Pacific Performances Theatricality and Cross-Cultural Encounter in the South Seas Christopher B. Balme Pacific Performances StudiesinInternationalPerformance PublishedinassociationwiththeInternationalFederationofTheatreResearch GeneralEditors:JanelleReineltandBrianSingleton Cultureandperformancecrossbordersconstantly,andnotjustthebordersthatdefine nations. In this new series, scholars of performance produce interactions between andamongnationsandculturesaswellasgenres,identitiesandimaginations. Inter-national in the largest sense, the books collected in the Studies in International Performanceseriesdisplayarangeofhistorical,theoreticalandcriticalapproachesto thepanoplyofperformancesthatmakeuptheglobalsurround.Theseriesembraces ‘Culture’whichisinstitutionalaswellasimprovised,undergroundoralternate,and treats ‘Performance’ as either intercultural or transnational as well as intracultural withinnations. Titlesinclude: ChristopherB.Balme PACIFICPERFORMANCES TheatricalityandCross-CulturalEncounterintheSouthSeas JudithHamera DANCINGCOMMUNITIES Performance,DifferenceandConnectionintheGlobalCity JoanneTompkins UNSETTLINGSPACE ContestationsinContemporaryAustralianTheatre Forthcomingtitles: ElaineAstonandSue-EllenCase(editors) PERFORMINGGLOBALFEMINISMS HelenGilbertandJacquelineLo PERFORMANCEANDCOSMOPOLITICS Cross-CulturalTransactionsinAustralasia AdrianKear THEATREANDEVENT StudiesinInternationalPerformance SeriesStandingOrderISBN1–4039–4435–0(hardback)1–4039–4436–9 (paperback)(outsideNorthAmericaonly) Youcanreceivefuturetitlesinthisseriesastheyarepublishedbyplacingastanding order.Pleasecontactyourbookselleror,incaseofdifficulty,writetousattheaddress belowwithyournameandaddress,thetitleoftheseriesandtheISBNquotedabove. CustomerServicesDepartment,MacmillanDistributionLtd,Houndmills,Basingstoke, HampshireRG216XS,England Pacific Performances Theatricality and Cross-Cultural Encounter in the South Seas Christopher B. Balme ©ChristopherB.Balme2007 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2007 Allrightsreserved.Noreproduction,copyortransmissionofthis publicationmaybemadewithoutwrittenpermission. Noparagraphofthispublicationmaybereproduced,copiedortransmitted savewithwrittenpermissionorinaccordancewiththeprovisionsofthe Copyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988,orunderthetermsofanylicence permittinglimitedcopyingissuedbytheCopyrightLicensingAgency, 90TottenhamCourtRoad,LondonW1T4LP. Anypersonwhodoesanyunauthorisedactinrelationtothispublication maybeliabletocriminalprosecutionandcivilclaimsfordamages. Theauthorhasassertedhisrighttobeidentified astheauthorofthisworkinaccordancewiththeCopyright, DesignsandPatentsAct1988. Firstpublished2007by PALGRAVEMACMILLAN Houndmills,Basingstoke,HampshireRG216XSand 175FifthAvenue,NewYork,N.Y.10010 Companiesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworld PALGRAVEMACMILLANistheglobalacademicimprintofthePalgrave MacmillandivisionofSt.Martin’sPress,LLCandofPalgraveMacmillanLtd. Macmillan(cid:2)isaregisteredtrademarkintheUnitedStates,UnitedKingdom andothercountries.PalgraveisaregisteredtrademarkintheEuropean Unionandothercountries. ISBN 978-1-349-54051-8 ISBN 978-0-230-59953-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230599536 Thisbookisprintedonpapersuitableforrecyclingandmadefromfully managedandsustainedforestsources. AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. AcatalogrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 This book is dedicated to my parents Brian and Pamela Balme in gratitude