Culture
La talla de madera, especialmente de la Montrouziera cauliflora, es una expresión contemporánea de las creencias de las sociedades tribales tradicionales, e incluye tótems, máscaras, marcos y flèche faitière,[81] una especie de flecha que adorna los tejados de las casas Kanak. La cestería es una artesanía ampliamente practicada por las mujeres tribales, quienes fabrican objetos de uso cotidiano.[81].
El centro cultural Jean-Marie Tjibaou, diseñado por el arquitecto italiano Renzo Piano, se inauguró en 1998, y ahora es un ícono de la cultura Kanak.[81] La kaneka es un género musical local, inspirado en el reggae y originado en los años 1980.[81] El Mwâ Ka es un tótem de 12 m de altura construido para conmemorar la anexión francesa de Nueva Caledonia, y fue inaugurado en 2005.[82].
Gastronomy
Like the Caledonian language, the cuisine of New Caledonia is above all the result of mixtures, adapting the different culinary specificities (the "Cooking (traditions)") Melanesian cuisine based on stewing in the Kanak oven and symbolized by the bougna, and more generally the Oceanic cuisine that shares the use of coconut milk as a binder, French, with the succession of several dishes, the importance of sauces, aromatic herbs and the bread or, more generally, pastry, East Asian, marked by the use of various spices, the search for sweet and sour flavors, the cooking method and the presence of rice as a staple food) to local products. They are derived from agriculture or horticulture (tubers such as yam, cassava or taro, vegetables such as chayota, known as "chouchoute", pe-tsai, known as "Chinese cabbage", but also tomatoes, for example, and tropical fruits such as banana, coconut, papaya, mango, pomegranate, grapefruit or soursop, as well as citrus fruits and some temperate fruits produced by the Fraisiers of Païta or in La Foa, especially the strawberries).
There is also an ancient and still very present coffee culture, although it has lost the reputation and export value that it had in the first half of the century with Leroy coffee, a small production of corn while most of the gardens of people of European origin include some herbs from Provence, livestock (almost exclusively meat, beef, deer, sheep, goat, pork or poultry, as well as eggs and honey, dairy production is very scarce and concentrated in Bourail, requiring a large amount of imports from Australia, New Zealand and even continental France for cheeses), hunting (deer, dogfish, wild pigs or notou), fishing (whether commercial or individual, with a wide lagoon rich in fishing resources that offers a wide variety of fish, shellfish and crustaceans, such as yellowfin tuna, salmon of the gods, snapper, dorado).
The region offers a wide variety of edible fish, shellfish and crustaceans (such as yellowfin tuna, salmon "Salmo (genus)") of the gods, snapper, dorado, parrotfish and banana fish, lobster, coconut and mangrove crab, trocas, scallops and manfish), aquaculture (mainly shrimp) and pisciculture (mainly fish and shellfish), with strongly increasing added value in exports and agri-food (with above all a significant production of beer, the best known and consumed locally is Number One, as well as local brands of tulem soft drinks and syrups, Oro fruit juices or Biscochoc chocolates). Anglo-Saxon culinary influence is found mainly in certain foods imported from Australia or New Zealand, especially dairy products (powdered or liquid milk, butter, mayonnaise, cheddar, Philadelphia), condiments and sauces (strong English mustard, vegemite, Worcestershire sauce), certain fruits (and juices) or animal products (especially New Zealand lamb and oysters), and biscuits, chips, desserts or sweets.
Literature
Literature in New Caledonia is mostly written and recent. Older oral literature is more difficult to evaluate.
In the early days, there were autochthonous discourses, as contemporary memoirs, anthropologists and ethnologists (especially Jean Guiart and Alban Bensa) attest.
Then, the different imported populations brought, arranged and developed their own New Caledonian languages.
The Kanaks developed some forms of graphic storytelling, without writing, particularly bamboo engraving. Writing came to the archipelago with the Europeans: just like trade, colonization and evangelization.
New Caledonia has produced several writers[83] who, whatever their community of belonging and their particular styles, have resorted to various cultural references (European, Melanesian oral tradition, Caledonian language). The most famous historically remain Jean Mariotti[84] and Georges Baudoux.[85].
New Caledonian comics arrived late, but they hit hard. La Brousse en folie (1957, Nouméa) by Bernard Berger allows us to discover the singularities of New Caledonian society through a humorous expression accessible to all. This comic series, born in 1984, is one of the biggest publishing successes on the island every year.
