Poi (performance art)

Poi performance by a Manutuke School pupil at Hopuhopu, New Zealand

Poi is a performance art in which a ball or balls suspended from a length of flexible material, usually a plaited cord, are held in the hand and swung in circular patterns. Poi is one of the traditional performing arts of the Māori people of New Zealand, and has developed many forms used worldwide as a hobby, exercise, or performance art alongside juggling and other forms of object manipulation.

Poi in Māori culture

In the Māori language poi can mean the physical object, the choreography or the accompanying music.^[1] In Maori culture poi performance is usually practised by women. It is sometimes said that it was first used by men to develop wrist flexibility for the use of hand weapons such as the club-like patu, mere, and kotiate;^[2] but recent academic study has found no evidence of this.^[3]

Māori poi come in two forms: short, with strings equal to the length of the fingertips to the wrist; and long, with strings equal to the distance from fingertips to shoulder.^[4][5] The art includes storytelling and singing choreographed to poi routines, and used together with other disciplines, such as waiata a ringa, haka, and titi torea (included in kapa haka performances). Poi feature in the 1980s hit song "Poi E".^[6]

Traditional poi construction

Poi were once most commonly made from harakeke (Phormium tenax) and raupō (Typha orientalis). Flax was stripped and scraped to provide the muka (the inner flax fibre) which is twisted into two strands to make the taura (cord) as well as aho (ties). A large knot was tied at one end of the cord, around which the core was formed from the pithy middle of the raupō stem. Dampened strips of raupō stems were then wrapped around the ball to form the covering and tied off around the cord. The other end of the cord was often decorated with a mukamuka — a tassel made from muka formed around a smaller knot. Poi piu were smaller tassels occasionally affixed to the base of the poi ball.^[7] There were a wide variety of regional, tribal and personal variations on construction and design.

Another variety is poi tāniko, where the outer shell is made of finely woven muka using a pattern based on a fishing net;^[8] these sometimes include yellow dyed strands, typically forming a diamond pattern known as Te Karu ō te Atua (the eye of God).

In the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century a cottage industry developed from the manufacture of raupō poi for sale to tourists, especially in the Rotorua area. Miniatures such as buttonhole poi and earrings were among the variations produced for sale.

Today, most performance poi are made from modern materials because of their durability and availability, with cores of foam or crumpled paper and skins of tulle, other loomed fabrics, or plastic. Tassels are often of wool. Raupō poi wear quickly with frequent use, and some wetlands — the source of flax and raupō — have been drained, with many of the remaining wetlands now being conservation reserves (although traditional harvesting is, generally, allowed by law).

Modern poi

Glowstringing flowers

Poi spinning has grown beyond the scope of the originating Māori culture, and is enjoyed worldwide as a hobby, exercise, or performance art. Poi dancers may be found performing alongside jugglers, staff spinners, and other similar performers.

Practice poi

Beginners often first employ a simple pair of practice poi, typically constructed from soft materials (such as rolled up socks, bean bags or small soft toys, or plastic grocery bags filled with crumpled tissue paper or synthetic stuffing) in order to lessen the effect of impact.

Performance poi

Performers often employ brightly colored, contrasting poi to distinguish their performance, enhance aesthetics, and emphasize pattern; to this end, tails and streamers may be attached to poi.

Glow poi/glowstringing

Poi performance are undertaken in darkness to dramatic effect with poi including a light source, such as UV-sensitive materials, LED lights, or chemical glow sticks. Glowstringing, using glowsticks swung from shoelaces, is popular at festivals and raves.

Meteor

Meteors were cross adopted both from poi and from the Chinese martial weapon, the meteor hammer. The meteor is often constructed like, or from, poi with an additional short chain, rope, or bar in the center. This form allows for most poi skills to translate, plus some staff, rope dart and chain whip skills as well.

Fire poi

The first known fire poi shows were part of private men's rituals in Hawaii. Traditional knife spinning was modified to include fire in 1946, then known as fire knife. The first public appearance of these rituals started around 1959, and became a tourist attraction by the early 1960s.

Fire poi

Fire poi are constructed from chain, with kevlar-blend wicks, sometimes also stuffed on the inside with more absorbing non-melting material such as cotton, that can be soaked in fuel and set on fire. Fuels used include paraffin, kerosene, naphtha (also called "white gas") or alcohol. Each geographic and social cluster of performers has its preferred fuel. Typically these decisions are based more on legality and availability than on showmanship. Though each fuel has its strengths and weaknesses, proponents of any given fuel tend to be fiercely faithful to their particular type. Generally kerosene seems to be the safest choice for fire spinning, due to its low burning temperature.^[9]

Many kinds of fire poi are available, the simplest utilizing two wicks. The fire wicks are generally one of four varieties, a cylindrical wrap, cathedral stack (square), a monkey fist knot or a braid tied with kevlar blend rope. Some performers select their wicks according to the performance they intend to give, controlling their burn time and the brightness of the flames. Other variations of fire poi include multiple wicks, snakes (a length of rope, or long kevlar/hybrid wick that can produce a long flame), Toi (torches with a short poi chain and grip), hollow wicks (providing short lived but very bright flame), and sculpted wicks for specific theme shapes.

