Abstract:
Tongan culture holds many values, customs and traditions and being born in New Zealand these values and traditions were taught and embedded into me growing up. I am a New Zealand born Tongan, but that does not ensure that I know everything about my culture nor does it mean I do not know things. This essay could be a metaphor for an ocean, I am just navigating through certain concepts or ideas within the Tongan culture. This essay discusses different aspects of Tongan traditional dance culture and the ways in which I choose to use those aspects within my practice. I will briefly look into Tongan dance (Tongan faiva) which will be explored in this essay shortly. Within faiva are concepts such as mafana and hierarchy. I will define what mafana is and the relation it has to Tongan faiva. The concept of hierarchy will also be explored within a faiva context and then, within the eiki/tu’a system which will be discussed later on in this essay.