This cracks me up! My very favorite moment is when the group leader asks for someone to come up front, and my dear friend Wendy is “volunteered” by her mom, Linda, my friend and leader of our group. So funny. And my other favorite thing is seeing Noah, the young man twirling poi in the back, next to the guitarist. You have to understand that Noah is utterly hapless – and I say this with the utmost love and respect. If there is a penny on the ground, Noah can trip over it. Hapless like that. Yet here he is, twirling poi without becoming hopelessly entangled or whacking himself on the head. It’s like a miracle!
So this is the final performance by one of the groups we split into. I think they did a great job! It’s not easy learning to twirl poi if you didn’t do it as a child. Your wrists just aren’t that flexible. But this group did a wonderful job, and performed with joy and enthusiasm.
Performances continue tomorrow – stay tuned!
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Superb. Really fantastic that you’ve dug these out. Heartwarming gems.
haha! -that’s exactly why I’m afraid to go ANYWHERE with my mother in public!
Are poi Maori? I never knew that. They’re big in the circus community in Brighton, probably a bastardised version of what they’re supposed to be like. People here do fire poi. That’s always seemed extremely dangerous to me. I can do a bit of fire staff twirling, but swinging something firey that you can get wrapped around your neck seems silly to me! Great video.
@Beth – I don’t know that poi are strictly Maori – they certainly must be from Polynesian culture somewhere along the line. I know the word “poi” is something entirely different in Hawaii. From what I understand, poi were originally used by the Maori as weapons – it used to be a rock, not a little puff ball, on the end of the string. For training children to use poi, something softer than a rock is substituted until there is enough proficiency that a nasty knock to the head is less likely.
When colonization began in the 1800s, poi (and many other weapons) were no match for guns and cannons, so poi have gradually become more for performance. The Maori still retain their proficiency and control. And children are never permitted to smack each other with these soft poi, out of respect for their history as a weapon.