Te Reo ~ New Zealand's Native Language

Māori Language week is so important to Aotearoa, New Zealand. It is a reminder of a language that could have easily been lost completely. Many Māori children were punished for speaking Māori in school. Many of us are still trying to piece together our history & claim back our rightful knowledge of our Ataahua (beautiful) culture.
I wanted to celebrate & share with you some Māori traditions, and in turn, I would like to know more about your culture. Are there any dances in your culture? Or traditions that people outside of your culture wouldn't know?

Are you familiar with the Haka?

The Haka is one of many traditions & performances of Māori culture, we also have Kapa Haka. What's special about Kapa Haka is it includes dance, singing & Poi all together.

POI

Poi was once used by men for hand eye coordination before going to war, and by women to strengthen their wrists for weaving Harakeke (Flax)

Have some fun & make your own Poi

Here!!

Haka

You will notice a few things in this video. The Haka & the Hongi at the end. I will explain them to you. The Haka has taken on different meanings as it's evolved with time. Traditionally the Haka was used for War, to scare it's opponents. In the video you can see it is used for something else, other than making us cry lol it is passing energy, Wairua (spirit) & good energy to the newlyweds.

~Hongi~

The traditional Māori greeting, the Hongi is done by pressing one's nose and forehead, at the same time, to another encounter. It is used at traditional meetings among Māori people and on major ceremonies and serves a similar purpose to a formal handshake. In the hongi, the ha (or breath of life), is exchanged.[1] The breath of life can also be interpreted as the sharing of both people’s souls.

Hongi

Powhiri

The pōwhiri or pōhiri, a central part of Māori protocol, is a ceremony of welcome involving speeches, dancing, singing and hongi. While traditionally used to welcome visitors on to marae - the sacred space or courtyard usually in front of Māori meeting houses - the ceremony is also commonly seen in everyday New Zealand life. Pōwhiri can happen anywhere that tangata whenua (hosts) wish to formally greet manuhiri (visitors).

Here is Bob Marley being greeted with a Powhiri when he visited New Zealand

Māori language week is over now, but we should continue to celebrate culture every day. Be sure to check out the previous "Let's celebrate Māori Language week"

Part One- Greetings

Part Two - FOOD

Ka kite