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The Political and Religious Tensions of Fijian Dance in Canada: Renegotiating Identity Through Affect
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 September 2014
Abstract
Recent performances of meke, a “traditional” Fijian song-dance genre, in Canada indicate a renegotiation of identity among Fijians in diasporic communities. However, due to religious and political anxieties involving Fiji's colonial history, not all Fijians in Canada will participate in meke. To explore this, I draw from archival research and fieldwork conducted in Western Canada and Viti Levu, Fiji (2011–2012). Additionally, I take inspiration from the anthropological theory of affect, whereby the body has the ability to be affected (to feel/sense) and to affect others (causing others to feel/sense). I argue that experiences and expressions of powerful feeling states in and surrounding meke performance are important in terms of renegotiating Fiji's past colonial and present post-independence realities while negotiating new connections and relations in multicultural Canada.
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- Copyright © Evadne Kelly 2014