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  Cape Reinga.
Posted by: Sandy - 08-26-2019, 09:33 PM - Forum: All things New Zealand. - Replies (1)

It is believed that once a maori dies, no matter where abouts in the country their spirit travels north to Cape Reinga where it departs the land and goes to heaven, as as result The Cape has a cultural significance with all Iwi or tribes here..

Cape Reinga is in the far north of the north island, if I can find a map of the north island that has the cape marked on it I'll post a link to it so you can see where it is..

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  Haircurs and cutting nails.
Posted by: Sandy - 08-26-2019, 09:32 PM - Forum: All things New Zealand. - No Replies

In the old days whenever the maori had a haircut, or cut their nails the hair got buried, it was usually buried in a relatively secret place, and buried reasonably deeply too, it was the same for finger and toe nails when they got trimmed.. The reasoning was that they saw the body as coming from the land, so whenever hair was cut or finger and toe nails were cut they returned them to the land..

About 30 years ago I knew a few elderly maori that still believed in the custom and buried their hair in parts of the garden or if they lived on the marae, it got buried there.. The other thing was that the hair or nails could be used to put a makutu, or curse on a person, if it was buried then the enemy or enemies had nothing to use to put a makutu on a person..

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  Removing footwear wnen going inside.
Posted by: Sandy - 08-26-2019, 09:30 PM - Forum: All things New Zealand. - No Replies

I'm not sure why this started, or when, but if anyone goes inside while on the marae, the shoes have to be taken off and left at the door.. I think part of it was to help keep the place clean, but it also served to leave other unwanted things outside where they belonged..

It reminds me of the Japanese tradition of taking off any footwear before going inside, I'm unsure why the Japanese one started, but it's possibly a cleanliness thing there..

I've seen some Iwi here get really offended if someone didn't take off their footwear before going inside any of the buildings, the people were quite often not welcome back again, and if they were they had to agree to remove their footwear.. It's almost an insult if you don't take off any footwear when going inside..

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  Matariki.
Posted by: Sandy - 08-26-2019, 09:29 PM - Forum: All things New Zealand. - No Replies

Seeing matariki has just started I thought it appropriate to share a little about it.. Matariki, or the maori new year is always celebrated at about this time of year, and has been celebrated for hundreds of years.. If you go here it'll give you a better description of matariki than I possibly could..

The only thing that isn't mentioned there is that a maori academic has recently come out and suggested there are 9 stars, not the 7 history states in the matariki cluster, that has yet to be proven, I suspect many elders will argue the fact and say there's only 7 stars for quite some time to come.. I guess when somethings handed down through the generations no one will change their thinking on it until there's cast iron evidence saying history may not be right..

Anyway, I'll add more reading to this in due course, the link given will no doubt get you interested in Matariki, I hope it does anyway...

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  Being a guest on a Marae.
Posted by: Sandy - 08-26-2019, 09:28 PM - Forum: All things New Zealand. - No Replies

I've been on a few different Marae over the years, usually I've popped in the back entrance and seen a couple of friends when I got there.. some times it pays to get in the back way if you can and get a cuppa and pay a visit to either the little boys room, or the little girls room if you've traveled to be there..

I've never gone in the main entrance if I got to a marae a little early, sometimes depending on the Iwi and protocol, they can get a little upset if you come on the marae before being officially welcomed on by one of the elders, or kaumatua..

I've only ever gone onto a marae before being called on and welcomed if I know someone there that's part of the Iwi there, and I've got to know them fairly well before doing it.. some of the elders are pretty staunch and like you to wait until you're called on and welcomed before you make yourself at home..

Some Iwi have a brief little ceremony, they'll call you on to the marae, so that means waiting outside the front gates until they call you on. Calling you onto the marae has been done by some of the women, most of the marae I've been on it was the older woman that called out "Haere Mai," they'd have a few others with them when you're called on..

It's always a bit of a slow walk for the folk being called on.. one thing I was told the first time I ever got called onto a marae was to take off or hide any gold or silver rings etc.. both come from the ground and are considered a sort of sacred thing.. it's okay for these things to be seen after you've been called on and welcomed, but some elders could get a bit offended if they're visible beforehand..

Once you've been called on, one of the elders, usually a kaumatua, or male will welcome you and give a bit of a talk about the Iwi and the marae.. depending on the Iwi, this can be either brief, or quite a lengthy thing, I've seen some old koro's talk for an hour or more while others will only talk for 10 or 15 minutes..

After you've been welcomed on by the elders, you usually have to introduce yourselves.. in my case I've usually been to maraes with a maori friend, and he was older than me, so he spoke for us being the older person in the group of us being welcomed on.. when he started his speech, he is supposed to thank the folk for welcoming us on to the marae, then introduce us and say where we're from..

