Flat Rose Day 10 Polynesian Cultural Center

 

Day 10 - Sunday, March 23:

Polynesian Cultural Center: Water Show, Luau and Hula Show

 

The King, and his court bearing yellow and red feather standards

The Polynesian Cultural Center is on the Windward (east) side of Oˋahu. Six Pacific isle villages are on display: Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Hawaii. Exhibits for Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Marquesas are there, too. I didn’t have time to see all the displays before the water show started. Auntie didn’t want me to miss any of the show.

 

 

   

 

 

The dancers on the canoes all wore colorful costumes. I liked the red and yellow cape of the king on the main float best. It looked just like one of the capes in the glass cabinets at the Bishop Museum. The floats represent the different Polynesian Islands.

 

After the water show was over, we listened to a big man play the drums. I think he is from Samoa. He asked for someone from the audience to come on stage and play music with him. I didn’t raise my hand. But I clapped real loud after he played the drums.

 

   

When we stood in line for the luau, I got scared. I was never at a luau before. What if I did something wrong? I told Auntie I was afraid. She said it was normal for me to feel nervous in new situations. Then she told me things about a luau.

For a luau, people dig a hole in the ground and put in rocks and leaves and twigs. They light a fire so the rocks get hot. It is like an oven, only it is called an imu. A whole pig is roasted inside the imu. When the pig is cooked enough to eat, strong men remove it from the hole.

 

 

  

 

We stood close to the imu and watched as men lifted the pig out of the ground. They wore a cloth around their waist called a lava lava. The men showed us the pig before carrying it away.

Everyone walked over to a row of tables and sat down. There was a lot of food for us to eat. On the table were slices of pineapple, papaya, and mango; macaroni salad, rice, and buns; kalua pig and poi. Some people had a drink called a Mai Tai. I asked for milk. Auntie had diet cola. I thought maybe we would have Shave Ice for dessert. But they brought trays of little square cakes and something that looked like white jello. It was called haupia. It tasted like coconut.

 

The hula show was fun to watch. I was very tired though. Auntie said the warm weather probably made me tired. I fell asleep on TheBus and didn’t wake up until we were home. I can sleep late tomorrow morning while Auntie does some work.

*****