Today we’re going to learn about the Pasifika festival!
Upon moving to New Zealand, one of the things I quickly realized was that a decent portion of the population consists of persons who are originally from the Pacific Islands. Especially in Auckland – the largest and warmest city.
Who or what are Pacific Islanders you may ask?
They are people that live or come from islands located in the Pacific Ocean. (Aka – A version of Caribbean people (in a way) but on the other side of the world.)
The Pacific Islands comprise of a variety of countries that were once colonized by different European states. They speak different languages and have similar yet different cultures among each other (SEEE told ya they’re like us!).
A popular Pacific island you may have heard of is Fiji (Like da water? Ya). But, there are a slew of others for instance Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati (Pronounced Kiribas), The Cook islands etc etc. (I talkin like I know dem propa eh? 😅)
These places are real, they exist. And there’s much more to them than what you saw on Moana (the Disney movie based on Pacific Islander culture – even though I’ve heard people say it’s a relatively accurate description if one had to explain it to Westerners in a nutshell).
In any event, with such a large concentration of people in a place, it brought about their own festival in Auckland called ‘Pasifika’ (sounds cool right?). It happens over the course of a weekend towards the end of summer in New Zealand and has over 60,000 visitors pass through its doors each year. It’s said to be the largest of its kind in the world and has been going on for 20+ years in NZ #impressive.
My friend from St Vincent and the Grenadines (Daniel 👋🏽) told me about the festival and even though it was pouring with rain that weekend, we decided to go see what it was all about.
Calculation in my head “Pasifika Festival = Caribbean Food Fair”
All I knew about the festival was that it was about the Pacific islands and would have food and activities and so. Now for me, dat register as Food Fair!
Any Food Fair I’ve been to has been modest in size with white tents posed as food stalls offering a variety of great food (that you kinda only find on these rare occasions), a one-two-chrow together fashion show, probably some music coming from a DJ, games for the kids and boom – there, ya have a full afternoon.
So, when we jumped off the bus and rocked up to this small circle of about 10 tents with different stalls offering baskets, soaps, food and the like, I simply thought to myself “Okay. Seems legit”. There was a minimal amount of people browsing around. Nuttin big. Rain was fallin an da min place likkle muddy – everyone min probably tap home (stayed home).
Soon after though, we followed a pathway across the way and entered into another area. I immediately stopped in my tracks as I slowly began to realize what it was we really got ourselves into…
YALL, it was like a Food Fair on MEGA STEROIDS.
Picture dis, a sprawlin, lush park lay before you with walkways meandering through the greenery. You spot a mini lake, with geese and ducks to the far left and know there’s much more to discover. Is so big dat if ya blink twice, ya could lose ya child and spend da rest of da day looking for dem.
When you look around, you see a full stage with performers straight ahead. They’re all decked out in costumes, dancing to music you’ve never heard with a knowing crowd gathered around to see the show. Then there are about 10 more tents on either side of the stage displaying or selling food, trinkets and products to even more people.
That’s when it hits you…
This is one space, for one island. When ya walk bout ya realise you’re in one of the many full fledged areas FULLY dedicated to EACH island. Each one with its own agenda of the day’s activities, offering their own food and products, celebrating their people.
There’s so much to see! You’ve hit the jackpot!
Imagine signs and branding displayed throughout the park; directing you which way was Tahiti or this way was Hawaii, and what was happening on their respective agendas when. Add to the fact that the space you’re in is a lovely park with a river and a lake and animals swimming and flying around. Plop in scores of people going from one ‘island’ to another and enjoying their day and you’ve got it.
THAT’S what Pasifika is like.
The Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Aotearoa, Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, Tuvalu, Tonga and Tokelau were represented in their own spaces – and their culinary and cultural traditions were on display for everyone!
Once we realised what was really happening…
We set out to touch, see and taste a little bit of everything.
We got mussel fritters at the Samoa stall and saw dance performances and a mini pageant display in the Kiribati space. We tried ice cream scooped on watermelon while visiting Tonga.
We strolled through Tuvalu to see what they had on offer and made sure to check out the Aoteroa (New Zealand) space where we actually heard reggae music playing!
As it was raining on and off throughout our time there, we rushed a bit (da place min cold), but we covered almost all of the little villages that represented their countries on the New Zealand stage.
Yall. I didn’t even know half these places even EXISTED. To see their culture on display – the similarities and differences to each other and even to our Caribbean region was eye opening (the fritters for example or even the overall vybe of the event regardless of the weather – we’re gunna have fun and enjoy ‘us’ despite the rain).
They’re a warm and friendly people who are proud of where they come from and have a deep history and culture. I’m convinced people who live in tropical countries just have a cool, chill aura about them – this festival was proof.
What I learnt..
I know for sure Pasifika taught me there’s still a lot more world I know nothing about, but I’d like to discover. I’d kinda wished we went with someone from the region so they could point us in the right direction of things we had to try or see. Regardless though, we still had a terrific time.
We left with our bellies full, our eyes content and our brains filled with new knowledge about a region on the other side of the world.
It showed me that no matter how far away we are, people and cultures can be so much alike. It showed me that ways of life, cultures and societies – outside of western colonies and despite western colonization – are alive and well. I imagined what something like this could look like, on such a large scale, but instead, on our side of the world.
It gave me the desire to go to some of those islands and learn about their culture up close and personal for myself.
Who knows… maybe one day I’ll be writing to you, from one of those countries, about somewhere else 🤷🏽♀️.
Yours truly,
Global Gyal
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