Dance in Rotuma refers to the traditional and modern dance styles performed by the people of the island of

Rotuma Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a large and unique Polynesian indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognisable minority within the population of Fiji, known as " ...

, which became a dependency of Fiji in 1881. Despite Rotuma's political and historical links with Fiji, the island's culture shows strong

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

n influences, particularly from

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

and

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, which, along with Fiji, feature strongly in the history and traditions of the

Rotuman people The Rotumans are a Polynesian ethnic group native to Rotuma, an island group forming part of Fiji. The island itself is a cultural melting pot at the crossroads of the Micronesian, Melanesian and Polynesian divisions of the Pacific Ocean, an ...

. Situated approximately north of Fiji, Rotuma's relatively remote position ensures that the island still maintains major linguistic, historical, and cultural distinctions from its neighbours. However, the main styles of Rotuman dance, the Tautoga, the Mak Sa'moa and the

Mak Rarotoga Mak may refer to: People *Mak Dizdar (1917 - 1971), Bosnian poet *Muhammad Arshad Khan, Pakistani painter popularly known as "MAK" *Alan Mak (director) (born 1968), Hong Kong film director *Alan Mak (politician) (born 1984), British Member of Par ...

, show clearer influence from neighbouring cultures than most facets of the culture.

References

See also