History

 The Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete is hosted by Rebecca Ka’awela Manandic, who  was born and raised on the island of Oahu. After having moved to the  Merced area in 1974, she began a small Polynesian dance troupe, Ke  Anuenue (Hawaiian: “The Rainbow), which was the first such group in the  Central Valley. At the time, there existed a Tahitian dance competition  in California’s Bay Area, called the San Francisco Tahiti Fete, held at  Fort Mason and run by master kumu hula, Joseph Kahaulelio. A relatively  new group, Manandic’s performers were eager to begin to develop their  skills by participating in the soloist category of this venue, but they  were daunted by the competition, which consisted of experienced dancers  with years of performance under their belts. At the event, the advanced  performers quickly dominated.  
 

Upon returning home, Manandic felt that her students were deprived of  the opportunity to perform their skills in a less stressful environment  alongside people of comparable experience. Seeking a way to enable her  young dancers to gain a level of comfort competing, she created her own  “mock” competition solely for her troupe, allowing them to benefit from  valuable competition experience while simultaneously helping to  introduce the Central Valley of California to Polynesian culture and  dance.  
 

The first Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete was held in 1979 at the APC Hall in  Atwater, California, a town which borders Merced. The fete was only a  one-day soloist competition, where friends and family were invited to  watch their loved ones compete. The dancers were separated by the  categories of gender, tane for male and vahine for female, and grouped  in age categories: tamari’i for children 12 and under, Junior for 13-18,  Senior for 19-34, and Masters for 35 and over. Contestants were scored  in respect to costuming, execution and precision of movements,  transitions, as well as the entrance and exit. Winners were awarded  trophies.  
 

Although this first fete was meant to only be held once, the support  from the community combined with the encouraging atmosphere it provided  for the dancers pushed this event into an annual celebration. Noting the  benefits of this “mini fete,” other troupes quickly expressed a desire  to enter so that their students could partake in the same welcoming  atmosphere. Initially Manandic and her group worried that the inclusion  of outside troupes would create a more competitive atmosphere, which  would be antithetical to the original purpose. Ultimately though, it was  decided that even with a few other troupes, the event would still be  comparatively small and capable of staying within the parameters of the  original goal. In addition, Manandic and her event coordinators believed  that the inclusion of these other young troupes would serve to further  introduce the culture to the area.   
 

The festival, however, expanded at a rapid rate, and by 1981 it grew too  large for the APC Hall and was relocated to the Turlock Fairgrounds in  Stanislaus County, CA, which is approximately 25 miles away from Merced.  The festival remained there for the next thirteen years. During this  period, the fete became a phenomenal success, attracting participants  and viewers from all areas. Its growth was unexpected and proved to be  anathema to the initial premise. If things were to continue as they had  been, this event was poised to create the same problems to neophyte  dance groups that the now defunct San Francisco Tahiti Fete once posed.  As a result of the growth, many beginner dancers were already proving  reluctant to return. To resolve this problem, a beginner category was  introduced, allowing for a division between newer dancers and advanced  ones. Dancers may enter in the beginner category their first year  competing, and if they do not place that year, they may re-enter in the  beginner category the following year. Each performer is only allowed a  maximum of two years as a beginner. This enabled advanced/professional  performers to compete at a higher level and truly challenge their  capabilities, while at the same time allowing beginner/intermediate  dancers to gain experience and be rewarded for their progress.  
 

Although the event was thriving in Turlock, which was initially  convenient for Manandic as she was living near the area, her eventual  relocation to Merced and the difficulty involved with coordinating  transportation for volunteers caused her to move the event to Merced in  1994. This move had the added benefit of increasing tourism to the  Merced community, supporting the local economy, which has become another  defining attribute of the festival. The 16th anniversary competition,  held at East Campus High School, marked the first year that the Kiki  Raina Tahiti Fete was held in Merced City. For the next nine years, the  Kiki Raina Tahiti fete alternated between the various high schools in  the area, and in 2003, the competition was moved to the Merced County Fairgrounds.  
 

The Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete has now earned the title of the oldest  Tahitian dance competition outside of Tahiti and is the only established Tahiti fete in the states that is unfailingly held every year. The  continued success of the competition has garnered attention throughout  the Polynesian community and numerous accolades have been bestowed upon  its coordinator. In 1994, the Minister of Culture of Tahiti, Gerard  Cowen, made a point to visit the Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete while touring  California with an amateur dance group from Tahiti, named  Kei Tawhiti,  who had won first place in their category at the Heiva I Tahiti festival  in Tahiti. In 1999 the Polynesian Cultural Center of Oahu, Hawaii,  honored Manandic for her work in hosting the event and promoting  Polynesian culture and good will with a special ceremony at their venue.  In 2011, the new Minister of Culture, Chantal Tahiata, pledged the full  support of the Tahitian government to this event, deeming the Kiki  Raina Tahiti Fete “a major and essential event, through which the Mā’ohi  identity can be presented to the entire globe.” Also in that year, the  President of Tahiti, Oscar Manutahi Temaru, extended a personal invite  to the hosting halau, Te Mau Ta’ata Anunua, to come to Tahiti in the  summer of 2012, saying, “I look forward to have the chance to meet with  each of you during your stay with us.”   
 

Participants from around the country continue to attend the festival to  build self-esteem and train for the sake of improving basic skills,  whether through competing in individual solos or through group  performances. On a broader framework, however, this festival serves as a  central node in a network of performances that have revitalized,  disseminated, standardized, and consciously altered a nearly extinct  cultural form while simultaneously presenting it in a way that wins the  approbation of the Tahitian government. Crucial in ensuring the success  of the festival and in carrying out these unstated objectives are the  expert judges.  
 

by Eric "Ka'ahele" Morales