Tribewanted: Vorovoro

If there was any skill I had that I didn’t expect to come in handy on a desert island, it would have to be cheerleading. I mean, in a place where the emphasis is on sustainability, learning about Fijian culture, and, well, serious things, what use is the ability to jump around and shout at the top of your voice while sporting a cheery smile? Oh, how I was wrong.

Now, I can’t quite remember exactly when cheerleading first came up, I think it was when I was helping out in the kitchen and we were discussing films. One of the Fijian girls mentioned Bring It On, to which I made an offhand remark about being a cheerleader back home. The next thing I knew, I was surrounded, and a demonstration was being demanded. I cracked out an Edinburgh Uni Vixens cheerleading classic “Who Rocks the House” amidst gales of laughter and clapping. I was told that Tui Mali would love to see a cheer, and the children at All Saints secondary school would really appreciate a lesson.

I didn’t really think about it again until the Sevusevu, when Tui Mali asked if anyone had any stories or songs for him. He looked so disappointed that no one had anything to offer that week, that Jess and I decided to start making up a Vorovoro cheer to perform to him the next week. The verses went as follows:

Who rocks the house?
I say Fiji rocks the house,
And when Fiji rocks the house,
It rocks it all the way down.

Who rocks the house?
I say Tui Mali rocks the house,
And when Tui Mali rocks the house,
He rocks it all the way down.

V-O-R-O, V-O-R-O,
Welcome to the island,

I said, oooooooooohhhhh,
Drink, there’s grog in here,
There must be some kava in the atmosphere,
I said, oe, oe, oe, meke, meke, MEKE.

But I couldn’t perform this alone, everybody knows cheerleaders, (like all slightly menacing creatures) come in packs- cue Vicky, Jess, Charlotte, and Gemma. We were all lying on the pontoon one Monday afternoon reminiscing about the previous evening’s blind date, when the subject turned to cheerleading. So we had an impromptu lesson on the pontoon, first learning the words, then the actions (Has anyone noticed that one of the boards is cracked-well yep, that was me, jumping up and down, Sorry!) We could see Giles leading a team of afternoon 4-Peakers so we had a wee volume control practice as we tried to catch their attention with a “Giles rocks the house”. The Newcastle girls certainly know how to turn up the volume!

Tuesday came, and I was getting a bit nervous about whether Tui Mali would actually be interested in seeing our cheer, or even if it was appropriate. So I asked Te’s advice, he was very enthusiastic and assured me that Tui Mali would love it. Finally the moment on the grog mat came, when the ceremony was over, silence descended, and Tui Mali started looking round for his entertainment for the day. AJ obliged with the best monkey noise I have every heard-a tough act to follow! Te gave me a nod, so I gathered the Vorovoro ‘squad’ (who were funnily quite reluctant to move), tried not to be put off by the fact Chief Tom already had his head in his hands! and we launched. It was all over very quickly, thankfully, and seemed to have gone down well. Tui Mali had a massive grin on his face, and applauded us enthusiastically, before revealing that he was very familiar with Bring It On. In fact, his daughter owned Bring It On 1, 2 AND 3! (I didn’t even know there were sequels!) He also suggested that we go to All Saints and teach cheerleading to the children there.

So, after a practice on Wednesday evening, and a hastily scraped together lesson plan, Thursday morning took me, Gemma and Lina to All Saints, where we met Anna, Tui Mali’s wife, who teaches PE and art at the school. Lina had prepared a dance warm-up, so we planned to do that, followed by some stretching before launching into a selection of cheers. Three hours later, and three groups of various ages, including some boys who certainly knew how to wiggle their hips, I was shattered, and slightly overwhelmed. The children were fantastic, so full of energy, and so quick to learn. After the initial giggling wore off, they really got into it, and it was very satisfying to see one small group run off to another corner of the playing fields to practice after the first class. Another surprise talent was Anna-(check her out in the first video, far left in the red!) I think she would make a great squad captain/coach should All Saints ever get together a squad! Although if Anna didn’t fancy the job, Amy also has some cracking moves! Thank you so much to Amy for taking photos, and more importantly videoing the day, it is fantastic to sit here in cold, wet Scotland and watch those kids go! I had an amazing morning, and feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with the children. Watching them learning to cheer really highlighted the enthusiasm and love for life that seems to be genetically built into all Fijians.

Although it was only something small, I feel like through cheerleading I managed to contribute something to Vorovoro, and leave a small part of me behind. After the performance to Tui Mali, Sosi stopped calling me by name, and I became “cheerleader”. Sosi was very fond of whispering it when I didn’t know he was there, many a dark night I jumped a mile as a whispered “cheerleader” appeared to come out of nowhere!

I hope that the cheering is still loud and clear on the island, when I asked Te to write in my passport (a message which moved me to tears) he thanked me for my cheer, and for keeping the name of Vorovoro alive. So here I am again, keeping the name alive, shout it with me:
V-O-R-O, V-O-R-O, WELCOME TO THE ISLAND!