When I used to go to primary school (longer ago than I care to admit) we used to make and play with poi. The word poi refers to a Māori dance or game performed with a ball-like object, to which a cord of varying length is attached. Poi refers to both the ball and the dance, which normally includes hitting and swinging the ball on its string, usually accompanied by music or a chant of some kind. These days poi are used in live performances world-wide where they are either set on fire or contain lights. Luckily, I didn’t attempt either fire or lights with my poi. My mother would have had something to say about that. I distinctly remember breaking a light shade with my normal set of poi. I’d been told to practice outside but didn’t listen. After the light shade episode my poi were confiscated.
Here’s a YouTube of the New Zealand folk song Poi E, which was written by Dalvanius and performed by the Patea Maori club. It was a big hit in 1984, and I still tap my feet everytime I hear it. If you’re interested in the words or a translation to English and learning a little about the background of the song go here. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the dog and the breakdancer in the video.
For those of you with children here are some instructions from pupils at Awakeri School on how to make your own set of poi. Here’s another set of instructions from the Auckland Museum. Check out their Magna Muffins on the sidebar as well. They look like a fun thing for kids to make on a rainy day.
NOTE: Mothers, if your children make poi, encourage them to practice outside. Poi have the uncanny ability to attack lightshades and other delicate/breakable things without warning.
I’m also blogging over at Dynamic Trio today about a special interest story I heard about this week.
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May 27th, 2008 at 4:40 am · Link
The video was great, Shel. Thanks for sharing!
May 27th, 2008 at 6:56 am · Link
Awesome! :) My daughter will want to make one I’m sure.
She’s obsessed with arts and crafts.
May 27th, 2008 at 11:46 am · Link
Toe tapping tune, indeed!
So poi’s are soft… how did you manage to break a lampshade?! :)
The museum directions make use of plastic bags… I’m guessing that the authentic maori poi’s were made of something else?
Thanks for sharing a bit of NZ culture with us, Shelley. Always fun to learn new things!
May 27th, 2008 at 12:36 pm · Link
Wylie – I think the original ones were made out of flax and were actually quite hard. When I used to make them I’d do layers of ordinary paper until my poi were large enough. They’d be quite firm by then and when you’re twirling them on long strings they can cause damage.
May 27th, 2008 at 1:23 pm · Link
Great video!