Polynesian Festival of Foster City

12/02/2023

12/02/2023

Billy Mills (born 1938) won what sports writers called the most sensational race ever run in Olympic history. A relative unknown, he came from behind to beat world champion runners in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. Miller later became one of the most noted of motivational speakers.
Mills was born on June 30, 1938 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The young Native American ran like the wind over the prairies and hills near his Lakota Sioux Reservation home. His mother, who was one quarter Sioux, died when Mills was seven year old. His father, who was three quarters Sioux, died five years later. Native Americans considered him to be of mixed blood. The white world called him a Native American. Mills claimed that running helped him to find his identity and to blunt the pain of rejection.
As a youngster, Mills admired the great war chief, Crazy Horse. This spiritual leader of the Lakota challenged him to follow his dreams, reach for goals, and succeed in life. Crazy Horse was a warrior, who led his life through responsibility, humility, the power of giving, and spirituality. Mills tried to live by the knowledge, the wisdom, and the integrity of Crazy Horse. After breaking many high school track records on the reservation, Mills received a scholarship to attend Kansas University. He then became an officer in United States Marine Corps.
As a young Marine lieutenant, Mills had been allowed to train for the 1964 Olympics, held in Tokyo, Japan. He qualified for the team in both the 10,000-meter race and the marathon, but was not expected to win either race. No American had ever won the 10,000-meter race in the Olympics. But Mills had always lived according to the teachings of his father, who had challenged him to live his life as a warrior and assume responsibility for himself.
Australia's Ron Clarke was world famous as a runner in the 10,000-meter event and was the odds-on favorite to win a gold medal. Mohamed Gammoudi, a Tunisian runner, was expected to finish in second place for the silver medal. Any of the other runners were capable of taking a third place bronze medal, according to the experts. It was thought that none of the other runners could win.
Mills, a believer in visualization or "imagery," did not permit a negative thought to enter his head as he worked toward the biggest race of his life. He had for some time before been visualizing a young Native American boy winning the 10,000-meter event at the 1964 Olympics. He created that picture in his mind over and over again. If a thought about not winning came into his mind, he would spend hours erasing the negativity. There could be only one result!
As Mills lined up, there was only one thing on his mind, and that was to win. The gun cracked and the field broke away from the starting grid. As expected, Clarke and Gammoudi fell into first and second place. Mid-pack jostling and shoving allowed the leaders to pull away and Mills dropped back. It appeared he was out of contention and few paid any attention to the sleek Native American who was well back in the field. If they had looked, they would have seen him running as smoothly as the wind, without effort, in perfect control. Near the end of the race, Clarke and Gammoudi remained in the lead. The Japanese crowd cheered politely at what they had known all along was going to happen.
But suddenly the smooth running Mills stepped up his pace. He was closing on the leaders. The crowd fell silent. Mills increased his smooth, even pace, and drew closer to the leaders. With the three runners speeding down the last home-stretch, Mills made a spectacular, totally unexpected move. He surged in front of Clarke, who was still running in second place, then Gammoudi, who was leading. At the tape, it was Mills, Gammoudi and Clarke. Mills had beaten Gammoudi by three yards and Clarke by a full second. He had completed the race in a new Olympic record time of 28:24.4, a full 46 seconds better than his best previous time.
The crowd went wild with cheering, for they had seen the impossible happen. They had seen an underdog, an unknown, a runner who wasn't given a chance to win, beat the favorite. They had witnessed one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history. After his great running victory at Tokyo, Mills was honored with the warrior name of 'Makata Taka Hela' by the Lakota Nation. It means "love your country" and "respects the earth."
Although he was never sent to Vietnam because of his rigorous training schedule in the Marines, Mills was deeply affected by the many combat deaths of men from his unit. He felt that he could not participate in a sport when people were being killed in Vietnam. Mills finished his Marine Corps tour of duty as a captain, then reentered civilian life as an official of the Department of the Interior. He followed this with a very successful career as an insurance salesman. Mills retired from his insurance business in 1994 and became a motivational speaker.
Mills, who was elected to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984, moved with his wife, Pat, and their three daughters, Christy, Lisa, and Billie JoAnne, to Fair Oaks, a Sacramento, California, suburb. He devoted all of his time to speaking to Native American youths and raising money for charities, such as Christian Relief Services.

12/02/2023

Former President Donald Trump isn’t immune from being held accountable in civil lawsuits related to January 6, 2021, in a long-awaited, consequential decision from the federal appeals court in Washington, DC.

12/02/2023

The medieval Garisenda tower in Bologna, Italy, will be cordoned off with a safety zone installed around it, after a recent scientific report has said the site is at high risk of ‘sudden and unexpected collapse’

12/02/2023

Stream "The Dance - Acoustic Sessions" here: https://IamTongi.lnk.to/thedanceFollow Iam:https://www.instagram.com/wtongi/https://twitter.com/wtongi?lang=enht...

