The Hawaiian Village teaches culture through daily demonstrations and shared traditions
The Hawaiian Village at the Polynesian Cultural Center has existed since the opening of the center, serving as a space where visitors can experience Hawaiian culture directly. Guests learn about Hawaiian traditions through both observation and practice by participating in hula lessons, poi pounding, traditional games and cultural demonstrations. Beyond tourism, the village functions as a living space where Hawaiian culture is taught, practiced and experienced.
Keeping Hawaiian culture alive
Keanupohina Poliahu Manoa, manager of the Hawaiian Village from Laie, said the village exists to show Hawaiian culture is not frozen in the past, but is actively lived today. Manoa said the village highlights aspects of Hawaiian traditions including poi pounding, hula, traditional games, temporary tattoos and net throwing. These activities, he added, serve as educational tools to teach Hawaiian culture to those unfamiliar with it.
Manoa said the practices presented in the Hawaiian Village remain authentic, passed down to employees the way they were taught. According to Manoa, the village stays rooted in tradition, while it also continues to evolve. For example, net throwing, Manoa said, was a new element added in 2017, which shows the Hawaiian Village is alive and fluid.
Through his years working in the village as a student worker, community spot employee, full-time worker and now manager, Manoa remarked he frequently encounters misconceptions about Hawaiian culture from guests. One popular misconception about Hawaii, Manoa said, is about hula. “I remember once, I was the person on the stage explaining that, oh yeah, the girls in the hips—that’s not actually us. That’s our cousin Tahiti. And there was a family that stood up and walked out,” Manoa recalled. He added through simple corrections, he tries to teach guests that their expectations about Hawaii are not always factual.
In addition to daily demonstrations for guests, Manoa said the village has expanded its focus on community outreach. “We put on what we’re calling Lā Mahiāai a day for farming, where we invited the community to participate. We had workshops on kalo — how we plant and grow it — and they got to go in the mud and help plant,” Manoa said.
He added although Iosepa is not directly under the village, community members are invited to workdays focused on maintaining the canoe and learning about voyaging.
Manoa said working in the village has given him more opportunities to stay connected to Hawaiian culture.“I’ve made poi way more at work than I have at home, because at home we don’t always have the opportunity, but here we do,” he said.
Connecting with culture
Student workers in the village shared similar experiences. Owali Moea’i, a junior in computer science from Hana, said his goal at work is to teach the true essence of Hawaiian culture to guests. Moea’i said he started working in the village in 2022 before leaving for his mission in the Philippines. While he originally sought a job related to his major, he said his priorities shifted after his mission. Working in the village, he said, brings him happiness and fulfillment. “The learning environment, spiritual environment, and the people I work with make my job enjoyable and I look forward to going to work everyday,” he said.
Most people don’t realize that if you seek out aloha and share aloha with others, aloha will find you.
Through working in the village, Moea’i said he has felt more in touch with his Hawaiian culture. Although he grew up dancing hula, he said he previously lacked knowledge about the meanings behind certain Hawaiian practices and traditions. “A lot of the stories, the practices we do and, the fruits we eat, the games we play—why we do what we do—those are all the things that I learned in the village,” he said. Moea’i added that he feels confident and knowledgeable about his culture.
Kilinahe Naluai, a sophomore in business management with a concentration in marketing from Kaneohe, said aloha extends far beyond a greeting.
Aloha is any good feeling, any type of happiness, any type of hospitality or any type of inclusion.
Practicing aloha with coworkers, she said, is just as important as sharing it with guests, because visitors can sense the atmosphere created by employees working with each other. “Even if they’re not sure that what they feel is aloha, if it is good and peaceful, then they did feel it,” she said.
Naluai said growing up, she attended Hawaiian immersion school and participated in hālau for hula. She said upon arriving at BYU–Hawaii, she was looking for a job where she could stay connected to her culture. Coming to a university in an isolated area made it more difficult to continue doing hālau, she said. She said working in the village and being able to perform in the shows lets her balance school while still dancing hula. “I love to dance in the shows. That’s my favorite part of it. I grew up dancing hula, and dancing in the show is really fun, and it’s a great way to keep doing dancing,” she said.
Naluai said growing up in Hawai’i, she was surrounded by her culture, but working in the village reinforced and expanded that knowledge. The village functions not only as an educational space for guests, but for the student workers themselves, she said.