Learning how to work a Maori drill
Have you ever had a day where you wished you could just skip over it? Let me tell you, it‘s really strange when you really do miss a whole day. We left Hawaii at 11:15pm Wednesday for our 9 hour flight to New Zealand. We arrived around 6 in the morning Friday. I guess that means Thursday, July 16th lasted about 2 hours. What did you do with your Thursday? I hope you made up for mine! :+)
First, I thought you should know the Maori (pronounced mawree) name for New Zealand is Aotearoa (pronounced ow- tay-ora) which means land of the long white cloud. We had the chance to participate in two ceremonies surrounding the traditional Maori meeting house. The meeting house is sacred (tapu) and there is a formal ceremony that occurs before entering. The ceremony is done so that the intentions of the visitor can be revealed and a connection can be made between the visitors and those in the meeting house. Making connections through ancestry is extremely important in Maori culture. All things animate or inanimate have a spirit that can be traced back through the generations to a god. Knowing where you come from is important to knowing who you are.
At the beginning, one of our coordinators, Mele, and a woman from the house exchanged a series of welcome calls. A male from the house gave a speech about their ancestors and the spirit of the house. The man and woman both sang a song (waiata) and then our bus driver, George, gave a speech about the connections we have to the Maori group, as well as stated our peaceful intentions. We then had to sing as a group – in Maori (Yes, Maori. Luckily we could look at our papers!). Finally we were welcomed in the house and had to do a formal greeting, the sharing of breath. The people in the house lined up in a receiving line and we had to shake hands and touch noses while giving the formal greeting “Tēna koe” to each person. You can then take off your shoes and enter.
Now, all of this is considered sacred, so I don’t have photos or a video to show you. The hone is particularly interesting…and challenging when you are like me. Fortunately, aside from a slight forehead smack with a Maori elder, I don’t have any embarrassing tales to tell – for now.
I’m posting a couple of photos of the meeting house and hands on activities we were also able to do at the museum! Until the next adventure!
