SYDNEY

Youth from St. Rita Parish in Nanakuli reconnected with their Polynesian heritage learning about Maori culture during side trips to Aotearoa, or New Zealand, before and after World Youth Day.

With youth minister Nani Reyes and hula ministry director Charmaine Kealii Chillingworth-Grilho, the mostly high school-aged group started preparing nine months in advance for the seven-day stop in New Zealand before coming to Sydney.

The boys learned a lua (Hawaiian martial arts) number and the girls practiced several hulas. They all took Hawaiian language lessons to present their genealogy, give speeches, and share chants and songs — all in Hawaiian — with the Maori.

Traveling with them was their pastor, Father Alapaki Kim, who has been to New Zealand several times before and has connections with Catholics there. The group visited different villages, or marai, in the northern part of the country but stayed mostly in Waimirirangi in a large building with the villagers. Before they could enter a village, the group had to recite a protocol, because Maoris will only allow “family” onto the sacred ground in their marai.

“I think they understand the importance of having some knowledge of their culture,” Chillingworth-Grilho said. “And they appreciate it more now.”

Reyes added that one of the biggest lessons the youth took from the experience was “learning about their ancestors, learning to be humble.”

The group finished each day with prayers and chants with the villagers. Father Kim also said Mass one Sunday in Hawaiian. New Zealanders taught the group a haka, a warrior dance, which was somewhat different in style to what is done in Hawaii. They also shared the genealogy that recounts the number of canoes and names of Maoris that left New Zealand and made the first voyage to Hawaii.

Another trip highlight was praying before the body of beloved French bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier, who helped spread Catholicism in New Zealand. Normally his casket is only brought out from under the altar of St. Mary’s Church in Motuti once a year, but an exception was made for the Hawaii group and a group of French World Youth Day pilgrims who were also in the country.

St. Rita youth Clinton Kaawa, 16, said he enjoyed meeting the friendly people in New Zealand and seeing the similarities between the Hawaiian and Maori cultures.

Fellow pilgrim Aidan Correia agreed. “The language especially, we share a connection with,” said the 16-year-old. “It brought me closer to my Polynesian brothers and sisters.”

Right before the St. Rita’s group left for Sydney, they participated in a hoike-like event with the Maori and French pilgrims, with each group singing songs in turn.

In Sydney, the group was “just amazed by the amount of people,” Reyes said.

The high schoolers were really “living the pilgrim experience,” getting up early, going to bed late, and walking all over the city. One easy adjustment was the Sydney weather, since it was colder in New Zealand. The group also “warmed” things up by sharing shell leis and hugs with people they met.

Father Kim returned to the States on July 20 for a conference but the rest of the group went back to New Zealand after World Youth Day for another four days of cultural exchange.

A lot of the credit for the trip goes to parishioners who helped with donations and fundraisers at the church. To show their appreciation, the group will perform everything they learned for their trip at the Taste of St. Rita’s on Aug. 20.

“If it wasn’t for them, a lot of us wouldn’t have made it [to Sydney],” Reyes said.