Pacific Melting Pot

A male dancer from tiny Rapa Nui in the far southeast Pacific sports facial paint prior to a dance performance in Palau.

It was a great celebration of island cultures. For 10 days at the end of July people from across the Pacific, from the great subcontinent of Australia to the tiny atoll community of Pelau, met in the Republic of Palau in western Micronesia for a colorful extravaganza of art, dance and just plain fun.

Over 3,000 participants and another 3,000 tourists jammed Palau's hotels. Local schools became temporary dorms for most of the performers. The baseball stadium was transformed into a huge concert venue. A newly built performing arts center and national museum opened their doors for the first time. The people of Palau focused all their energy on hosting this 9th Festival of the Pacific Arts.

The event started with a dawn arrival of ocean canoes from various nations followed by each national contingent participating in a procession of colors and costumes around the track and field area. From then on, numerous venues in downtown Koror, Palau's largest city, showcased Pacific culture and arts.

One of the most popular attractions was the Applied Arts program that had constant activity as people carved, showed off various weaving skills, did traditional tattoos on willing participants and made jewelry. There was also a lot of nontraditional artwork.

The tattooing using traditional tools made of shell and bone and Samoan signatures was a true demonstration of a nearly lost art. Prior to the arrival of missionaries, most Pacific Islanders sported elaborate tattoos that showed their lineage, rank in society and even the type of house they lived in. Now, the art is rarely practiced in the Pacific but still thrives in the Samoan Islands. It is a painful process and takes a lot of time. "It really hurts," winced one subject who was getting an elaborate tattoo that took three hours of meticulous work every day. But those tattooed in this way proudly sport their designs as true works of art and rights of passage.

Culinary arts were also featured as recipes and ideas for preparation of Pacific vegetables and fruits were showcased by regional chefs. Palau also established 16 booths for each of its states with various food offerings.

A female dancer from Rapa Nui Island does a bird dance.

Literary arts, natural history, navigation and canoeing, performing arts, symposiums on the development of traditional arts and cultures, architecture and island skills and games, visual arts and traditional medicines and healing were all on the agenda and added to the daily flurry of activity in and around Koror.

For the most part, the weather cooperated. Police kept traffic moving in both tropical sunshine and some pounding rain. "I'm very proud of the way our officers have kept traffic flowing. They've worked very hard," said Palau Justice Minister Mike Rosenthal. Foot and vehicle traffic moved smoothly thanks to a cadre of policemen constantly directing traffic and helping people cross the streets.

The host country of Palau presented an impressive women's "lild" dance wearing traditional costumes made of natural materials.

The open air concerts were, by far, the most talked about and best attended activities at the Festival. Music and dance could be enjoyed at five different venues, from the huge lighted concert stage at Asahi Field to an intimate amphitheater at the museum grounds.

One group that won the ears and hearts of fair goers was an amazing pan pipe band from the Solomon Islands. Sporting huge bamboo instruments, some looking more like rafts, the group played traditional island music and even threw in a few modern numbers. The driving beat and clean and unusual sounds combined with the dances done by the players brought smiles to people's faces and had them moving to the music.

One of the carvers who added his skills to the Peace Board, about 10 different carvers from all countries added to it as a gesture of Pacific harmony. Photo: Bruce Southwick/Zoom Photography

The isolated island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, had a classy performance coupled with beautiful traditional dress, some audience participation and a strong selection of native music. Rapa Nui is located in the most southeasterly corner of Polynesia and is a thousand miles away from tiny Pitcairn Island, the closest populated landmass, and even farther away from South America.

The local hosts were also decked out in full Palauan garb and both female and male groups entertained the crowds. "I think our Palauan men danced the best they've ever danced," beamed a proud Sandra Pierantozzi, Palau's vice president.

The musical shows were an eclectic mix. Some were polished cultural shows with well-choreographed steps and tunes, others were the most basic traditional dance, telling stories of history, legend and adventure. Yap's dancers told the story of how their forefathers quarried and sailed with rafts of their unusual stone money from Palau to Yap. The Pelau islanders from Ontong Java atoll in Solomon Islands, told of war and attacks from enemies.

A dancer from Papua New Guinea. Photo: Bruce Southwick/Zoom Photography

Rain dampened the last couple of days but people still shopped for rare island artwork. Fijian masi, or tapa, was popular. Inlaid Solomon carvings and Papua New Guinea bilum bags were also sought after as fair goers crowded the booths for last day bargains. Many of those in the souvenir booths spent the whole festival in the booth or resting at their quarters.

"When I finish I'm going to see this place," said Peter Maepioh of Morovo Lagoon in the Solomons while looking at photos of Palau's Rock Islands. After working his booth for nine straight days, he was anxious to get a look at Palau or even downtown Koror. "Where's the shopping center?" he asked. It was only two blocks away from his booth.

Dancer Taryn Beatty performs. Photo: Bruce Southwick/Zoom Photography

A gathering like the 9th Festival of the Pacific Arts is a special event where one can still glimpse into the Pacific past and see the practices and traditions that make each culture and island group, large and small, unique.

"It was a lifetime event. It was something I'll always remember," said artist Moe Cotton. "It's kind of empty now in Palau, some people are tired and relieved, some a little sad (that it's over)," said Palau resident Susan Kloulechad after everything wound down. "At least we had the chance to experience such a special event."

It will be four more years before another such festival takes place, this time in American Samoa (in 2008, Solomons in 2112) and with it will come more changes as cultures evolve and more things that remain traditionally the same. But found nowhere else but the Pacific.