Mauke action song at Rarotonga’s Te Maeva Nui

The excitement’s all over now but Rarotonga really hummed while the outer islanders were here for Te Maeva Nui.
The auditorium was packed for the four nights of competition and we were all treated to a magnificent show full of sound and colour, hypnotic drum beats and sensuous movement. And you can see from the video, the performers on stage had as much fun as the audience.
I mentioned the judging system in the last post. Each item was judged on costume, composition, choreography and interpretation of the theme – signs of my island. Many of the songs and dances were about environmental issues, others about historical aspects.
A grade performances were awarded $1000, B grade $750 and C grade $500.
This video is of the Mauke kapa rima (action song). The kapa rima is a story-telling dance and is usually very graceful with lots of hand and arm movements. Mauke earned an A for this one. Manihiki, Aitutaki and Avarua also got the top grade.