On Aug. 18 the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu will debut a new afternoon show, "Huki," utilizing the center's unique lagoon performance area and covering some of the history, culture and traditions of the Polynesians and their migration through the Pacific.
The show includes original musical compositions, and the seating and sound system at the outdoor theater were recently revamped. The roughly half-hour performance follows the thematic thread of Huki, which means "pull" in Hawaiian. The show starts with a depiction of the Polynesian demigod Maui pulling up islands from the depths of the sea.
"We talk about the ocean and how it pulled people to it, and pulled Polynesians from island to island," said Delsa Moe, PCC's vice president of operations and producer of "Huki." "The ocean was how they traded, shared, formed alliances. We want to show how the ocean can be something that connects us rather than divides. The ocean then pulled Western society into the Pacific, which brought new ideas and things, influencing our music and culture."
The arrival of visitors from the Western Hemisphere in turn spread Hawaiian culture abroad, including the musical traditions of the islands and inventions such as surfing.
The Polynesian Cultural Center, which is divided into several areas including six "island villages" that represent various Polynesian societies, such as Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, stages its shows on its own lagoon, with canoes and floating platforms serving as the performance areas.
"It's Hawaii's only water production and it's a nice, beautiful, outdoor setting," Moe said. "We've built new canoes for Huki to depict life on the ocean."
While the evening show, "HA: Breath of Life," uses large canoes mainly as stages, the "Huki" canoes are smaller, meant to be more maneuverable and to demonstrate Hawaiian traditions such as the Hukilau, an ancient Hawaiian fishing method where fishermen would lay a large net out across the water and then recruit teams to pull the net to shore in unison, gathering large amounts of fish.
The show is meant to be interactive, with visitors encouraged to sing and join in the proceedings.
"We divide the audience into six Polynesian groupings and teach them to call out a greeting word," Moe said. "In the end they are all invited to dance with the performers."
The show has been in development since 2011, when the concept was first conceived and fundraising efforts began. "Huki" is replacing the current afternoon show, "Rainbows of Paradise." The theater also now boasts double the seating, with room for 800 people in addition to space for standing room guests. PCC is also installing a new surround sound system for the theater.
"We also have some beautiful props including miniature scales of sailing canoes and large, intricate drums that a master carver created for us -- they are real pieces of art," Moe said.
The show starts with Maui, a common connection in the mythology of Polynesian cultures, and then follows the spread of people to various Pacific islands, where new, diverse cultures developed. In the finale, it brings these peoples back together into one "ohana," or family, Moe said.
"At the end, it is no longer about you and us," she said. "Now, it is about all of us. In the end, we are all related. We are all brothers and sisters who live on this earth. There's too much about us that's the same that it's not worth it to get caught up on differences."
"Huki" will run Monday through Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Polynesian Cultural Center is closed on Sundays.