From a Tagata whenua (indigenous people of the land - Maori, Tainui) such an occasion begins with a dawn ceremony with a spiritual opening before the festivities proper begin.
This weekend, I'll be taking my first class of Indigenous Research(ers) on a quick fieldtrip to view the visual icon after "reading the visual landscape" of the buildings that we will be learning at.
The location of this "fale" is actually on a rather busy intersection right next to the shopping complex and is an awesome building to behold. The only problem I see is the sloping carpark and a malae (front lawn area) missing where usually speeches would be part taken in.
It's actually changed the landscape of this particular area as I look forward to being able to update my Samoan passport (in being dual citizen) of both NZ and Samoa.
And I hope that there is someone to explain to me why the roof of the "Fale o Samoa" is a dome as I have my own explanation....
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