Editing Tahiti (section)

=== Dance ===

[[File:ʻupaʻupa.jpg|thumb|Tahitians wearing the ''[[pareo]]'' wrap-around garment and practising a {{okina}}upa{{okina}}upa dance]]
[[File:Ute (1950).ogg|right|thumb|Traditional Tahitian "''Ute''" or song performed by Tefanake, Reia, and Moratai, recorded in 1950]]

One of the most widely recognised images of the islands is the world-famous Tahitian dance. The ''[[{{okina}}ōte{{okina}}a]]'' (sometimes written as ''otea'') is a traditional dance from Tahiti, where the dancers, standing in several rows, execute figures. This dance, easily recognised by its fast hip-shaking and grass skirts, is often confused with the Hawai{{okina}}ian [[hula]], a generally slower, more graceful dance which focuses more on the hands and storytelling than the hips.

The {{okina}}ōte{{okina}}a is one of the few Tahitian men's dances that existed in pre-European times. On the other hand, the ''hura'' (Tahitian vernacular for ''hula''), a dance for women, has disappeared, and the couples' dance ''[[{{okina}}upa{{okina}}upa]]'' is likewise gone but may have re-emerged as the [[tamure]]. Nowadays, the {{okina}}ōte{{okina}}a can be danced by men (''{{okina}}ōte{{okina}}a tāne''), by women (''{{okina}}ōte{{okina}}a vahine''), or by both genders (''{{okina}}ōte{{okina}}a {{okina}}āmui'', "united {{okina}}ō"). This dance is accompanied by instruments only, particularly drums; no singing is involved. The drum can be one of the types of the tō{{okina}}ere, a laying log of wood with a longitudinal slit, which is struck by one or two sticks. Or it can be the ''pahu'', the ancient Tahitian standing drum covered with a shark skin and struck by the hands or with sticks. The rhythm from the tō{{okina}}ere is fast; from the [[pahu]] it is slower. A smaller drum, the ''fa{{okina}}atete'', can also be used.

The dancers make gestures that re-enact daily occupations of life. For the men the themes can include warfare or sailing, and they may use spears or paddles during such dances.

For women the themes are closer to home or from nature: combing their hair or the flight of a butterfly, for example. More elaborate themes can be chosen, for example, one where the dancers end up portraying a map of Tahiti, highlighting important places. In a proper {{okina}}ōte{{okina}}a the whole dance should be one story on a single theme.

The group dance called [[{{okina}}aparima]] is often performed with the dancers dressed in [[pareo]] and maro. There are two types of {{okina}}aparima: the ''{{okina}}aparima [[Himene|hīmene]]'' (sung handdance) and the ''{{okina}}aparima vāvā'' (silent handdance), the latter of which is accompanied by instruments without any singing.

Newer dances include the [[hivinau]] and the [[pāʻōʻā]].