PILOU PILOU

In class we explore New Caledonia’s “pilou” dance. Each pilou tells a particular Kanak story, whether of a birth, marriage, great battle or even the arrival of missionaries. While the term “pilou-pilou” encompassed many kinds of pre-colonial Kanak ceremonies, the pilou dance itself is a “round-dance” that traditionally involves many people moving together around a central pole, sometimes for hours at a time. The dancers’ feet make a “sh-sh-sh-sh” sound as the dancers move from foot to foot, hopping on one foot while stamping the other. Sometimes dancers hold straw which sways as the body shifts from side do side. In this video, watch Tim Sameke’s “Pilou,” which takes the pilou dancers into the modern age.