financially involved in the endeavor.

“They help us fund the event, and we are very grateful for it,” said Jo Manea.

She added that most of the members who participated in the first festival in 2001 are still involved today. “Our volunteers are behind all the show’s magic. We don’t see them much, but they’re the ones that make it happen.”

Manea’s sense of community building throughout Tahiti’s musical heritage runs strong: “Drumming is a foundation which inspires dancing, which inspires costumes, which involves traditional materials; gathering and assembling natural materials, learning what to use, where to find it, how to use it, which inspires creativity and involves many helping hands, people working together, and building relationships.”

The dance area is the grass while the musicians will perform on a mobile stage provided courtesy of Kaua‘i County.

Group competition is open to any dance group with a minimum of five dancers and no maximum. Solo shows last between 2 and 15 minutes. Keiki must be at least 4 to participate, but there is no age limit. Solo, group and drumming award presentations will be held after the last performance.

Tihoti, a native Tahitian tattoo artist, created the artwork featured on the posters, printed materials and custom-designed T-shirts depicting a stunning graphic wherein a tane (man) holds three ‘ulus in the air.

Kapa‘a Beach Park is located at 4-1464 Kuhio Highway in Kapa‘a. The event is ADA accessible. For more information, call 822-9447.