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Polynesian Culture of Aitutaki
Music and hula dance of Polynesian culture in the South Pacific, alive and well on Aitutaki thanks to the tourist industry.
Music and dance
Drums, ukuleles & hula
Modern Polynesian culture is alive and well in Aitutaki thanks to the tourist industry. Performing arts including drum dance and ukulele playing are part of Polynesian culture on this South Pacific island. Aitutakian craftsmen make ukuleles from coconuts; wooden drums are hand-carved from blocks of local wood, with local animal skins used for the larger drums. Hula skirts are made on Aitutaki from local shredded and bleached sapling bark.
Polynesian hula dancing girls and young male warriors pulsate their hips to the rhythm of a male drumming band. Tourists are invited to join in the hula dancing towards the end of hotel cultural performances. There are dance teams in most Aitutaki villages, usually performing at hotels; once a year, around August, they practise before competing in the Cook Islands cultural celebrations at Rarotonga.
I married a hula dancer — on the Australian immigration form, under occupation, my wife wrote “hula dancer”. The young ukulele-playing boy below is our son.
Chuck Upu teaching Jon Grummels Ukulele Lessons in Perth, Western Australia.
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