06/10/2023

05/28/2023

05/28/2023

05/28/2023

10/25/2022

Centered between two small houses somewhere in swampy lowlands next to a creek, three people begin to dance. A woman in a green dress bends over slightly. She lifts her heels, stirring the sandy gr…

10/25/2022

In a key Jan. 6 contempt case, Steve Bannon’s lawyers asked for probation. Instead, the operative received a four-month sentence, which he'll appeal.

10/24/2022

11/30/2021

The Symphony of Drums by the Taakoka Dance Troupe drummers on Muri Beach, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. The group is named after Motu Taakoka, the lagoon islet behind them, on their left. Songs, chants, ute, and drum beats composed by their group leader and founder Turepu Turepu includes: Kua iti te Marama, Enua Manea, Tiare Tipani; drum dances Akaepaepa or promotion, Motu Tapu, Avaiki; and drumbeats such as Fire (known to Tahitians as Paea,) Motu Tapu, and Puarata to name a few.

Les Cook Islands ont une façon bien à eux de taper le toere , on remarque que les toere sont posés sur leurs genoux contrairement aux Tahitiens qui les mette...

10/31/2021

TOUR NEWS
All Blacks kick off their year-end Europe tour with a comfortable 54-16 win over under-strength Wales in Cardiff with Beauden Barrett leading the way.
News: https://bit.ly/3muudsp

08/04/2021

07/22/2021

05/30/2021

04/10/2021

It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.

The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.

Further announcements will be made in due course. Visit www.royal.uk to read the announcement in full.

01/05/2021

04/01/2019

Norway agrees to hand back Rapa Nui artefacts

Norway agrees to hand back Rapa Nui artefacts

A museum in Norway will hand back thousands of artefacts an explorer took from Rapa Nui, or Easter Island.

05/09/2017

Polynesian Cultural Center

７月１２日（金）、１３日（土）にポリネシア・カルチャー・センターで第１４回テ・マハナ・ヒロア・オ・タヒチ・フェスティバルが開かれます。
７月１２日（於タヒチ村）は特別招待部門男女ソロ、３人構成のドラミング、タマリイ部門（４～１８歳）ソロのコンペティションガ行われます。
７月１３日（於パシフィックシアター）は４～１８歳のグループ部門の競技が行われます。
写真は２０１２年の同フェスティバルで特別招待部門で優勝したManarii Gauthierさんです。

05/09/2017

Kuki Entertainment [Cook Islands]

'Ka'ara'

04/08/2017

2017 theme - what's in a name?
What does your name mean? What is it's story? What is the origin of your name?

Special Guest:- Tumu Korero and Taunga Papa Orometua Ngarima George. He is the father of Henry George, owner of the Te Vaka Nui Dance Group of Las Vegas. He will share with us on stage as the group prepare about the history, customs, values, and protocols of our Cook Islands culture. Kia orana e kia manuia.

10/23/2016

Tangaroa Iti Kura.
© Lyrics by A. Tongia.

Tangaroa Iti Kura e...
teia mai nei taau ki to rima numinumia,
numinumia ki to rukau ma tiromi,
kopikopia ki to kaka kura o Avaiki;

Tangaroa Iti Kura e...
te atua i turia ia e te anuanua,
e atua ite tau-revareva tei tuarei ia,
e atua i tera ra motu e i tera ra koro,
ko koe oki ia e Tangaroa Iti Kura;

Ka ui mai te taura-atua e... tei ea koe?
ie mai e..., ie mai;

Tangaroa Iti Kura e...
teia mai nei taau ki to rima numinumia,
numinumia ki to rukau ma tiromi,
kopikopia ki to kaka kura o Avaiki;
Ia... haha...!!!
Io koko...!!!
Historical Notes.
This chant was composed on Sunday August 15, 2004. It was composed with the idea of presenting a gift (pork) on the marae. The desire to compose was inspired by the experience last Wednesday August 11, 2004 at The Orleans Hotel Casino when carrying the pork on a paata with Joe Monga during the opening ceremony for a Hawai’ian Luau. A traditional lifting chant was presented plus an impromptu chant composed on the spot as per cue received from the audience who were enjoying themselves watching our Cook Islands presentation.
(It was first posted over a year ago and again per niece's request - not this particular one but a composition nevertheless and so I open with salutations to Tangaroa.) Mata Malloch.

10/22/2016

| NZETC

Wood Drums of the Cook Islands.

