TUVALU: MUSIC AND DANCE

One of the greatest tragedies is when a culture that has declared itself the dominant culture forces out the cultural traditions of the now minority culture. But that’s exactly what happened when the London Missionary Society made itself at home in Tuvalu in the 1860s. By enforcing a rule (they made up) that no one can sing their traditional religious songs anymore and can ONLY sing songs they introduce. I would’ve died creating a secret society of people keeping their culture alive. Luckily their influence waned by the beginning of the 20th century, but the damage of losing songs to history was already done. A few songs did manage to survive and were thankfully recorded by an anthropologist/musicologist in the early 1960s.

In Tuvalu, there are a few main types of traditional songs, and many of them are tied in with dance as well as sung for daily activities or rituals. For example, there are women’s work songs, fishermen’s songs, songs for funerals, and praise songs. In some ways, these traditional songs and dances took in other Polynesian traditions. These songs have a strong rhythmic drive, often accompanied by clapping their hands or hitting them against either the floor or a sound box. Sometimes small drums are played too. The lyrics are simply short poems that are often repeated.

For much of the 20th century, traditional dances made a comeback, and they even borrowed a few dances from neighboring Samoa as well. One dance in particular, the fatele, is still performed at community events, especially if high-ranking officials are present. In the traditional fatele, it was performed by women who were sitting or kneeling, but in the modern sense, it’s danced by women standing in lines. Dance songs are a popular genre of music, although some of these songs can still be performed sitting, kneeling, or standing still. 

There weren’t a lot of modern musicians from Tuvalu that I came across. Like, at all. All the ones I found were from other nearby countries. However, one group that I included when I covered New Zealand, Te Vaka, has members from all over Oceania. And that includes members from Tuvalu or who are of Tuvaluan ancestry. My sister introduced me to Te Vaka years ago. Because I enjoy them, and I couldn’t find any others, here they are again.

Up next: the food