Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Arriving for the first time in NZ, two crew members of
Tainui
saw the red flowers of the
pohutukawa tree, and they cast away their prized red feather ornaments, thinking that
there were plenty to be had on shore.
Maori Today
Today's culture is marked by new developments in the arts, business, sport and politics.
Many historical grievances still stand, but some
iwi
(Ngai Tahu and Tainui, for example)
have settled historical grievances and are major forces in the NZ economy. Maori have
also addressed the decline in Maori language use by establishing
kohanga reo, kura
kaupapa Maori
and
wananga
(Maori-medium preschools, schools and universities).
There is now a generation of people who speak Maori as a first language. There is a net-
work of Maori radio stations, and Maori TV is attracting a committed viewership. A re-
cently revived Maori event is becoming more and more prominent - Matariki, or Maori
New Year. The constellation Matariki is also known as the Pleiades. It begins to rise
above the horizon in late May or early June and its appearance traditionally signals a
time for learning, planning and preparing as well as singing, dancing and celebrating.
Watch out for talks and lectures, concerts, dinners and even formal balls.
The best way to learn about the relationship between the land and the
tangata whenua
(people of the land) is to get out there and start talking with Maori.
Religion
Christian churches and denominations are important in the Maori world: televangelists,
mainstream churches for regular and occasional worship, and two major Maori churches
(Ringatu and Ratana) - we've got it all.
But in the (non-Judaeo Christian) beginning there were the
atua Maori,
the Maori
gods, and for many Maori the gods are a vital and relevant force still. It is common to
greet the earth mother and sky father when speaking formally at a
marae
(meeting-house
complex). The gods are represented in art and carving, sung of in
waiata
(songs), in-
voked through
karakia
(prayer and incantation) when a meeting house is opened, when a
waka
is launched, even (more simply) when a meal is served. They are spoken of on the
marae
and in wider Maori contexts. The traditional Maori creation story is well known
and widely celebrated.