Here are some brief educational notes for us all that will help, I hope, to enrich and educate us about our curiosities, love, and passion of the culture of the Cook Islands and Tahiti.
Be it known to you all that Tahiti is our cousin and also our Avaiki/Havaiki/Savaii/Hawaii - our esoteric homeland, that place in the east where our ancestors sailed eons ago to colonise the 15 individual islands of the Cook Islands.
This is written for you, in the simplest English language that I can, in order to help you enlarge your kumete/uete/umeke or wooden bowl of cultural knowledge.
It is also written in response to the silence from those I talked to in Puebla, Mexico during my cultural seminar and festival.
Therefore, may your desires be fulfilled and enlightened and may they grow forth from your lips to their listening ears and to those upon whom your shadow will shade the students who hunger to know, to enquire, and to be educated.
May you continue to grow physically, spiritually, and culturally.
Kia orana e kia manuia - greetings and blessings.

It is very "nice" for me to know that "you know the name of a drumbeat." It is also very "nice" for me to know that "you also know how to play the toere."
However, I think that it is "nicer and enriching" for you to know
1. - the story of the drum beat,
2. - the origin of the drum beat, and
3. - why the drum beat was composed.
It will also be "nicer and educational" for you to know
1. - the story of the toere,
2. - the origin of the toere, and
3. - why the toere was created.

In these ways, you are better informed on how to create the routine because you have just learned the story, origin, and meaning of the drumbeat. With these knowledge, you are a better person as a teacher and as a student/dancer/soloist. Your day is bright because you have been enlightened with a better understanding about the drumbeat and its story. Stay informed...
In the Cook Islands, there are two types of wood instruments:-
1. - the kaara is a large type that is used for war, religious, and ceremonial purposes by the taunga/kahuna on the marae/heiau in order to appease the wrath of the gods/deities/immortals to be in the favour of the mortals/humans/us.
2. - the pate/tokere/ove/koriro/nawa is smaller than the kaara and is used in the are karioi or the house of entertainment by drummers for our entertainment.
During the years when Cook Islands or individual island "tere parties - travelling groups" - sailed to Raiatea and/or Tahiti to participate in their Bastille Day Celebrations that later became known as Tiurai and later still became known as Heiva Nui, we only took the pate as the wood instrument and we left our kaara on their maraes in Rarotonga, Mangaia, Aitutaki, and Ngaputoru (Atiu, Mauke, and Mitiaro.)

"DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER SLIT-GONG DRUMS in Polynesia is the large rotund ka'ara slit gongs of Mangaia, Rarotonga, and Aitutaki in the Southern Cook Islands. Its distinctive figure-of-eight sounding holes, thin medial connecting slit, large size, elaborate carvings, and multi-note capability suggest that it was a local development" (350.)
"...kolilo/koriro for Manihiki and ove for Mangaia and Atiu. Original to the Cook Islands and exported from there to French Polynesia is tokere (Aitutaki, Atiu, Mauke, Mitiaro and Tuamotu Islands)/tokele (Pukapuka)/toere (Tahiti and Marquesas Islands.) In Rarotonga, Cook Islands, the term for slit-gong is pate. The pate was physically transported from there by LMS Missionaries for use as a portable church bell to Western Polynesia, where it is still extant in Tuvalu, Samoa, Tokelau, and West Uvea, and has spread as far as the Loyalty Islands. Within the Cook Islands, pate is a term for small slit gongs not only in Rarotonga but also in Manihiki, Pukapuka, and Penrhyn" (351.)
Source.
Mervyn McLean. 1999: 350-351. Weavers of Songs - Polynesian Music and Dance. UH Press, Oahu.

KAARA - Cook Islands large size slit gong the equivalent of the lali, logo, and nafa of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga respectively.
In regards to the large size slit gong that is played on the marae by the taunga, here is a book for the Cook Islands kaara. Enjoy ra.
Source.
Te Rangi Hiroa., 1928: 263-275. Arts and Craft of the Cook Islands. Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu.

For several reasons, including lack of resource and inherent ambiguity, not all names in the NZETC are marked-up. This means that finding all references to a topic often involves searching. Search for as: "". Additional references are often found by searching for just the main name of the topic (the...

08/10/2016

Cook Islands

2016 Te Maeva Nui snippets - Cook Islands Dance Competition to celebrate the Internal Self Government of the Cook Islands from New Zealand on August 4, 1965.

Lights. Camera. Action.

The performances were in full force during the 50th Te Maeva Nui celebrations. Check out some highlights, but be warned, you may fall in love with the culture.

Thanks to Ministry of Culture Cook Islands.

08/07/2016

2012 Te Epetoma o te Reo Maori - Maori Language Week.

There is no need for me to clarify myself as a Maori "Kuki Airani/Cook Islands."
The above title should read as is, and NOT as Te Epetoma o te Reo Maori "Kuki Airani."
Why not???