for a Pacific childhood This page intentionally left blank Contents ListofIllustrations ix SeriesEditors’Preface xi Preface xii Introduction 1 Definitions 2 Mimeticcapitalandexoticcommodities 7 PerformanceinParadise 9 Fishinggrounds 12 Thepassage 13 1 PacificOvertures:Trumpets,BeachesandWomen 19 Trumpetsandhornpipes 20 Landingsandbeaches 24 Shockingspectacles 29 Venusobserv’d 36 Wantondancing 38 Becomingtheother 42 2 StagedAuthenticity:TheSouthSeasandEuropeanTheatre, 1785–1830 47 Spectaclesofemotion:CookosiaGl’inglesiinOthaiti 48 Restagingfirstencounters:LaMortduCapitaineCook 56 LaPerouseandtheimaginaryPacific 61 Aroyalrevue:theirSandwichMajesties 67 3 ComediansandCrusaders:Anti-TheatricalPrejudiceinthe SouthSeas 74 Plato’slegacy 76 Arioitefenua:comediansoftheland 79 Ocularproof:baptismsandidols 85 Playsandheroes 89 4 DressingtheHulaandTamingtheHaka:PerformingIdentity inHawai‘iandNewZealand 95 Performativemetonymy 96 Reinventingthehula 98 vii viii Contents Hulakahiko(ancienthula) 102 Iconographyofthehula 104 Tamingthehaka 115 5 Kindred Spirits: Spectacles of Samoa in Wilhelminian Germany 122 Aplaceinthesun 123 Anthropologicalanxieties 126 Samoantroupesandthepoliticsofthecolonialgaze 129 ‘Impressingthenatives’:colonialceremonyinSamoa 134 Tenthanniversarycelebrations 139 Mixingceremonies 142 6 BirdsofParadise:American-PacificDramasofDisplacement 146 TheBirdofParadise 148 Rain 155 PacificandOrientallines:SouthPacific 164 7 ‘AsYouAlwaysImaginedIt’:ThePacificasTouristSpectacle 174 ThePolynesianCulturalCenterandtouristperformance 177 StagingPolynesianculture(s) 179 Mimicryandresistingthetouristgaze 181 Framingauthenticity 186 8 TranslocationsandTransgressions:ThePostcolonialPacific 191 Pacificdiasporas 192 Theplayofmemory 194 Ritualreincorporation 196 ThePacificisburning 200 Dystopicparadise 213 Notes 218 SelectedBibliography 245 Index 251 Illustrations 1 TheLandingatMiddleburgh,OneoftheFriendlyIslands 26 2 TheLandingatErramanga,OneoftheNewHebrides 27 3 ‘CaptainWallisonhisarrivalatO’Taheiteinconversation withObereatheQueen,whileherattendantsareperforming thedancecalledtheTimorodee’ 41 4 KingRheoRhio[Liholiho]andQueenKamehameha[Ka’ahumanu] delightedattheperformancesofPunch(1824) 69 5 ThekingandqueenoftheSandwichIslands,andsuite,at CoventGardenTheatre(1824) 71 6 DestructionoftheidolsatOtaheite 88 7 Jacques Arago: Les Isles Sandwich: Femme de l’isle Mowi dansant 106 8 BathélemyLauvergne:Scènededanse,auxIlesSandwich.Hula dancingwithasolofemaledancer 108 9 TwoHuladancers.Ambrotype,1858 109 10 The‘HonoluluDandy’IoaneUkekewithhishulatroupe, c.1880 112 11 Huladancersinaforestsetting,c.1899 113 12 Backyardhuladancingininformalsetting,c.1900 114 13 PremierRichardSeddonattendingahakaperformanceatthe Holbornrestaurant,London,1897 116 14 HostsoftheNgatiKahungunutribewelcomevisitorstoa weddingatTaradale,EastCoast,NorthIsland,NewZealand 118 15 HakapartyatRotoruaduringvisitoftheDukeandDuchessof Cornwall,1901 119 16 Programmeforthe1901tour 131 17 Postcard of Samoan performers in Hagenbeck’s zoo in Hamburg-Stellingen,1910 133 18 Arrangementofspectatorsforflag-raisingceremony,Apia, WesternSamoa,1March1900 137 19 SheetmusiccoverfeaturingLauretteTaylor 151 20 Poster for Federal Theatre Project presentation of Bird of Paradise at the Belasco Theatre, Los Angeles, showing a womanwearingabikinitopandskirt,standingnexttoapalm tree 152 21 JeanneEagelsasSadieThompsondancingtohergramophone 161 22 TouristdrinkingcoconutmilkwhilebeingfilmedbySamoan chiefatthePolynesianCulturalCenter,Hawai‘i 183 ix