The group of performers rose like a warm South Pacific wave at the front of the theater. With songs and undulating arms, they lulled a throng as they awaited resolution of technical difficulties.
It felt like Maori justice one night this month, as a projector problem stalled the screening of "Whale Rider" long enough for Utah's transplanted New Zealanders to put on a concert. The dancers sang, the singers danced and the group grew in number with each song. And then, when the movie finally lit up the screen, the men and women could be heard sniffling.
Did seeing that oceanside village in New Zealand, with its Maori elders determined to revive their culture, make Ra Puriri homesick?
"Yes," he said, tilting his head a little. Puriri has been in Utah for 30 years. But "Whale Rider" carried him back to the North Island. The movie, winner of the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, dives into the waters around New Zealand for the legend of Paikea, the whale-riding ancestor of the Maori tribe. It connects Paikea with present-day 11-year-old Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes).
"I absolutely loved it," said Celeste Tonga, a Maori who lives in Ogden. "It's about our culture. It's about listening to your spirit, listening to yourself."
Tonga, 50, came to Utah in 1986. Seeing the ocean in "Whale Rider" made her miss her homeland, of course, but she said she finds communion with her ancestors here too, in the mountains.
"I like to go high, to where I can meditate," Tonga said. "The mountains are the place where I feel connected to the spiritual world."
Tonga attended Brigham Young University in Hawaii and met her husband there. He is from the island of Tonga, so at first look outsiders might think they have the same Polynesian traditions.
"There are still a lot of differences between the Maori way and the Tongan way," she said. "For us, the medium is our faith." She and her husband share "the Lord's culture. It's a culture of love."
In Utah, living any kind of Pacific Island culture isn't easy, Tonga said. "A lot of the time we feel like we're not OK. Over here, people are very practical. (Americans) think with their minds, not with their hearts." That has contributed to material success in the United States, while "in the islands, away from the tourist areas, there are still people who are very poor. Yet they're so kind, so generous. We see ourselves in them, and it's a way to say, oh, we're OK." Polynesians are taught to share their resources, even if they are few, Tonga said. "Our people will never be rich. Because of how we were raised, we don't aspire to have things."
Puriri, Tonga and a committee of other Maoris and returned LDS missionaries plan to build a Maori meeting house in Lehi. A groundbreaking was held last year with members of the Northern Ute tribe participating. The Maori, first people of New Zealand, wanted to honor the first people of Utah. A look into their histories turns up some parallels: Children were forbidden to speak their native language. Europeans brought diseases that ravaged the populations and conflicts over land rights left native people with less than the newcomers.
The Lehi Maori center will provide space for a cultural renaissance — something "Whale Rider" helped stimulate.
"After seeing that movie, my grandson told me, 'Grandpa, now we know what you're talking about,' " Puriri said. Maori culture emphasizes respect for elders, spiritual development and resourcefulness — values that served them well in New Zealand, islands so isolated from much of the world.
Soon after arriving in Ogden, Tonga's children were ridiculed in school. "We contacted all the teachers and asked if we could go into the social studies classes and share something about our culture. One school led to another," she recalled. At schools all over Utah, she has taught children that Polynesian music and dance are not only entertainment; they are also a form of spiritual renewal in which people reconnect with nature and their creator. Tonga and her family try to go to Hawaii at least once a year, to "get our perspective back."
Since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began sending missionaries to the South Pacific in the late 19th century, Polynesians have been moving to the United States, to find work or to attend BYU-Hawaii or BYU in Provo. Some, such as Tonga's husband, worked for the LDS Church and were then offered jobs in Utah.
Puriri moved to Los Angeles first, since one of his children suffered from asthma and needed a drier climate. The family then traded surfing for skiing when they came to Utah and adapted to life in America, the world leader in hours spent at work.
Puriri, who will be 67 this year, started his own plumbing business in Utah County. His grown sons took it over so he could "retire." Yet, "I've been working harder than I ever did before," he said.
Some of that work is toward the Maori meeting house, where music, dance and language classes will be taught.
"When I was growing up, if we spoke (Maori) in school, we were given the strap," Puriri said. Now, New Zealand schools are including the native language in their curricula. And in Lehi, the teachers will be relatively young. "I'm still trying to learn it," Puriri said.
Puriri has, however, kept his fluency in Maori tradition. He and his extended family often exchange the hongi, a greeting in which two people rub noses.
"We believe that when man was made, (God) breathed life into him," Puriri said. In that spirit, the hongi brings people — and their spirits — closer together. "Whenever we meet each other we do that, and shake hands." Laughing, he added, "It's a way we can tell if someone has been smoking."
E-mail: durbani@desnews.com