Tau’olunga Mai
Tau’olunga is a traditional Tongan dance. This embodied activity helps children bring awareness to their surroundings and connections through song and dance.
You are welcome to adapt this activity to a dance/song from your culture. This can be incorporated as a daily practice to support students to foster a mind-body connection and ground to the present moment.
Watch the Professional Development video for a demonstration of Tau'olunga dance moves in the following sequence:
- Fakatapu – Acknowledging Atua/Tangata whenua (Contextual – this would be the royal family or chief in Tonga, but in NZ it is about acknowledging tangata whenua and the iwi who are present, whoever is present, clearing the space and giving acknowledgement for the opportunity to be present and able to stand)
- La’ā – Embracing the Sun
- Fetu’u – Shining Stars
- Langi – Connecting Cosmos/Sky
- ‘Umata – Painting Rainbows
- Moana – Making waves
- Fonua – Connecting land/nature
- Tangata – Building relationships with people/whānau