The Polynesian Cultural Center & Luau

 

August 30th

Last night we bought tickets for the Polynesian Cultural Center, on the opposite side of side of the island, on the northeast, maybe a 45 min. Drive from Honolulu. You can also opt for a bus ride up there.

We drove our rental car and did a little sightseeing on the way. 

We stopped at the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, which was also a cemetery. The interesting thing was that it was split up in different areas, like Christian, Buddhist, and other cultures. 

They have a Japanese temple, the Byodo-In Temple, but it cost $7 each and we will soon be in Japan, so we just took a picture of the outside and walked around for a bit.

We stopped and had an acai bowl at Coconut Joe’s on the way. I think this was the first time I’d ever tried one. It was like a smoothie with granola and fruit on top, slightly chilled. 

The Polynesian Cultural Center is next to BYU Hawaii campus. It is basically a theme park set around 6 villages that celebrate different Polynesian cultures:, Aotearoa (Maori/New Zealand), Fiji, Samoa, Hawaiian, Tonga, and Tahiti. Then there’s a luau, and after that a show: Ha, Breath of Life. It starts at 12:30 pm and ends at 9 pm, so all day. We paid close to 200 per person, though we found a coupon online that gave us 10% off. If you schedule it 10 days in advance, you’ll get 15% off.

We opted to have a tour guide, which helped us navigate through the activities and shows. You can opt to be self-guided, which costs less. Our guide was named Aleisha. She was from New Zealand. She kept us moving and knew exactly where to go, which was good because the place was as big as Disneyland and there were a lot of things that we skipped. The ticket allows you to go back for 3 more days in case you want to wander around and see more.

We started with a show where all six cultures were showcased on a river show, with dancing and drumming, staged on canoes. 

We saw a drumming demonstration and we learned to dance the hula. We got to try a stick throwing game. Khevron and I were really good at it; we hardly dropped our sticks or missed until it sped up really fast.

In the Aotearoa area, they had community hall for celebrations and meetings. There, a chieftain told us about life among the Maori and how the young boys would cook and first serve their elders and parents, and not eat until last. He demonstrated how they started fires with sticks, how they broke open coconuts and shaved out the center. He told a lot of jokes, like a stand-up comedian.

We took a canoe ride through the villages to the other side, at one point.

THE LUAU

This was our first ever luau. When we came in, they gave us a lea. It was more of a buffet with entertainment. A small band played soft Hawaiian music, and there was some hula dancing. Largely the show commemorated the life of Queen Lili‘uokalani.

From the brochure:

The presentation ‘Onipa‘a was a tribute to Hawai‘i’s last ruling monarch and only sovereign queen Lydia Lili‘u Loloku Wewehi Kamaka‘eha or Queen Lili‘uokalani. She is considered to be one of Hawai‘i’s finest composers. The show shared the remarkable stories from Her Majesty’s life, told through her own words, songs and original compositions. 

‘Onipa‘a, which means steadfast, was the motto of Queen Lili‘uokalani. The spirit of ‘Onipa‘a was integrally woven through every experience of her life.

After dinner, we had an hour to walk around then headed to the show:

HA, Breath of Life.

The brochure describes it as:

The symbolic story of Mana and his beloved Lani, punctuated by Polynesian dance, music and blazing fireknives, is told in “HĀ: Breath of Life,” our stunning evening show featuring Pacific Islanders, special effects, animation and surround sound. It is a Pacific isle saga of birth and death, love and family, tragedy and triumph.

One theme in the show, was the idea of mutual aid. After a disaster, a couple fled their island. The mother was pregnant. When they arrived on another island, the people there helped them build a hut and gave them blankets and other aid. 

I was struck by how this mentality differs from our world today. Why can’t we be more like that? I want to help people, but we are ruled by corporate America, and we must make everyone pay for everything. Many Americans don’t have a close-knit community of family and friends they can rely on. Greed is pervasive, and since costs are high, we have little choice.