12/30/2023 0 Comments La boom lalakakaThe third positions are filled with the best dancer of the male and female group respectively, the mālie taha. The second positions, beside the vāhenga are known as tāʻofi vāhenga and are for the next ranking persons. The two last positions, that is at the very ends of the frontrow, the fakapotu, are also reserved for high-ranking persons. The other vāhenga is then dressed the same as the other performers. The one who is perceived as really the most important, either the male or female vāhenga usually is also wearing a uniform different from the rest. These are the persons with the highest rank of the group, often a prince or princess. The persons in the middle of the front row, on the division line between the two gender are known as the vāhenga (central performer). Performers The lakalaka from Kanokupolu for the 70th birthday of the king of Tonga. Everybody gets excited, both the performers and the public. First calmly and subdued, but toward the end becoming wilder and wilder, while the tempo of the beat goes up as well. The dance normally starts with the singing of the first stanza by both dancers and chorus, which is a deference to the god, the king and the chiefs of the country. At the next stanza they move back to their original positions. During the sipa the men move to the left, the women to the right, the two groups passing through each other, until their order is reversed. Sometimes in the middle of some lakalaka there are stanzas with a different type of lyrics and music than the rest, called the sipa. Behind them the chorus the lakalaka is a sung dance, there is none or very little instrumental accompaniment. The men to the right, the women to the left as seen from the public. The dancers are standing in one or more rows, depending on the number of participants. In any case, how different their haka on first glance may be, both men and women interpret the words of the songs, but in a symbolic, allusive way as so typical for Tongan dance. In addition to small steps, they may at times turn around, sit down or even lie down. The movements of the men are wilder and more vigorous. Nevertheless, the arm movements are farther away from the body ( laufola, outstretched arms) than for example with the māʻuluʻulu. Most of the time the women make small steps to the left and right only, and their arm movements are small and fluid. The dance movements of men and women are different. Among them several made by Queen Sālote, like Takafalu, Nailasikau, Sāngone, ʻOtu langi, Tuaikaepau, and so forth. Nevertheless, there are lakalaka which have become so famous that they can generally be used at any occasion. Often when a celebration is coming up, a punake (poet) will write the lyrics to the occasion, assign music to the stanzas from a pool of typical tunes and then choreograph the haka (dance movements). The lakalaka is a living dance in the sense that new compositions are still daily made. Thus, a new dance was born, but still retained many of its original characteristics, and was approved by the missionaries. People agreed, and they came with their own suggestions, which were quite the same as those of the not-yet-forgotten meʻelaufola. Tuku used missionary-approved nursery rhymes and added some simple gestures and steps. Considering that the dance had never stopped being practiced, it would probably be better to say that he revitalised it. The lakalaka as it is known nowadays is usually accredited to have been invented towards the end of the 19th century by a high chief, who was a Methodist preacher as well: Tukuʻaho (1858-1897), from Tatakamotonga. Admittedly, the pre-missionary pōmeʻe (night dances), after which couples disappeared into the bushes, did not occur anymore. There are reports of some huge dance festivals during these times, and no reports of any arrests. In any case, none of these laws specified exactly what was meant by 'heathen dance'. Notably, an article to that effect was absent from the 1862 code, although it was reinserted by 1885. This was confirmed in the 1850 code of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou I. The current lakalaka seems to be quite equal to the ancient meʻelaufola (outstretched arms dance), of which descriptions exist from early European explorers, but the dance was forbidden by the missionaries for being too 'heathen'. It is the ideal dance at formal occasions, like the birthday of the king or the opening of a church. It is considered as the national dance of Tonga and part of the intangible human heritage. The lakalaka (walking briskly) is a Tongan group dance where the performers are largely standing still and make gestures with their arms only. ( September 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations.
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