It helps if you know the language too as everything is done in maori of course.. I have the problem I can understand some of what's being said, but don't know enough to be able to do complete sentences or speeches, so I haven't minded having the maori friend with me.. at least it meant the important bits were spoken in the right language when it was our turn to reply..

A few Iwi are quite staunch about maori being spoken during the welcome, so for someone like me to speak english would be a bit against the local protocol and would offend the elders especially..

I've never been to the marae in Rotorua, but they've made that a big commercialised place, so things may be a little more relaxed there..

If anyone was visiting a marae here, it'd impress the elders especially if you learned enough to be able to say thank you for the welcome and say a little about yourself in maori.. obviously if you have an english name, that gets said in english, but if it was possible to learn a brief speech in maori, it'd go down quite well on some marae as you'd be showing some interest if a brief speech was learned...

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  The tangi.
Posted by: Sandy - 08-26-2019, 09:26 PM - Forum: All things New Zealand. - No Replies

I've often wondered if the tangi isn't better than our funerals in a way.. after someone dies, their bodies brought back to the marae for 3 days.. then they have the funeral..

The day the body is brought home is the start of the tangi, which is the start of 3 days of crying, eating and getting little sleep.. this is really the time of farewelling a loved one..

At the end of the third day they take the body to the urupara, (cemetary) for the funeral.. the service is usually about the same length as our usual funeral..

Usually a year to the day later is the unveiling which is when the headstone or whatever is put on the grave and unveiled.. some times this can turn into a day long thing as everyone gathers at the marae and everyone has a meal together followed by the unveiling, then possibly more food..

Usually everyone stays at the marae for the tangi, that way they all get to share memories etc from the persons life in between crying and eating.. it can be a good thing if everyone's in the same place, especially if the person was well liked..

Anyone that's had hangi will say food is a good thing, I haven't met many people that've turned down a hangi meal...

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  Welcome to a Marae.
Posted by: Sandy - 08-26-2019, 09:24 PM - Forum: All things New Zealand. - No Replies

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This short video shows the welcome to Te Puia Marae in Rotorua, this is usually only part of what happens.. In the old days if the fern leaf hadn't been picked up by the visitor, he would've been stabbed with the warriors taiaha, or spear, it was meant as a peace offering, so to not pick it up meant you aren't there in peace and you would've been slightly dead, lol..

After all that you then get called on to the marae, usually by the women, once called on there's always the usual welcome speeches given by the chief of the iwi, or marae.. The visitors then have to introduce themselves and tell where they're from and such.. How long this takes depends on where you are in the country, some marae get things done quite quickly, others can take quite a while..


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In this video the wahine or lady explains the Powhiri or welcome onto the marae, it's a little daunting if you haven't been through it before, as is the above..

Once everything's over you're free to do pretty much what you like, as long as you abide by the local customs and such in the area..

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  Speaking rights on a Marae.
Posted by: Sandy - 08-26-2019, 09:21 PM - Forum: All things New Zealand. - No Replies

This can vary a bit between different Iwi, if the father of a family can't speak for the family for whatever reason, then in some cases it falls on his wife to speak for him, on other marae it would pass to the eldest son.. Failing the family having sons, then the eldest daughter would speak..

If there's younger members from the same family on the marae and they try to speak instead of letting the oldest speak, then it'll cause problems.. The only time a younger family member or woman will speak at official gatherings is if the eldest has given speaking rights to the younger person..

Usually the only reason an older woman will speak is if her husband has passed away and there's no oldest son there to speak for the family.. Some Iwi are more staunch on this than others and will only let the men speak, others will let the mother or grandmother of the family speak, failing that the oldest daughter if there's no son there to speak..

It's not uncommon to see the kuia or elder women speak, but they'll pass to an eldest son in the family if they're there and the kuia will just quietly back up the son if need be..

The kaumatua, or elder male/s always get first speaking rights over the kuia, or elderly women too, however if the chief of the Iwi decides to speak, then he gets speaking rights first..

Things used to be really staunch in the old days, but things have been relaxed a little in recent times, in saying that the men still get speaking rights over the women in most cases, unless of course the women have been asked to speak, then it's up to the oldest to speak, not the younger ones...

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  'Trump's big chopper ruined my lawn', Queen to Aussie PM.
Posted by: Sandy - 08-26-2019, 11:07 AM - Forum: Te kawepurongo. - No Replies

He may be keen to buy Greenland, but if the Queen's experience is anything to go by - US President Donald Trump can't even be trusted with a patch of grass.

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  Barcelona beach evacuated after 80-year-old bomb found in water.
Posted by: Sandy - 08-26-2019, 11:05 AM - Forum: Te kawepurongo. - No Replies

A beach in Barcelona was evacuated on Sunday (local time) after police found an explosive device in the water that appeared to be old, possibly dating back some 80 years to the Spanish Civil War, a Civil Guard spokeswoman said.

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