Cibi

The tradition & historical record

The Cibi (Fijian pronunciation: [ˈðimbi] DHIM-bee) is a Fijian meke of Bauan origin and war dance, generally performed before or after a battle. It came to prominence in the rugby field in 1939 when it was performed by the Fiji national rugby union team before the match. It is also known as Teivovo ("war fence", from tei voavoa, 'planting on abandoned land'). ¹

The origins of the cibi date back to the country's warring times with their Pacific neighbours and intertribal warfare. On their return home the warriors heralded their victory by displaying flags – one for every enemy slain. They were met by the women who would sing songs with accompanying gestures. The cibi was meant for open battle to inspire the troops, but it was sung with more vigour when the victorious army returned home to celebrate. In 1939, when Fiji prepared for its first-ever tour of New Zealand, the captain, Ratu Sir George Cakobau, thought his team should have a war dance to match the All Blacks' haka. He approached Ratu Bola, the high chief of the warrior clan of Navusaradave in Bau, who taught them the Cibi which has been adopted as Fiji's pre-match ritual ever since and went on to become the only team to remain unbeaten on a full tour of New Zealand. ¹

The cibi had perhaps been used incorrectly though, as the word actually means "a celebration of victory by warriors", "a dance of triumph" whereas bole or ibole is the acceptance of a challenge. For this reason, the Cibi was replaced in 2012 with the new Bole (pronounced [ˈᵐbole] mbo-lay) war cry. The Bole war cry has a lot more energy compared to the Cibi and seems far more fitting for the gruelling match that is about to commence, However, after the 2012 Pacific Nations Rugby Cup, the Cibi returned to be used. The Bole however has not been used after the 2012 Pacific Nations Rugby Cup match against Tonga. The Flying Fijians have opted to use the Cibi for the rest of their matches. The current reason for the team removing the Bole is unknown. Composed by Ratu Manoa Rasigatale, the Bole is translated as follows: ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Cibi”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Cibi is Fijian type of dance, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²