10 ways to get into the Pasifika spirit

By CATHRIN SCHAER

1. GO Play the ukulele

You too can become the Pasifikan equivalent of a rock star. Ukuleles cost anything from $20 to several thousand. If you're even slightly serious about honing your skills experts say you'll need to spend about $50.

Hewitt's Violin and Guitar Shoppe (Ph 09 629 0324) stocks, manufactures and exports traditional Hawaiian ukuleles made from those islands' native wood, koa. At Hewitt's the beginner can also get instructional videos on learning the ukulele or organise a private lesson.

This will cost around $25 for half an hour, and about six sessions should get you fairly proficient.
At Bungalow Bill's (Ph 09 309 9693) they sell a variety of ukuleles along with the Ukulele Chord Dictionary for around $20.

2.GO Play kilikiti

All you need is a big field and about 40 lava lavas. Kilikiti is cricket as it's played in the islands. The wickets are the same but the bat is triangular and the balls are made of rubber.

Teams are 20 a side and uniforms consist of a lava lava and shirt or singlet.

Kilikiti used to last for days or even weeks. Now, as the game gains in both popularity and professionalism, they're down to an hour.

There's also a World Cup every three years and the New Zealand Kilikiti Federation reports that more European and Indian players are starting to join in.

The federation sells bats (from $25 to $85) and balls (about $9 each) and can provide you with official rules. (Ph 09 838 5245 or visit: Kilikiti

3. GO Cook, Island style

Most of the Pacific islands do a variation of the marinated raw fish salad. It's an easy recipe and perfect for this hot time of the year. Soak raw fish (lemon fish is good) overnight in lemon juice and coconut juice. Chill.

The next day add finely chopped vegetables — spring onion, tomato, cabbage, lettuce and capsicum can all be used. For some more complex Pasifikan recipes — such as sugar and lime cookies, Fijian chicken curry or coconut and coriander fish fritters — get hold of Annabel Langbein's new book Savour the Pacific ($32.95, available from New Zealand Books

4. GO Get yourself a really loud shirt

Cover yourself in tropical flowers or indigenous designs on Karangahape Rd in central Auckland. Whenua Fashions (Ph 09 302 1050) have Maori and Pacific-influenced fashions, including bone jewellery, feathered wraps and contemporary prints on silk.

At Buana Satu (Ph 09 358 5561) they stock Hawaiian shirts for $45 alongside bright plastic ketes and chains of flowers that could be used to decorate any Pasifikan outfit.

Various vintage stores and the Saturday street market offer more of the same.

5. GO Get inked

If you really want to pledge your allegiance to Pasifika permanently then visit the tattooists at Moko Inc (Ph 09 376 0075), where the three artists — Inia Taylor, Pip Russell and Haki Taylor — specialise in indigenous tattoos.

Rather than having pictures on the walls for customers to pick from they discuss what you want and then come up with a unique design. It costs around $50 for the initial discussion, then $120-150 an hour for the tattooing.

Should you be so inclined it's even possible to get your skin drawn on in the traditional Polynesian way with chisel-style tools. Doesn't that hurt?

"Well, I had some traditional work done yesterday," says Russell. "And I had some normal tattoos too. But both of them are equally sore!"

6. GO Hear urban Pasifika, live

Anyone who's paid attention to local music will have heard King Kapisi and Che Fu, both of whom will be doing their thing at Pasifika.

For something a bit different after the Pasifika Festival, next Saturday there's the Conscious Musique show at Galatos (17 Galatos St, Newton, $10 door sales) with acts from further down south — P. U. M. P (Pacific Underground Music Production), Sheelaroc, an all-girl hip-hop group with the catchy new single Give U The Mic, and DJ/MC Antsman.

Other Pasifikan acts to look out for in the future include funk-rockers the Mercenaries (who are live on Channel Z next Wednesday, 6 pm) and Nesian Mystic.

7. GO Tap into Tapa

Every tapa cloth tells a story. One of the best places to buy Tongan tapa is at the corner of Richmond Road and Dickens Street, Grey Lynn, every Saturday, when the ladies from the neighbouring Tongan church sell the real thing at excellent prices, from $10 to $250 depending on size and quality.

Also worth checking out for tapa are the Avondale markets (on Sunday at the racecourse) and Otara markets (on Saturday in the shopping centre). Pauanesia (Ph Ak 366 7282 ) in the High St also sells modern tapa-related art and artefacts.

8. GO In harmony

If rolling out of bed on a Sunday morning to experience the choral glories of a Polynesian church service just isn't you, tonight you can see Malaga, a choral work by composer Igelese Ete, at the Auckland Town Hall.

This celebration of the journey all our ancestors made to get to New Zealand will be performed by 300 young singers (Tickets $15, Ph Ticketek Ak 307 5000).

9. GO In search of something novel

Dip into some cool Pasifikan literature. The books of Sia Figiel — Where We Once Belonged and They Who Do Not Grieve — look at the history and cultures of island women.

Temptation Island (no, not the reality telly show) by Graeme Lay is a suspense novel set in the Pacific Islands and the political Kava In The Blood by Peter Thomson examines the 1987 Fijian coup.

How to Live the Life at Home by Glenn Jowitt and Peter Shaw looks at homes of the South Pacific and will help bring a bit of Pasifika into your interior decoration (As recommended by Bennetts Booksellers and Whitcoulls).

... and lastly, GO TO PASIFIKA

Wear your floral shirt and bring your taro cakes. Experience the diverse aspects of Pasifika as we know it in New Zealand, from Fijian divas to Niuean fashion shows and Samoan handicrafts.

Watch culture and performing arts groups, then check out modern music and comedy.

All of this while feasting on fresh coconut milk, paw paw and chicken chop suey.