Haka, Poi and Sticks… Another Excellent Experience.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

In the Rotorua Whakarewarewa Village it’s also possible to see traditional Maori singing and dancing.

Again, yes it’s for the tourists, but it’s better than nothing because  entry into a Marae (a Maori communal area) and into a Meeting House on a Marae is usually traditionally possible by invitation only.

It’s considered an extreme rudeness for a visitor to just turn up and expect to be let in, permission has to be given and the necessary etiquette for the greetings followed.

Therefore this kind of tourist ceremony is probably the only way that visitors are able to take a peek into Maori customs… and so we adjourn to the Meeting  House for the show that’s about to be put on for us.

When I get to the door I realise that it’s  necessary for everyone going inside to remove their shoes… this poses a large problem as I’m on crutches and there are no chairs outside, it’s also very slippery in the wet and there are hundreds of pairs of shoes littering the area around me.
My shoes are also quite painful to get on and off, so I fast assume that I’m going to be skipping this show, even though Himself and the kids are already shoeless and have been  funnelled inside by the stream of other tourists.

I resign myself to a patient wait outside in the rain when suddenly I’m recognised by one of the dancers from the restaurant from the evening before…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

… she tells me to wait and speaks to an older man, and I’m subsequently told I may come in, helped to negotiate the single step inside, a chair is found and I may keep my shoes on as a special exception.

I spy Kiwi Daughter and Little Mr sitting on the carpet in the front a little further along from me and towards the back, a tall Himself sticks out head and shoulders above the shorter mostly Asian crowd… (there are several rows of people standing behind people sat in chairs nearer the front)

I’m delighted to be able to sit down for a little rest and honoured to be allowed to keep my shoes on because I know that in Maoridom a Meeting House is a very special place and much revered.

Himself and I recognise several familiar faces from the evening before and get some quick grins of recognition and a wave back before the performance starts. Apparently my set of crutches and Himself’s tallness make us less forgettable couple LOL. We are treated to another amazing display of dancing, singing and stick and twirling Poi dances.

Kiwi Daughter buys a pair of short Poi to take home with us and has a go later in the hotel room, as do I, both of us end up repeatedly twisting them into knots… it’s definitely a case of these ladies making it look really really easy. I can personally assure you that it really really is not.

I’ve included  few clips uploaded to YouTube with some of the amazing Poi work… just click on the links below…

We grab a few more family photos with the people who performed for us last evening as well as a group photo with more of the performers.I only realise halfway though the performance that there is still a lot of rain on my camera lens so apologies for the bad photo quality.

g-NP9FpwZho   (Maori Long Poi dance)

_W-AVoN02pU  (Maori stick dance)

sd8Zb8V37Yw   (Maori Haka)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The Entertainment Turns out to be Entertaining and More…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Family Kiwidutch are staying at the Distinction Hotel in Rotorua and have been able to go to one of the Hotel restaurants to sample a tradional Maori Hangi (food cooked in the ground).

After the dinner there is also a small Maori display of dance and song  and Himself and I think this would be a perfect opportunity to introduce our kids to Maori  culture.

Since my roots are in the South Island (where traditionally only 5% of the Maori population live) I have to confess that my exposure to Maori culture is probably more limited than it should be.

Painfully aware of this deficit, I’ve determined to learn more and to expose my  children to any Maori experiences we can manage… so the chance  to see more is welcomed even if  it is a bit of  a  ”touristic” view.

Back at home in the Netherlands,Little Mr.and Himself  have been attempting to learn the words and actions of the Haka over the last year, an enterprise (especially on Little Mr’s part) sometimes filled with more good intent, face-pulling, noise  and enthusiasm than actual accuracy.

I’ve often had to pretend that tears of laughter were actually tears of fear due to the fervour of their warrior ‘intimidation” but the fact remains that the sight of a “Maori” battle force that consists soley of a 196 cm (6’5″) Dutchman accompanied by a short six year old skinny kid  stamping their feet and beating their chests and thighs and shouting “Ka Mate  Ka Mate” (“it is death, it is death” (pronounced: “car ma tay”) as loud as they can, is more likley to assult your funny bone and give you temours of the mirthful kind, than to make you shake with fear and instill terror to your heart.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Here in Rotorua they can see how it’s really done and to our delight, not only do we get a little show, the performers are also quick to involve the audience… first a young Korean man gets called up onto the stage to be presented with his (pre-arranged) Birthday cake and to receive a “Hongi” (a traditional greeting that involves touching of noses and sharing of breath) and much to the mirth of the rest of his tour party the guy is first timid until he understands what actions are required of him and then gets so enthusiastic that it almost turns what’s supposed to be a very gentle touch,  into a head-butt.

Next the ladies were invited up to learn a Poi dance… well not the dance really, just some Poi actions and Kiwi Daughter went up and gave it a go.

One thing is certain, it looks easy but it definiately is not, she gave it a galent effort as did the other ladies who were also fast discovering that their hand-eye co-ordination skills needed a great deal of fine tuning. They laughed as hard as everyone else at it all and it was great fun.

A little later the men and boys are invited onto the stage to learn a Haka, Little Mr, so full of bravado and noise at home suddenly clings to me in total shyness whilst Himself gleefully goes up and gives it his best shot.

Some visiting Australian tourists (several guys and their sons) make a good attempt too but the most entertaining buy far on the night were several older Korean and Japanese men who had a great deal of enthusiasm but very little coordination at following along in time with the rest of the groups movements and who’s chanted words resembled the actual Maori ones only insofar as they were sounds issued from their vocal chords… not just their group but the entire place were wiping away tears of mirth as they tried seriously and heroically to do a Haka but failed miserably.

They took it all in excellent spirit and beamingly returned to their seats to great applause.

Afterwards some of the peformers came out and posed with the guests so the Kiwidutch family album sports some very amusing family photographs.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

All in all we have had an excellent time this evening, great food, entertaining entertainment and a very small but enjoyable introduction to Maori culture. I took a few video’s and posted them to You Tube but have been less successful getting them to link properly in this post… Do you see clickable links below that consist for strange number /letter combinations or do you see real You Tube “frames”?  At least when I tried, clicking the link took me  to the video… I hope it does the same for you.

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