Submitted by Luke Meyer on the 2018 winter session program in Hawaii sponsored by the Department of Biological Sciences…
Today we spent the whole day at the Polynesian Culture Center! It was a gorgeous day which made walking around the PCC so much nicer. At the center, there are 6 villages, spread throughout the grounds, designated to 6 Polynesian areas, Hawaii, Samoa, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, and Tahiti. My group first went to the area for Fiji, because that is what we were assigned to learn about and present on. We walked around and learned about the Fijian culture. We saw what their houses looked like and learned some of their rituals. We went to a demonstration and learned how to play traditional percussion music with bamboo sticks. They taught us 4 different rhythms and then they added vocals and guitars. After the presentation, we walked outside and watched them raise the Fijian flag as they sang the national anthem. It was a very cool experience because it almost made us feel like we were in Fiji. After we got all of the information for Fiji, we walked around the rest of the center. I went to a presentation for New Zealand where they taught everyone how to play a traditional New Zealand game. We then walked through the villages for the other 4 areas. It was great to be able to learn about 6 different areas and their cultures all in one day. In the middle of the day, there was a “Canoe Parade” which was a presentation from each of the 6 areas where they performed traditional tribal dances on canoes. We all really enjoyed being able to see the different dances and their traditional clothing. It was definitely one of the most rewarding experiences from the program, so far.