Because in 1350AD, seven voyaging canoes (Tainui, Te Arawa, Mataatua, Takitumu, Tokomaru, Kurahaupo, and Aotea) left our shores to colonise Ao Tea Roa/New Zealand.
By virtue of history and tradition, it is proper and appropriate that we understand the value and custom of our teina-tuakana/younger-older brother relationship.
Also, per our Maori Custom of Primogeniture, I am the tuakana with "the right to inherit" the use of the word "Maori" and without having to affix the words "Kuki Airani/Cook Islands" thereafter.
As for them who left our shores, they need to understand and accept that they are the "teina."
Also, they need to identify themselves by affixing the country they are from i.e as a "Maori Ao Tea Roa" or a "Maori New Zealand." To do otherwise is inconsiderate, disrespectful, and discourteous.

Tumu Tapura:- Ko Taku Reo Toku Akairo - my language is my identity.

08/07/2016

Kaara - the religious and ceremonial instrument of the Cook Islands that was played by the taunga on the marae. It was never taken out of the Cook Islands for entertaiment purposes, other than as museum collections, and it never was used for entertainment. Why??? Because the sound from the kaara reminds islanders that you will be the next akire/pet pig to appease the national gods of Tangaroa, Rongo, Tane, and Tutavake.
Fiji has the lali, Samoa has the nafa, Tonga has the longo, and the Cook Islands has the kaara.
Question:- where is Tahiti's religious and ceremonial instrument?

Tei te arearea - in the midst of time,
tei te anakenake - in the realm of solitude,
tei te rangi tuatini - in the multiple stairs of heaven,
e moe tinainai mai ra - sleeping dreams of lala-land.

'Ka'ara'

06/07/2016

2013. Cook Islands Tiki Tangaroa standing at right during a Polynesian Cultural Centre Tahiti Dance Competition.
I wonder if the organisers know the differences between a Cook Islands, Tahitian, and a Marquesan tiki design. I wonder...

Translated from the Japanese label:-
On July 12 (Gold), 13th (Sat) to the Polynesian Culture Center 14th te maja na Hiro O Tahiti Festival was held.
On July 12 (in the Tahiti Village) is a special invite women department, SOLO 3 the structure of Dora hemming, tree (a) (4-18 years old) SOLO COMPETITION MOTH.
On July 13 (in the Pacific Theater) is 4 to 18 years of age group division of the Olympics was held.
Photo in 2012 at the same festival special invitation won the first prize in the category of Manari'i Gauthier.

７月１２日（金）、１３日（土）にポリネシア・カルチャー・センターで第１４回テ・マハナ・ヒロア・オ・タヒチ・フェスティバルが開かれます。
７月１２日（於タヒチ村）は特別招待部門男女ソロ、３人構成のドラミング、タマリイ部門（４～１８歳）ソロのコンペティションガ行われます。
７月１３日（於パシフィックシアター）は４～１８歳のグループ部門の競技が行われます。
写真は２０１２年の同フェスティバルで特別招待部門で優勝したManarii Gauthierさんです。

06/06/2016

Cook Islands Dance Videos

The Cook Islands Dancer of the Year Competiton. In the US, you know it as Solo. This is the Fast Beat Category to a chant by the emcee. The other is the Slow Beat - for the girls, it starts with a song and ends with a slow beat. For the boys, it starts with a pe'e based on your presentation and then the slow beat. Enjoy ra.

Geneva as the Miss Thunderhips 2010 with her stunning fast beat. Credit to Josie Iako for the video. Note this DVD has not been released.

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06/06/2016

Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense

2016 Festival of Pacific Arts, Guam. Cook Islands National Arts Theatre (CINAT) Ura Pau. Compliments of the Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense.

Our office is so proud to host such amazing people! Cook Islands wows the crowd tonight at Paseo. CINAT GUAM 2016

06/01/2016

CINAT GUAM 2016

2016 CINAT boys entertain inside the court room in Guam during the Pacific Arts Festival.

The boys entertain the court staff

05/29/2016

CINAT GUAM 2016

2016 CINAT at the Pacific Arts Ffestival in Guam. It is not a new idea for Cook Islanders to compose a song or a drumbeat on the spur of the moment as is the above case. The composition of the drumbeat is based on the story, chant, and the emotions. Enjoy ra.

Drumers practising a new mumber

05/27/2016

Festival of Pacific Arts 2008 -- Cook Island Drum Beat

2008 Pacific Arts Festival in American Samoa. Cook Islands Drummers during a Radio Station Sunrise Morning Show.

A group of musicians including Sonny Williams and Man Short visit the 93KHJ Samoan Sunrise Morning Show during the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts in American ...

05/24/2016

CINAT GUAM 2016

CINAT with the boys ura pau at the 2016 Pacific Arts Festival in Guam, Micronesia from Sun May 22 - Sat June 4, 2016.

The boys drum dance

05/24/2016

CINAT GUAM 2016

CINAT GUAM 2016

The invitation dance always a popular number