Complex sentence: Many of the songs "pre-date European contact, which occurred in the middle of the 19th century, and tell stories of inter-island voyaging, while dance performances fill 20 or 30 hours a week" (Wane 2005).
Split into simpler sentences: Many of the songs date from the period before European contact, which occurred in the mid 19th century. The songs tell stories of voyages between the islands, while "dance performances fill 20 or 30 hours a week" (Wane 2005).