From its very beginning in 1963, the Polynesian Cultural Center has featured traditional canoes and, soon after opening, launched a canoe pageant that remains an important part of our daily program. The canoes and pageant not only pay tribute to the islanders’ ancient...
Māoritanga — Māori culture — is very much alive Occasionally, a travel writer may describe the Polynesian Cultural Center as a “living museum”: That is, a place where we’ve recreated the past, but that’s not really accurate. Granted, most Polynesians now-a-days live...
Story by Polynesian Cultural Blogger, Bobby Akoi, Jr I was in high school when I first witnessed my first haka in Hilo put on by a dance troupe from New Zealand. The first thing that came out of my mouth was, “WOW”. It was so powerful it gave me goose bumps all over...
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...
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...
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