Today my tour took me to a village of the Maoris (the natives of New Zealand). It was about a 20 – 30 minute drive from Rotorura. Our tour guide belongs to the tribe we were going to visit. On the bus ride to get there, she taught us a few words in Maori, gave us an overview of their history and customs and instructed us on proper procedure when we enter one of their enclaves. She asked for a male volunteer who would act as our chief and spokesman. A gentleman named John volunteered and as it turned out, when he was a young man attending college, he belonged to a group that learned Maori dances and customs. As it turned out, he was the perfect person for the job, because after the chief made his welcoming speech, John gave a wonderful speech in return.
The first area we went to was the religious centre. As we approached the gate, a Maori warrior in full regalia and carrying a spear came prancing and dancing out, doing a routine with facial contortions that were meant to put the fear of the Lord in us. Part of the facial contortions were opening the eyes as wide as possible, rolling the eyes and sticking out the tongue as far as it would go. When he got close enough, he deposited a peace offering on the ground and then he backed up. This was the sign for John to step forward, pick up the peace offering and then to back up to his place. (It is very impolite to turn your back on the warrior and doing that is a declaration of war! ! )
After this, the chief of the tribe bade us to come forward and be seated, males in front and females in the back. This was followed by long speeches of welcome, to which John replied that we had come from afar across the seas (as had their ancestors), that we came in peace and that we were honoured to be visiting them on this very beautiful island. After this, a female elder of the tribe made a welcome speech after which we were all invited to come up to receive the sign of peace and welcome. To do this, we had to touch foreheads and noses.
We were then invited into their “Big House” which is their religious centre. We had to remove our shoes before entering. On the far wall were pictures of their departed relatives. We were allowed to take pictures of anything except these pictures of the departed. In this large hall they hold their various celebrations – baptisms, marriages funerals etc. It is just a large carpeted comfortable room.
Next we went into the “Eating Room” where we were served tea, coffee and cookies. Of course there were some of their crafts for sale and they were very cheap compared to the prices I saw in Auckland. I purchased a chain with a pendant and earrings made of local shells for less than $15. After spending a very relaxing visit with these people, we got on the bus and went to a lookout point where we could see the beauty of the country for miles around.
Our tour then went to the community centre where we saw some dancing performed in their tribal dress and heard some lovely singing. There was some audience participation in the dancing and of course I had to get into the act. It was a lot of fun.
As our bus was ready to depart, the mother of our tour guide came aboard the bus to bid us farewell. She was a very youthful looking 70 year old, with tattoos on the lower half of her face to show that she was a descendent of the original tribe. She was very gracious.
It was a great tour and gave us an insight into what Maori life was like years ago when the white man first appeared on the island. Now they all speak English, are well educated and hold down regular jobs. I have a lot of pictures, but it takes so long to send a blog with pictures that I’ll just stick to sending one.
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