The Maori Hangi is a traditional dinner. In 2008, it is a dinner for tourists, as shown in this Mitai Hangi. Maori dancers performed traditional dances and cultural acts. The dinner was prepared in a traditional manner, but was western food!! Still, the symbolism of the tattoos (both real and painted) were described and the meaning of various dances and ceremonies was described. Many of the performers were not tribe members and had day time jobs. The highly commercialized, pricey, and lucrative show brings in between 150 - 300 tourists every night. In addition to the performance, tourists get to walk around the native forest, see the glowing worms at dark, and hearing the stories and explanations on the native trees.

The Maori people are tribe based, and Mitai is one of the 40+ Maori tribes in New Zealand. They have a very family based social structure, they show the love of music, song and dance, and they are uncompromising fighters against invaders and among the tribes. The Maori language consists only 17 letters, so to a non-speaker, many words sound very similar and long, let alone not being able to pronounce it the same way he/she hears it.