Georges Baudoux (1870-1940),[85] the first Caledonian writer, wrote several short stories in the 1910s and 1940s, some of which were published in local magazines (Kaavo in 1919), under the pseudonym Thiosse. However, they were collected and published in full after his death, especially in the two volumes of Les Blancs sont venus published by the Société d'études historiques de la Nouvelle-Calédonie in 1972 and 1979. Most of his work describes and highlights the compartmentalization of colonial society. He maintained respectful relations with Maurice Leenhardt and Lucien Lévy-Bruhl.
Architecture
The architecture of New Caledonia has European and Oceanian influences. It is considered that contemporary constructions and trends reflect references to two traditions: traditional Kanak huts and colonial houses.
Traditional Kanak architecture consists only of the hut,[86] a true symbol of the organization of society. There are several types of huts: both places for ceremonies or palavers (the great hut of the clan or the districts of the Loyalty Islands, the most representative and the most loaded with symbolism), as well as for housing (with ordinary huts for women) or for storage (yam barns). Round in shape[87] (a shape that represents a collective living space, conducive to discussions, exchanges and the maintenance of a community spirit) with a conical roof that often offers a steep slope (to allow rainwater to drain away, while the overall aerodynamic shape of the building allows strong resistance to violent winds whatever their direction), it is often built, especially in the Grande Terre where flooding is common, on a mound elevated above the natural terrain to escape water damage.
In its construction, only plant materials are used: "pre-covered" walls and roof (kötu in therefore, resistant to inclement weather) and the important elements (spire of the ridge, central post, posts of the tower of the hut, door frame, door lintel) are made of houp wood (a tree endemic to New Caledonia, centuries old, which represents the origin of the clans and whose wood is sacred). Each of the carved pieces has a particular symbolism.[89].
Settlement colonization from mid-century onwards led to the development of a particular residential architectural style known as "colonial houses" which can be found, with certain variations, in other former French (Réunion "Réunion (France"), French West Indies, French Polynesia, Indochina) or Anglo-Saxon colonies (in the southern states of the United States or in India). Although they vary in size, in general they offer a certain charm and an important element of identity for local populations, especially those of European or Caldoche origin, who pressure for their conservation. However, inclement weather (especially cyclones), wear and tear (oxidation of the roofs, rot and termite attack on wooden elements) or various real estate projects have caused the majority of these houses to disappear.
Present in most of the municipalities that have experienced some European settlement, especially on the west coast, the most famous and representative remain the former Banque Marchand or Ancienne Mairie (the first local bank from 1874 until its resounding bankruptcy for the colony in 1880, before being used as a town hall from 1880 to 1975 and converted in 1996 into the city museum),[90] the "Maison Cellières" in the Faubourg Blanchot (deteriorated since the death of its last owner in 1995 and "occupied" by several families for years, it was bought by a developer who was commissioned, in exchange for the construction of a building on part of the land, to reconstruct it in the same way as the original),[91][92] the "Château Hagen"[93] or the historic building of the Magnin clinic in the Vallée des Colons to Noumea, the "Château Grimigni" in Pouembout.
Music
As for music, the cultural diversity of New Caledonia has given rise to musical genres that have mixed with the main international trends and remain distinct from each other.
Kaneka[94][95][96] is a musical form that emerged in the mid-1980s during the political events that shook the island. It has its origin in the binary rhythm that occurs in a central tree trunk during the "Pilou", a rhythm traditionally used during Kanak tribal ceremonies. The best representative of this style is the dance group We Ce Ca, led by singer Tim Sameke, which combines traditional choreography with music that adapts kaneka to a more modern style, including the introduction of electronic sounds and rhythms, which have made this group especially popular. Kaneka is sometimes, and increasingly, mixed with reggae-type rhythms and melodies,[97][98] which is also a very popular musical style in New Caledonia, especially among the Kanak. Many international reggae figures have performed in New Caledonia: Jimmy Cliff, Israel Vibration and The Wailers.
The European population, and especially the Brousse Caldoches, or Broussards, have also developed a fairly typical musical style that mixes Caldoches expressions and a musicality essentially borrowed from country music.
Added to this are the traditional music of other communities and, above all, the musical styles imported from Tahiti: the tamure, but also the Tahitian waltz (two-beat waltz), among others. Caribbean rhythms (zouk, merengue "Merengue (musical genre)"), bachata), and more generally Latin American rhythms (mainly salsa "Salsa (musical genre)")).
