Western missionaries interpreted Tahitians dances as immoral and in 1820 outlawed any practice associated with dancing. Tahitian dances, though, serve a powerful purpose to enforce gender distinctions. Why is this important to Tahitian society, and how are gender roles enforced through dance?

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Jamie Rojas

17 July, 10:25

Western missionaries interpreted Tahitians dances as immoral and in 1820 outlawed any practice associated with dancing. Tahitian dances, though, serve a powerful purpose to enforce gender distinctions. Why is this important to Tahitian society, and how are gender roles enforced through dance?

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Answers (1)

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Teresa Hodge · Answer 1

The Tahitian society had to depend on the dominance of breeding to balance a capital number for the existence of the society.

Explanation:

A tribe never accepts the culture of an outsider so easily and tend to strictly follow their norms. In such a state, the gender distinctions to Tahitian society was very important as they weren't ready to settle with newcomers or were not willing to move to another tribe or place either. They had to look upon the authority of breeding to balance the population for the existence of the society. And this gender roles are refined and enforced by pure difference in the dance movements allotted for the men and the women.