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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE April 25, 2008
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| April 11, 2008 |
Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand) – Visiting the Land of the Great White Cloud |
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| Peace Boat participants visited the Tauranganui Marae, which means “The landing place of the canoes” in the Maori language |
Sometime in the distant past, roughly 1000 years ago, skilled seafarers from Eastern Polynesia on a great journey in large ocean-going canoes made land on the islands known to most of the world today as New Zealand. This seafaring people settled the uninhabited islands and named their new home Aotearoa, which means “the land of the great white cloud.” For centuries, these indigenous people of Aotearoa lived simple, tribal lifestyles, respecting the land for its life-giving strength. The colonization of Aotearoa, however, destroyed the Maori culture and their connection with the land. In 1840, approximately 100,000 Maori and a mere 2000 Europeans lived in Aotearoa, but by the year 1900 the Maori population had fallen by over half, and the European population had increased by 350 times, to approximately 700,000 people. |
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| Maori youth put on a lively dance performance for Peace Boat participants |
In present day Aotearoa, pockets of Maori culture continue to exist in the form of small communities attempting to simultaneously maintain traditional customs and adapt to the modern world. During the ship’s call to Aotearoa, some Peace Boat participants visited a Maori village of the Tainui tribe to learn about Maori cultural history and current social problems that the Maori face today. Guest educator Richard Nahi, who joined the 60th voyage to introduce Maori culture onboard, led participants to the Maori village of Port Waikato, where they spent a day of cultural exchange with a group of Maori people at the Tauranganui Marae. |
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Peace Boat participants shared little bits of Japanese culture, including this demonstration of Nanking Tamasudare, a traditional storytelling technique using a series of wooden rods connected by string |
The Maori welcomed Peace Boat participants to the marae, a gathering space of spiritual importance to the Maori people. To show their appreciation for the warm invitation to such a special place, Peace Boat participants returned the Maori welcome by singing a Maori song that Mr Nahi had taught them onboard, the Waiata song. Maori and Japanese participants shared songs, stories and dances, enjoying the day of music beside the beautiful Waikato River, the longest river in Aotearoa. Peace Boat participants also enjoyed a meal of hangi, a style of sustained underground cooking common to many islands of the South Pacific. |
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| Waatara Black, a Maori elder and facilitator for the tour, showing participants a traditional method of Maori basket weaving |
Maori people continue to embrace traditions like the hangi, but the effects of colonization on the Maori way of life can never be erased. A proud people that once roamed the land freely, the Maori lost almost all of their tribal lands after Britain took possession of Aotearoa in 1840 and coerced Maori chiefs to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. A principle difference in values led to the quick marginalization of the Maori people during the successive era of British settlement, which a Tainui tribal leader explained, saying, “we belong to the land. The land does not belong to us.” Without a concept of land ownership, the Maori fell victim to British standards, losing 95 percent of their tribal lands between 1840 and 1890. This led to a steep decline in Maori culture and population, and today Maori represent less than 15 percent of the national population. |
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| Touching noses and foreheads is a traditional Maori form of greeting called the hongi |
To meet the Maori face-to-face, listen to their stories and songs, and share a traditional meal was an extremely special opportunity for participants on this tour. At the end of the day, people hesitated to leave, expressing the desire to stay with the Maori longer, to learn more about their turbulent history and the identity issues that they face today. A Tainui elder explained the challenges of adapting to the modern world, saying to participants that for the Maori, “to live life is to live with nature, and to appreciate life is to understand nature.” For some participants, this glimpse of an alternative lifestyle catalyzed self-reflection about their modern lifestyles, personal heritage and the indigenous Ainu of northern Japan. As the evening sun spread orange across the sky, splashing vivid highlights on to the surface of the Waikato River, Japanese and Maori exchanged emotional farewells in the form of the traditional Maori hongi, both sides touched by their intimate day together. |
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Peace Boat participants expressed feelings of gratitude at the opportunity to visit such a spiritual and beautiful place during their time in Aotearoa |
The Waiata Song – sung to support the speaker during the ceremony at the marae
Te aroha Let there be love
Te whakapono Let there be truth
Me te rangimarie And let there be peace
Tatou, tatou e Amongst us all |
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