Dance
There are so-called exterior dances such as the Pilou[99][100][101] that take place exceptionally (during a birth, marriage, death, alliance, war), in large groups, outside the cabins. These ceremonies, which can last several days or even weeks, have a sacred character and a food distribution dimension.
The round dance, owned by everyone, is present in almost all ceremonies.
The pilou, pwölu, pila, is an event, and consists of several well-defined phases.
In New Caledonia there is also the Imitative Dance (Danses imitatives), the young people of the paternal group invite the young people of the uterine clan by sending a bunch of herbs (in the form of vegetable threads).
A dance teacher directs the young people and announces the movements of these figure dances.
An imitative dance belongs to the group that created it. One person (or a small group) is responsible for it, whether they received it in a dream or taught and passed it on. No one can do it without your permission. The tests are carried out under your careful responsibility. Next, the suits are made. Costumes and makeup are only put on in the hour before the performance. After the presentation speech, if there is one, the trip to the dance venue is part of it. The secret nature of the dance is sometimes indicated by the masking of the entrance by the group of musicians. The usual thank you may take place at first, but individual admiration may lead a spectator to slip a bill during the dance.
Rural fairs and festivals
Every year, several municipalities in New Caledonia organize municipal fairs or festivals to publicize the region's typical products. For some of them (especially those of Bourail, Koumac, Farino or Boulouparis), they are also an opportunity to promote "broussarde culture" (rodeos, country music, dances, majorette parades, horse-drawn carriage races, horse races or competitions, livestock or horse demonstrations, preparation and tasting of particular dishes).
• - The Touaourou Yam Festival (Fête de l'igname de Touaourou),[102] in Yaté, at the beginning of February, is usually the first of all the festivals celebrated in each clan or tribe throughout the month of March to celebrate the harvest of the "new yam", which is why it is the most followed and has great importance among the Kanaks.
• - The Avocado Festival (la Fête de l'avocat) is celebrated every year in the Nece tribe, in Maré, on May 1 and the weekend closest to that date. It marks the arrival of the avocado harvest and serves as an agricultural and cultural fair for the island, in addition to being the most important event in the Loyalty Islands.
• - The Bourail Agricultural and Craft Fair (FEEAB, Foire-exposition agricole et artisanale de Bourail), better known as "Bourail Fair",[103][104][105] has been organized every year since 1977 on the Téné racecourse grounds during the week of August 15. It is marked by its fantasy, its rodeo, its horse-drawn carriage race, its trials demonstration, or the livestock breeders' demonstrations (animal competitions, horse training, cattle driving, sheep shearing, lasso throwing, sheepdogs). Each year it welcomes around 25,000 visitors, making it the largest event in New Caledonia.[106][107].
Cinema
The specific cinema of New Caledonia has developed recently, especially through short films and amateur cinema, especially through the annual festival organized in La Foa since 1999, or the International People's Film Festival, called Anûû-rû âboro (meaning "Shadow Man" in Paicî), also organized every October-November since 2007 in Poindimié.[108].
For a long time it has been chosen as the setting for documentaries (especially by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, or by Luc Besson for Atlantis in 1991) or television programs (Koh-Lanta for its fifth season on the Isle of Pines in 2005 and for its special edition Le Choc des héros en Poum in 2010, La Carte au trésor with two programs in 2005, C'est pas sorcier with two programs in 2005, editions of Thalassa, Vu du ciel, Capital, Strip-Tease, Infrarouge), New Caledonia has been the subject of relatively few films. Among the feature films shot in the archipelago or that deal mainly with it, we can mainly mention Le Bal du gouverneur by Marie-France Pisier in 1984 or L'Ordre et la Morale by Mathieu Kassovitz, whose premiere was scheduled for September 21, 2011. There is also, for example, the telefilm Louise Michel, by Sólveig Anspach, with Sylvie Testud in the main role, broadcast in 2010 on France 3, or the television series Foudre, broadcast since 2007 on France 2 and some foreign channels.
In particular, local production has remained limited. The miniseries Chez Nadette, produced by the Noumea company Imag'in Productions, was broadcast on Télé Nouvelle-Calédonie in two seasons from 2008 to 2010. The Banana studio, also based in Nouméa, created the character of "Wouk le cagou" who, through short animated sketches, illustrates a fun information program on the culture, geography or biodiversity of New Caledonia: D'après vous, broadcast since 2008 on the same channel.