Marae Day

Marae Day

Maori elder, Janice, and I press noses (hongi)

At Home with the Maori

I rubbed noses with several people today. It's how Maori – indigenous peoples of New Zealand -greet you at their wharenui, or meeting house. I took part in a visit to a Maori Marae (meeting place) arranged by Settlement Support (a program of the local YMCA http://www.migrantsupport.org.nz/ ). It was like being part of a class field trip, only we arrived in cars instead of a big yellow school bus. Also, no one got a time-out for being naughty.

Adults from at least a dozen countries- including Germany, Iran, Italy, Poland and Japan – gathered with Kiwis to experience Maori culture. We met at the Wairoa Marae near Tauranga. Traffic from Highway 2 zipped past on the other side of the fence as we started the ceremonial entry. A few dozen women shuffled across a gravel courtyard for the karanga (exchange of calls), led by a Maori woman who responded to the song of another elderly Maori who was dressed in black, wearing a  greenstone necklace. The caller sang: "Haere mai." (welcome), plus a bunch of other words I couldn't understand. It was still beautiful. Our main guide and Maori elder, Lou, said one reason Maoris conduct these ceremonies in their own language is because, "If Maori were a person, he would be on life support. We need to speak it as much as possible." (A government report dated 2010 said almost one-quarter of Maori can hold a conversation in Maori – about 4 percent of total New Zealand population). http://www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz/cultural-identity/maori-language-speakers.html

Shoes off to enter the wharenui

Everyone removes shoes before entering the wharenui. You're supposed to bow your head as you enter. One of the elders told us we were bringing not only ourselves inside, but also our ancestors and those we've lost that we're grieving.

Sitting in the wharenui (the women always sit in back), listening to speeches and songs, sitting, standing, then sitting again, felt like church. The elders told us Maori are a very spiritual people who believe in the sacredness of their land. One of the elders I pressed noses with, Janice, told me she's visited Spokane 3 times. She spent a month on the Wellpinit Reservation http://www.spokanetribe.com/ She and the Spokane Tribe shared meals, songs and dances. "Spiritually, they were very similar to us," said Janice.

Inside the Wairoa wharenui

Lou, Maori elder

Lou explained the significance of the carvings lining columns inside the hall. One was for Pakeha, or foreigners; one that featured stingray and fish spoke to the identity of the Hapu (clan) as people of the water. My favorite pillar included a carving of the local Maori's sacred mountain, Mauao (pronounced Mow-ow). That's the hill that kicks my Pakeha butt each Friday morning when I run with the Mt. Joggers. The colors of green and blue on different column stand for the bush (woods) and water. "The Wairoa River," said Lou. "That is our identity. We believe the physical has a spiritual dimension to it. The blue here is the creation story – Sky Father, similar to the American Indian story. Green is Earth Mother. We respect beauty day by day. We're glad to have the sun, and glad when it rains..." Lou said decisions among Maori require community consensus. The community decided their own youth should carve the column designs, instead of employing more experienced craftsmen from outside the group. So while the Wairoa wharenui's carvings are not as intricate as others throughout the country, they're special to this hapu.

We lined up before morning tea to say thank you and perform the hongi, or pressing of noses. After you've gone nose-to-nose with Maori, you're considered whanau (family) of the marae for the occasion.

Bottom of column depicts Mauao

Several of my Kiwi friends have been on a marae for a tangi, or Maori funeral. I asked Lou how long they lasted, and what happened during that time. He said funerals last 3, maybe 4 days. "Everything else stops," he said. "A funeral has greatest priority. The respect we give to our dead takes precedence over all other things. We could've had a wedding scheduled – it would be canceled for a funeral." It reminded me of what the dean of my home church, St. John's Cathedral, told me while I was arranging Sean's memorial service. Bill said funerals took first priority. "I won't officiate a wedding for just anyone -they must be connected to the church," he said. "But I will do a funeral for anyone."

During a Maori tangi, women sit on the floor near the casket, while men sit in chairs. The community gives speeches, rubs noses, then shares kai (food), traditionally cooked over hot stones in a hangi (earth oven).

Lou, the elder, said he'd once arranged for a tour group to visit the marae when a Maori died. Suddenly, the field trip was off. Lou gave the group a choice: They could postpone their visit, or attend the tangi (funeral) instead. The group chose the funeral. Lou said, "They were flabbergasted even though they didn't understand the speeches. They appreciated the way Maori grieve over their dead. The women wail – it's a public expression of grief. With Westerners, all their emotions are bottled up." I remembered my own stoicism during Sean's funeral. "Yeah," I thought. "Sounds about right."

It's not all hangis (traditional meal cooked in the ground) and kapa haka (performance art) for Maori in Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand). According to Wikipedia:

The Māori face significant economic and social obstacles, with lower life expectancies and incomes compared with other New Zealand ethnic groups, in addition to higher levels of crime, health problems and educational under-achievement. Socioeconomic initiatives have been implemented aimed at closing the gap between Māori and other New Zealanders. Political redress for historical grievances is also ongoing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_people

If you spend enough time in New Zealand – maybe longer than a week – you can't help but learn about the document that founded NZ in 1840 – The Treaty of Waitangi. It's an agreement between Maori groups and the NZ government. The elders we spoke with said you can't learn about Maori culture without some knowledge of the Treaty. It gives Pakeha (non-Maori) rights to be here, and is designed to safeguard Maori culture and resources. It's controversial – Lou said his hapu is in talks with the government about the loss of their land. He said his community once owned 20,000 acres. Now, they have 300. They're seeking an apology and other redress – (return of land? Money? I'm unclear on that one) from the "Crown" (government).

If I've learned one thing during our world tour, it's that becoming culturally enlightened (or trying to) makes you hungry. Good thing the soup was on: Our group was welcomed to lunch with traditional song and dance. The marae visit was so informative and enjoyable, I wondered if I should make an effort to learn more about native culture in the U.S. when we return to Spokane. It's easy to take for granted what's right before you.