Island feast and show at Highland Paradise, Rarotonga

“Drums of our Forefathers” is the island show at Highland Paradise on Wednesdays and Fridays, performed by dance troupe E Matike.
It’s very popular and having seen it I can understand why.
Over a hundred visitors arrived in five buses and were first taken to a marae on the property where they were welcomed in a traditional way (although it was too dark to get any decent pictures of that).
Then came the feast, featuring pork, chicken and vegetables prepared in the umu that day as shown in ‘Papa Rima’s Umu’, while the E Matike singers and drummers played.
Later MC Danny Mataroa joked and chatted until it was time for the show. Part of that includes the ura piani where the dancers choose victims – ah, make that volunteers – from the audience to join them on the stage and move to the rhythm. At the end of the show anyone who wants can have friends take photos of them with the dancers. Very popular.
(Excerpts from “Drums of our Forefathers” are in the next video).