Soke (dance)
Encyclopedia
sōkē or eke is a Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...

n group dance performed with sticks which the performers hit against each other on the beat of the drum. It has some common elements with, but is a complete independent development from the English Morris dance
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...

. As with most Tongan dances, the whole performance is to dazzle the spectators and to please the chiefs. There is no hidden purpose.

Performance

A single vaka (boat) consists of 2 men and 2 women facing each other. Each of the men have one long stick, about 2 meter, the both women carry short sticks, about 40 cm, one in each hand. Occasionally this assignment is exchanged. On the beat of the music they hit the sticks against each other in a repeating pattern.

In the first movement, for example, the woman to the left (or right) hits with her right stick the top of the stick of the man to the right (or left), then her left stick against his on the bottom, and then her right on his top again, while on the fourth beat they turn around to prepare for the next movement. But many variants are possible. The last hit can be done with her left stick again, while he quickly turns over his whole stick. Or the second hit can be in the middle on the long stick, which the man keeps up as a shield

In the second movement the exchange is diagonally: the men hit the tops of their sticks together, then the bottoms, then the tops again, while the women in the space left over hit their sticks together. Or perhaps the men hit only twice, giving the women more space to elegantly hit their sticks in the middle on the second beat. Again beat 4 is the transition to the next movement.

The third movement may be as the first one, but now the exchange is between the persons in the front and in the back.

In the fourth movement, if used, the women can turn to the public to make a little bow, or to hit their own sticks together, while the men can bump their sticks with a bang on the ground.

These movements repeat as long as the song continues. Various series of movements may be applied to different stanzas, but they fall in either of two groups:
  • Eke nou (short eke), where the groups of 4, the separate 'boats' interact with themselves only. In a big performance there are many 'boats' on a row, all performing independently.
  • Eke loa (long eke), when the 'boats' exchange performers, the front row for example going to the left and the back row to the right.

Lyrics

There are a few songs which will be recited at a sōkē, usually when the performers are still standing still. When the refrain is sung they hit their sticks as long as the refrain is repeated, and when finished they stand still again for the rest of the song. There are a few refrains like 'hina hea' and 'sōkē'. In fact the original name of the dance is rather eke and not sōkē. But nowadays in Tonga it is better known by this refrain. However on Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands , is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Rotuma of Fiji to the west, the main part of Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast,...

 it is still known by its original name.

Part from the Uvean (Wallis island)
Wallis Island
Wallis is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna....

 eke, which was already known before 1932 and was performed by the Uvean community in Suva at the South pacific festival of 1972:
Pongipongi tuu te nuanua i sakē
moo teketi mai te fanālua i sakē
e ōmai ai nai mātua i sakē
o fehuki pē ko fea ia Lavelua i sakē
pea tala age leva naua i sakē
e afio i Hahake Lavelua i sakē
which translates as: In the morning there is a rainbow hurray - and a twomaster appears hurray - bringing these both gentlemen hurray - who ask where Lavelua is hurray - whereupon they two are told hurray - king Lavelua reigns in Hahake [the eastern district of Uvea, where the capital Matāutu
Mata-Utu
Mata-Utu is the capital of the Wallis and Futuna Territory. It is located on the island of Wallis , in the district of Hahake, of which it is also the capital. Its population is 1,191 ....

 is located] hurray. The two gentlemen named seem to be Pierre Chanel and Marie Nizier, who were sent to Futuna
Futuna Island, Wallis and Futuna
Futuna is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna. It is one of the Hoorn Islands or Îles Horne, nearby Alofi being the other...

 by father Bataillon (see below).

Part from the Maufanga (Tonga) sōkē:
Sōkē! he siale toli nofo
au ta tuia sōkē
lupe fau fālelé
matangi angi pea moé
atu ē! langa mai fohé
isakē, isakē, isakē, isakē io!
Siale-toli-nofo means gardenia
Gardenia
Gardenia is a genus of 142 species of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania....

-picked-while-sitting-down
most likely a contribution from Tafahi
Tafahi
Tafahi is a small island in the north of the Tonga archipelago, in fact closer to Savaii than the main islands of Tonga. It is only north-northeast away from Niuatoputapu, and fishermen communicate in small outboard motorboats almost daily between the two.Other names for Tafahi are Cocos Eylant ...

, where on the road to the top of the mountain Piu-o-Tafahi there grows a gardenia with its branches so low over the path that you can pick the flowers with no effort. The place is called Pua-toli-nofo (flower picked sitting down).

Most of the words of the song are quite unintelligeable in modern Tongan
Tongan language
Tongan is an Austronesian language spoken in Tonga. It has around 200,000 speakers and is a national language of Tonga. It is a VSO language.-Related languages:...

, but some words (seafaring terms, like matangi angi pea moe, the wind blows and then sleeps) and names (like Lavelua and Futuna) can be distinguished which give a clue to its origin. Also the Uvean
Fakauvea
Wallisian or Uvean is the Polynesian language spoken on Wallis Island . The language is also known as East Uvean to distinguish it from the related West Uvean spoken on the outlier island of Ouvéa...

 and Futunan versions are in such old language that it is not clear which language it is. The two pieces above, however, are rather Uvean.

History

The original eke (or at least one version of it) comes from Futuna. It was composed by the Futunans as a kind of penitence for the murder of the Marist
Society of Mary (Marists)
The Society of Mary , is a Roman Catholic religious congregation or order, founded by Father Jean-Claude Colin and a group of other seminarians in France in 1816...

 father Pierre Chanel
Peter Chanel
Pierre Louis Marie Chanel, known in English as Saint Peter Chanel was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr.-Early years:Chanel was born in La Potière near Cuet in the area of Belley, Ain département, France....

 in 1841. Or, more likely, a recast of an older, already existing, heathen version. With the introduction of Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

 in Tonga, they brought the eke with them, first to Tafahi
Tafahi
Tafahi is a small island in the north of the Tonga archipelago, in fact closer to Savaii than the main islands of Tonga. It is only north-northeast away from Niuatoputapu, and fishermen communicate in small outboard motorboats almost daily between the two.Other names for Tafahi are Cocos Eylant ...

, then to Niuafoou
Niuafo'ou
Niuafoou is the most northerly island in the kingdom of Tonga. It is a volcanic rim island of 15 km² and with a population of 650 in 2006.-Geography:...

. After the volcanic eruption of their island in 1946 the people of Niuafoou were resettled on Eua
'Eua
Eua is a smaller but still major island in the kingdom of Tonga. It is close to Tongatapu, but forms a separate administrative division. It has an area of 87.44 km2, and a population in 2006 of 5,165 people.- Geography :...

. From there the eke, by then named sōkē came to Tongatapu
Tongatapu
Tongatapu is the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga and the location of its capital Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with approximately 71,260 residents , 70.5% of the national population...

, to the Catholic diocese of Maufanga to be more exact, which brought it into Tonga's mainstream.
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