Having won several awards at the Heiva in Tahiti for his performances, Teiva Manoï, known as Minos, is one of those who do not just recite legends. The most important thing for him is to bring the text to life so that the audience feels all its energy. Today, Minos teaches public speaking in schools and at the conservatory.
He won first prize in orero again at this year’s Heiva i Tahiti. Teiva Manoi, better known as Minos, has achieved his dream of becoming an orator.
And it is thanks to his parents that he has a good command of our mother tongue.
When he was little, they only spoke to him in Tahitian at home and little by little, the young Teiva became interested in the art of oratory. “When I realized that I could succeed with my language, I could also share what I mastered best. Learning French was difficult for me during primary, middle and high school. It’s no wonder I got bad grades because I was translating my Tahitian into French! So it was word for word. [Cela ne voulait rien dire ?] Nothing!”Teiva admits.
A legacy he is proud of. In primary school, Minos was interested in comedy and theater, then he continued in secondary school. “As time went on, I understood that what I was doing was partly oratory, orero. Eventually, I tried to find out where this art was still practiced. I saw that there was Heiva.”
Corinne Tehetia’s report:
In 1999, he made his first Heiva with Temaeva by Coco Hotahota. The young Minos wanted to be part of the orero, but the group leader did not agree. “He said to me: ‘No baby, you’re dancing! And in 2004, with my friends, we formed the group Tamarii Tipaerui. I also asked them and they answered “no”, you will be a drummer, a dancer. Until 2010, with the group Toa Kura, through the group Manu Ura, I was contacted to do the orero on a writing by John Mairai. And so they gave me a 15-page text. As I am obedient and even if I did not know him personally, I did it and recited it in my own way. And I won the first prize, it was the very first, a special prize called “candy lollipop”.
As far as the public is concerned, it was love at first sight, recalls Minos. “All the emotions were in the words, the charisma, the attitude and the performance of the orero. That’s what I demonstrated in everything I did. The spectators told me that it was the first time they listened to an orero. At the beginning of the Heiva, the orero was just used to talk, to set the tone for the dancers to change. He spoke but no one listened to him.”
Public speaking is attractive and in 2004, it was introduced into elementary schools.
A successful bet for Minos and all those who work in the shadows to ensure that our languages survive.
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