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Native Administration Ordinance 1922 - Native Dancing Regulations 1936

THE ISLAND OF NAURU

Administration Order No. 1 of 1936

REGULATIONS UNDER THE NATIVE ADMINISTRATION ORDINANCE 1922 – TO CONTROL NATIVE DANCING ON NAURU

These Regulations may be cited as the Native Dancing Regulations 1936 and shall come into operation forthwith.

1. No Native shall be forced to dance.

2. Dancing shall take place only in the District Meeting Houses, Domancab, or other places authorised by the Administrator in writing which authority may be withdrawn at any time and is strictly prohibited in other places.

3. Dancing is allowed only on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Public Holidays of a non-religious character.

4. - (a) Dancing before 6 p.m. and after 9.30 p.m. is prohibited.

(b) At 9.30 p.m. on dancing days the District Constable shall sound his conch shell (dobwu) beside the meeting House and the dance shall cease.

5. No dancing shall take place in darkness. All males attending a District Dance shall carry lamps (not electric torches). Any man attending the Dance without a lamp shall be sent home with all his womenfolk. This applies to spectators as well as dancers.

6. No girl under the age of 18 years shall, unless accompanied by her parent or guardian, approach the District Meeting House or Domancab. The parents or guardian of girls who are negligent shall be deemed to have committed an offence.

7. Anything of all indecent nature is forbidden including indecent words, gestures, or movements of the body. Songs which appear at first sight to be clean, but which convey an indecent meaning are also prohibited.

8. Any person who acts in an indecent manner as described in section 7 shall be deemed to have committed an offence. Any Chief or District Constable who is negligent in preventing, indecent dancing or in charging offenders under this section shall be deemed to have committed an offence.

9. Any person desiring to bring evidence of an offensive dance shall do so through the Chief of the District. The Chief and the District Constable shall diligently inquire into the truth of such evidence and shall within three days after hearing of such evidence report to the Administrator.

10. Mixed Dancing (male and female) is strictly forbidden.

11. Dancing rehearsals are allowed in private houses on Mondays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. provided the number of persons does not exceed four. It is an offence to chant in a loud voice at such rehearsals.

12. Any person doing anything forbidden by these Regulations shall be deemed to have committed an offence a person who is deemed to have committed an offence under these Regulations shall be liable to a fine of 10s. or imprisonment for not more than one month or both. A Chief may, with the approval of the Administrator, suspend the dance in any District for any period, on account of the offence of any individual.

13. Chiefs and District Constables who are weak or negligent in the enforcement of these Regulations shall be deemed to have committed an offence under these Regulations and shall be liable to a fine of 10s. and the authority granted to dance in that District may be withdrawn.

Dated at Administration Head-quarters, Nauru, this fourth day of July, 1936.

RUPERT C. GARSIA,
Administrator.

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