Poi tricks

Typically, poi spinners start out learning simple moves and then gradually add on in complexity, while learning to transition smoothly between different moves or classes of moves. Many find it helpful to practice spinning their poi to music in order to keep a smooth cadence or rhythm.

There are several basic classes of trick. The two poi are usually spun in parallel planes, and can be spun in the same direction (chases) or opposite directions (butterflies). Moves such as stalls and wraps can change direction of one (or both poi) to change between these two classes.

Weaves

Fire poi in action (long exposure)

Weaves are a class of trick based around the "basic weave". Considered by many poi swingers to be one of the staple moves, the basic (two-beat) weave is often one of the first tricks learned. The basic weave is called "two-beat" because each poi spins two times in a cycle: once on each side of the body. Reverse weaves, behind the back weaves, 1½-beat, 3-beat, 4-beat, 5-beat and other weaves are also possible.

Butterflies

The butterfly is a simple trick in which the hands are held close together in front of the spinner and the poi spin in opposite directions flat to the spinner, so that the poi cross at the top and bottom of their circles. This move can be done behind the head, behind the back and extended to any number of moves; there are as many variations on the butterfly possible as there are for the weave, including polyrhythms and hybrids. Some skilled performers perform this with 4 poi (two in each hand) to execute a double butterfly, a move also executed with meteor. A few practitioners do this with six poi balls so that a third one-footed butterfly can be performed with the other foot. However, the majority of poi performers consider such a trick to have no real use, as there's no real way for the performer to use such a thing as part of a dance whilst keeping the fluidity of movement intact.

Wraps

A wrap is a move where one or both poi are wrapped around something, most typically part of the body, to change the path or direction of spin. There are two types of wrap: basic or recoil wraps, which wrap around the target and then bounce off, so that the poi ends up spinning in the opposite direction to which it started from; and thru-wraps, which wrap around a moving body part, so that the direction stays the same but the poi changes the path it is traveling along. Typical targets for a wrap are the arms and legs, although any body part is suitable. One of the more dangerous places to perform wraps is around the neck. Double-neck thru-wraps are perhaps the most dangerous move that can be done with fire poi, due to the risk of the poi tangling.

Flowers

Flowers are a visually impressive set of moves in which the poi spinner fully extends their arms and moves them in circles around the body while spinning the poi. When done in time this gives rise to a series of loops around a large circle, which look like the petals of a flower when viewed from the side. Flowers are sometimes called compound circles. Flowers can be done in-spin, where the poi are spinning the same direction as the arms; and anti-spin, where the poi spin in the opposite direction of the arms. Same time, split time, opposite direction, same direction in two directions of the arms and poi make 64 different possible combinations.

Further tricks

Isolations refer to a class of moves where the poi handle is also spun in a circle. "Perfect" isolation occurs when the poi handle and poi are moving in the same circle, and can usually create distinctive synchronized moves (e.g. cranks). Hyperloops are where the poi ropes becomes entangled (twisted up) and then untangled, keeping the ends spinning the entire time. Advanced spinners are also able to spin their moves in places such as behind the back and under the leg.

Safety

Depending on their construction, poi can strike the user (or bystanders) with enough force to cause bruising or minor injury. Metal parts on fire poi have a high heat transfer coefficient and may burn on contact; the wick has a lower coefficient and is less likely to cause burns directly, but can spray or spread fuel. Costumes from non-flammable or flame retardant materials, such as leather or treated cotton, are preferred when employing fire poi; synthetic materials tend to melt when burned, resulting in severe burns to the wearer.

Fire poi use requires a safety regime to address the risks of setting fire to the user, bystanders, or the surroundings. Typical elements of such a regimen include a sober, rested, and alert spotter who has access to an ABC Dry Chemical fire extinguisher for putting out material and fuel fires (water-based extinguishers may spread oil fires), a damp towel or woolen/duvetyne fire retardant blanket (for extinguishing burning clothes and fire toys), a bucket of water (for the eventuality of out-of-control fires), and plastic wrap (for protecting burns that require hospitalisation).^[10] Typically, a metal container (located away from the performance area) that can quickly be sealed (so as to be airtight) is used as a fuel dump; with the lid in place, fuel fires may be extinguished. Paint cans are commonly used for this purpose.

See also

• Poi tricks
• Juggling
• Fire dancing
• Glowsticking
• Diabolo
• Circus skills
• Bolas

References

Further reading

• Huata, Ngāmoni (2000), Te Rita Papesch, ed., The rhythm and life of poi, Auckland: HarperCollins, ISBN 1869502736 
• Shennan, Jennifer & McLean, Mervyn (September 1979). Remarks on Youngerman's "Maori Dancing since the Eighteenth Century". Ethnomusicology 23 (3), pp. 493–499.
• Youngerman, Suzanne (January 1974). Maori Dancing since the Eighteenth Century. Ethnomusicology 18 (1), pp. 75–100.

External links

• Media related to Poi at Wikimedia Commons
• Poi in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
• Maori.org.nz Traditional Māori poi performance
• Research in New Zealand Performing Arts - a free online research journal that discusses Maori music and related performing