Ta Moko: Maori Tattooing

by | Aug 19, 2014 | Aotearoa, Cultures of Polynesia

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...

Eat Polynesia! Bananas in Coconut Sauce

by | Aug 5, 2014 | Eat Polynesia!

Last weekend, as part of our weekly date night, my wife and I attended the Gateway Buffet at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The buffet is located in a large and beautiful dining hall, decorated with beautiful dark woods and a huge mural of the native Hawaiian people...

Maori Haka Dance

by | Aug 1, 2014 | Aotearoa, Cultures of Polynesia

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

by | Jul 16, 2014 | Cultures of Polynesia, Tahiti

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...