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Special Event: Cultural Exchange among performing Indigenous Groups and the Peace Dance
March, 2011
A dream come true collaborative event was actualized at the 17th Annual Honolulu Festival on Saturday, March 12, 2011. Three indigenous groups whose goal is to actively share their traditional culture and history with the people of this generation participated in this year's Honolulu Festival. The participants were the members of the Alaska Native Heritage Center, the Descendance from Australia and the Ainu people from Hokkaido, Japan.
Under the direction of Assistant Professor Linda Fujikawa of Kapiolani Community College, the three groups joined forces to introduce their special culture and traditions through dance and music. This event was educational and entertaining not only for the audience but also for the participants who performed.
The union of people, the meeting of cultures
The event began with the introduction of each indigenous group. Each group used their native language in their unique greetings. Language is one of the most important components of any culture that needs to be preserved. The identity of our culture will quickly fade away should we lose the language that we inherited from our many generations of ancestors. People have recognized the value of each unique culture's language. It is important that we continue to respect that.
A native Alaskan greeting. It was probably the first time for many people to hear their
language. |
The Ainu group participated in the Honolulu Festival so that they could share their culture with everyone. |
After the greetings, Fujikawa gathered spectators and participants together, most of them strangers to one another, and asked them to stand face to face and touch the palms of their hands together. She then asked them to stand further apart from each other. The participants soon realized that they needed the support of their partner in order to do this correctly without falling down. They needed to lean on each other. This exercise physically showed them the importance of humanity, the importance of a human being's feeling for each other.
Strangers teamed up, palm to palm, to lean on each other. |
Here was a union of an Alaskan and Ainu native! |
The next part of the program was performances of each culture. First to perform was the Alaska Native Heritage Center group. They danced to the beat of their hand held drums and used folding fans made of feathers. Their dance was of the Yup'ik people.
Next were the Ainu. They performed a prayer ceremony. There were different parts for the male and female. The audience watched and learned, and joined the Ainu people in their performance.
The last performance was by the Descendance. The dance they performed was about the spirits of the ancestors who descend onto earth, bestow happiness upon those on the land and then return to heaven.
The Alaskan dance depicted nature, the vastness of land and skies. One could feel a sense of spirituality in the Ainu prayer ceremony. The Australian aboriginal dance was about huge areas of red land and the strength of life. Although each unique culture has been preserved and passed on in different places of the world, the commonality is that each culture desires for their people to co-exist with and respect the realm of nature.
The Peace Dance joined the various cultures and people as one
The climax of this cultural exchange event among the indigenous performing groups was the dance that joined the various cultures and people as one, the Peace Dance.
Members of the Descendance used the boomerang to create a beat, sounded their traditional musical instrument, the didgeridoo, and sang a song. Guided by their rhythm and song, everyone began to dance, the members of the Alaska Native Heritage Center, the Ainu people, and all the spectators around them. The group got larger and larger and pretty soon it seemed as though the crowd on the outside of the circle couldn't see what was happening in the middle.
The Descendance dancers moved like the emu, and the Alaskan dancers imitated them. The Alaskan dancers also danced their own dance to the beat of the Australian music. It was magical and there was harmony, they had created a cultural fusion. It was a special moment when the cultures of the countries that are all scattered around the Pacific Ocean all became one in Hawaii, located in the center of the Pacific Ocean.
Everyone was having a good time dancing, clapping and smiling. The Peace Dance, a dance uniting various cultures and people as one, a dance transcending borders, continued. When the crowd thought that the dance was over, it started over again and again. It continued on for over twenty minutes. A joyous time was had by all.
The audience enjoyed watching the performers dance. |
All three indigenous groups join hands to dance together. |
The Alaskan dancers danced with Australian aboriginal rhythms.
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Everyone joined as one and danced. |
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Mr. Toko Shusei, representing the Ainu of Hokkaido, said that all along, he has made an effort to share the problems that the world's indigenous groups are facing with others. But he went on to say that since coming to the Honolulu Festival, he realized that the problems are not only of the world's indigenus groups but of all the people of the world, and that if we all share our problems and make everyone aware of them, then it should lead to world peace.
Assistant Professor Linda Fujikawa, facilitator of this program, explained to everyone who had gathered for this event, that if we remove the hedge between each person, we are all the same, each of us is a human being. She also explained that the reason why there is an "ing" in the word "human being" is because we are continuously progressing. We have inherited our culture from our ancestors and we will continue to pass that on forever. That is why it is important that we help each other. Fujikawa's message made a great impact.
Everyone enjoyed dancing the Peace Dance together, as one. It was a wonderful ending to a wonderful moment in time.
SUGAREN and International Rainbow Children Project
- Transcendance -
When we speak of "peace," we have another project to talk about. The members of SUGAREN from Kochi Prefecture held their first "SUGAREN and International Rainbow Children Project - Transcendance -" program at this year's Honolulu Festival.
The Rainbow Children Project was developed to create a peaceful world so that children can have the freedom to nurture their talents and abilities.
On this day, the dancers of SUGAREN took the time to teach their SUGAREN Yosakoi to the people of Hawaii. Dance transcends everything and unifies people as one. It transcends borders, language, age and any other prejudices. Dancing together unites everyone with joy and laughter, creating a peaceful "small world."
The members of SUGAREN and the people of Hawaii danced YOSAKOI together. |
A commemorative photo taken of the entire group after their practice. |
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 17th Annual Honolulu Festival Photo Gallery
Here are pictures from the 17th Annual Honolulu Festival. Share your best shots of the Honolulu Festival!
[
facebook photo album ] |
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17th Annual Honolulu Festival Reports
 The Honolulu Festival's performance stages exceeds expectations once again!
The Honolulu Festival Grand Parade united people from many countries as one
The Friendship Gala enlarges our circle of friends through cultural exchange
The Educational Tours, a chance for the kids of Hawaii to experience many cultures
Cultural Exchange among performing Indigenous Groups and the Peace Dance
Hawaii Music Festivals
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