Like the Maori: Thin the Veil Between You and Your Ancestors

Last week, I visited the Polynesian Cultural Center’s Maori village. I wanted to learn more about the taiaha (Maori weapon) and its significance to Maori culture. After learning from the natives, I joined the tourists in watching their cultural presentation. Just like...

2014 Iosepa Summer Launch

The Iosepa — the Brigham Young University–Hawaii/Polynesian Cultural Center’s Hawaiian sailing canoe —left its permanent home berth in the PCC’s Hawaiian Village on August 51, 2014, and is currently moored off Hukilau Beach in Laie, in preparation for its next...

Ta Moko: Maori Tattooing

Ever since I read Keri Hulme’s The Bone People, I have been fascinated with Maori symbols and tattoos, particularly the meanings and significance behind each line of the work. The facial tattoos kinda scared me, but the patterns were still captivating.   According to...

Maori Haka Dance

Aotearoa, “the land of the long white cloud,” is more commonly known to its visitors as New Zealand. Its beautiful mountains, fields, rivers and streams boast more than just being the filming place of the popular Lord of the Rings trilogy; they are home to a proud and...
Origins of Tahitian black pearls

Origins of Tahitian black pearls

For my 16th birthday, my parents gave me a black pearl embedded on a turtle-shaped mother-of-pearl shell (the necklace in my profile picture). I was immediately mesmerized by its entrancing beauty. Tahitian black pearls are not actually black, but a rainbow of colors...