A very large pā (a village settlement), the largest in Tāmaki Makaurau, was on Maungakiekie, with tāpapa (garden mounds) and hāngī (oven pits - what are these called in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi?) for growing and cooking food and whare moe (sleeping houses - "whare" is the same as "hale," and moe means sleep in both ʻōlelo and te reo!) to rest in. You can read about Maungakiekie here if you would like to learn more!
I also did karaoke for my birthday with some friends. I love karaoke! How about you? Do you like to sing? I think singing is a big thing in many Pacific cultures. A couple of weeks ago, I went to a concert called "Mana Moana" with some of my friends. I have never been to a concert like it before! The orchestra was a combination of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonia, and the choir was called the Signature Choir, a Pasifika choir. They performed songs from Sāmoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau. Can you find all those islands on a map? I am still working on my Pacific geography; there are lots of islands, and all of them have their own amazing stories. I don't know if any of you have been to a symphonic choir performance before, but normally, there is no cheering or dancing. There's barely even that much clapping (you're not supposed to between movements). This was definitely a different kind of concert! People brought flags to wave from their islands. People stood up and did sivas. People cheered and clapped when soloists who they knew came up. There was even an MC who was a comedian! At the end, the whole audience - there were probably around 8,000-10,000 people - stood up and sang a song in harmony back to the choir. It was amazing!
