HBHS 'Most Promising' at Pacifika By Nature

Talofa lava, Malo lelei,

The Pasifika group this year consisted of 18 boys from Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Kiribati, the Cook Islands and New Zealand. We participated in the Waikato Secondary Schools Pasifika Festival ‘Pasifika by Nature’ at Founders Theater on Saturday the 12^th of May. We practiced day and night for weeks and tensions were high.  As we came closer to the day we were a solid and tight-knit group, ready to do our best. For the seniors in our group it was a great opportunity to be role models for the juniors and give them an experience of what being Polynesian really is.

The group performed two traditional dances of Samoan and Tongan origins. The Samoan dance, faataupati, is a slap dance that was used to show how athletic the Samoan men were. The Tongan dance, taufakaniua is a traditional Tongan war dance that soldiers performed before leaving for battle.  Penisimani and Paula also performed a beautiful Tongan song (E’otua) between the two performances.

The day was a huge success, with the group being awarded the title of “Most Promising Group”, so the best is yet to come from the Hamilton Boys’ High Polynesian Group.   A big thank you to Mr Cowley for all the hours and hard work he put in, to Ms Smith and to all of the parents that helped and supported us throughout.  A heartfelt thank you goes to Lotomoua Latu for making and gifting Hamilton Boys’ High the costumes