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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

Evadne Kelly
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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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Congress on Research in Dance Conference Proceedings , Volume 2014 , Fall 2014 , pp. 106 - 112
Copyright
Copyright © Evadne Kelly 2014 

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References

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