School pe'e for a 50th anniversary
Your school in Aitutaki is preparing for its 50th anniversary. You are asked to compose a four-line pe'e to open the event. Each line must fit an eight-beat drum rhythm. The pe'e must name the school, the village, and the founding principal. The founding principal died last year, and your teacher says the family has not yet lifted the mourning restrictions, so naming him directly may be sensitive. Your first draft names him in line 3. Your second draft uses a proverb about the sea that you heard in Rarotonga, not Aitutaki. A visiting kaiārahi says the pe'e should “sound like this island,” but you do not want to delay the opening. The event is in four days, and the drum group needs the words tomorrow.
1. How would you decide whether to name the late principal directly?
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Decision: Do not name him directly unless the family gives clear permission. Use an indirect reference that the school community will understand.
Reasoning:
- A pe'e is performed in public and carries the school’s authority. Naming a person who has died recently can conflict with mourning restrictions and family protocol.
- The teacher’s warning is evidence, not a rumour. The family is the right authority, not the composer.
- An indirect reference can still honour him: for example, ‘te tumu o te kura’-the foundation of the school-or a reference to his years of service, without the personal name.
- If the family says the restrictions have been lifted, then naming him may be appropriate. In that case, use the name with a respectful phrase and check the pronunciation with the family.
Action: Ask the teacher to contact the family today. If there is no clear answer by tomorrow, use the indirect reference. Do not let the drum group’s deadline override family protocol.
2. How would you choose the proverb and keep the eight-beat rhythm?
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I would separate the cultural check from the rhythm check:
- Cultural check: Ask the kaiārahi whether the sea proverb is actually used on Aitutaki. A Rarotongan proverb may be understood, but presenting it as local would be misleading. If it is not verified, replace it with a plain sea image rather than a borrowed proverb. A plain image can ‘sound like this island’ without making a false claim.
- Rhythm check: Say each line aloud with the drummer and count the beats. Do not force the line by adding filler words; change the word order or choose a shorter phrase. The meaning must survive the rhythm.
- Keep the required names. The school and village names are fixed. Build the line around them rather than squeezing them in at the end.
- Check for double meanings. A word that fits the beat may carry an unintended meaning in Aitutaki usage.
Reasoning: A pe'e fails if it is culturally wrong or if it cannot be sung. The four-day deadline means choosing verified material early, not rewriting late.
3. What would you check with the kaiārahi before handing the words to the drum group?
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I would ask for a focused check, not a general opinion:
- Dialect vocabulary. Are the words for sea, school, village, and foundation the ones used on Aitutaki? Would a local audience hear them as natural?
- Place names. Is the village name correct and in the right form? Is the school name the one the community uses, not just the official English name?
- The indirect reference. Does ‘te tumu o te kura’ respectfully honour the late principal without breaking mourning restrictions?
- Pronunciation and vowel length. Mark macrons and glottal stops so the drum group does not learn a distorted version.
- Tapu and double meaning. Does any line accidentally refer to a recent death, a living person, or a restricted place?
- Rhythm. Ask the kaiārahi to say it with the drummer once. A line that reads well may not sit on eight beats.
Reasoning: The kaiārahi’s authority is cultural, not musical. The composer must coordinate both checks and be willing to cut a beautiful line that fails either one.