Tikopian Dancer’s Cultural Experience

THERE are three races of people in the Solomon Islands; Melanesians, Polynesians, and Micronesians. Sunday Isles spoke to a female Polynesian dancer from Tikopia Island in Temotu province.

Phyllis Koroa described the importance of Tikopian cultural arts and performances they displayed at the recently held 2019 Mini Panpipe Festival at the Museum Auditorium in Honiara.

Mrs. Phyllis Koroa was one of the 10 dancers of the Tafivaka cultural group. She said the group was made up of family members both young and old.

She said her group performed Tikopian custom dances and songs.

Apart from their performances Mrs. Koroa also highlighted the significance of their traditional costumes, the tapa clothes and the turmeric roots which they rubbed all over their bodies.

“In Tikopia, our traditional costumes were made from the inner part of the tree. We wear this traditional piece of clothing on special occasions like marriage, funerals, fundraisings and other traditional occasions,” said Mrs. Koroa.

According to Tikopian tapa making tradition, when the tapa tree is mature enough, villagers cut the whole tree down, scrape and dry its bark to make the tapa clothe for both males and females. Tapa is made out of the bark of a tree using traditional tools to beat the bark into its fine mat form.

“Our people still value the importance of the traditional cloth,” she said.

She added growing up in Tikopia Island it is a tradition to learn to make tapa from the tree bark.

“Since I was little growing up; I learned it from my mother and I passed that to my children as well. So it’s a process whereby this traditional knowledge is passed on from generation to generation,” she said.

She said in Tikopia tapa clothe is very important because it is like their cultural identity compared to Malaita Province’s shell money.