In
Tokelau
Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...
a fiafia (literally "''celebration''," "''get-together''," or "''happy''") is a ritualized public social occasion, that comprises an exchange between two or more "sides" of various kinds of "gifts", which need not be material, including skits, theatrical performances, food, money, speeches, and even clowning; but mainly dancing.
Fiafia are held at the conclusions of sporting contests, in particular the Tokeluan
communal cricket matches, and meetings, on saints days, and during
Christmastide
Christmastide is a season of the liturgical year in most Christian churches. In some, Christmastide is identical to Twelvetide.
For the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, Anglican Church and Methodist Church, Christmastide begins on 24 December ...
; and one common form of such dance is the
fatele
The fatele is a traditional dance song of Tuvalu. Dancing songs are the most common type of traditional Tuvaluan song, with other tradition dance styles including '' fakanau'' and '' fakaseasea''.
The ''fatele'', in its modern form, is perfor ...
.
Such celebrations also happen in
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 although the tradition form can still be seen on formal ceremonial occasions (weddings, inaugurations of schools and churches, awards) a more common form nowadays is a less formal "fiafia night" which is usually a buffet meal with slap-dancing and
fire-dancing.
The name was used as the name of the merged tribe name in the
2016 season of ''
Australian Survivor.''
References
Reference bibliography
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Further reading
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New Zealand culture
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