bicultural fashionistas?
went to a label launch on wednesday night - which was rather more interesting than you might have expected given that the clothing was designed for 35-55 year old ex rugby players. what was intersting was that, given the label's name, Haka, the company had done their darndest to ensure that local iwi Ngati Whatua were with them all the way, working on ensuring that the use of a Maori taonga by a pakeha company would work as well as it could - they seem to have successfully placated Ngati Whatua, but i'm not sure how well it will be recieved further south by Tainui etc
any way, back to my knitting: we, the invited guests, were welcomed through the Maori gallery of the Auckland Museum, onto the marae. a tradtional powhiri then followed. all steps were explained to us by a Ngati Whatua representative. At the end of the powhiri, we were to partake in the hongi ritual, which symbolises the joining of the manuhiri (guests) with the tangata whenua. As the kaumatua and company directors moved forward to particpate, the vast majority of the invited guests ducked through the doors into the museum foyer - obviously the call of the bubbly and nibbles was too strong. i was horrifed: it was incredibly rude, but more that 90% of the guests ignored this part of the ceremony, which was explained to them at the outset as a symbol of kotahitanga or togetherness.
what's wrong with fashionistas and rugby players? this is new zealand in the 21st century - we should be able to partake fully in the rituals of others without embarrassment or indifference. in no way was this confrontational or difficult: for women, the ritual involves shaking the hand and kissing the cheek of each member of the tangata whenua's welcoming team. Men will be required to do the hongi or nose press, but Maori always guide you through it: just watch the guy in front of you and do as he does.
it reminded me of a story i once heard ( i'll give no more details then that for anonymity) about a kiwi couple, who are christians, who were invited, when living in japan, to attend a ceremony a local buddhist temple by a family with whom they had become close. during the ceremony, they sang christian worship songs and prayed aloud - "to keep the devil away"
how rude: do we not think that God is all- powerful? then why would we presume that observing a ceremony from outside our world view and experience will damage our faith? surely God knows our hearts even when we are in the temple? why could they not sit quietly and learn from the dedication to prayer that buddhist monks are renowned for?
why couldn't a group of pakeha new zealanders observe and participate in a ritual that had been explained to them? why were they afraid of joining in with something new? what does that say about biculturalism in New Zealand?
any way, back to my knitting: we, the invited guests, were welcomed through the Maori gallery of the Auckland Museum, onto the marae. a tradtional powhiri then followed. all steps were explained to us by a Ngati Whatua representative. At the end of the powhiri, we were to partake in the hongi ritual, which symbolises the joining of the manuhiri (guests) with the tangata whenua. As the kaumatua and company directors moved forward to particpate, the vast majority of the invited guests ducked through the doors into the museum foyer - obviously the call of the bubbly and nibbles was too strong. i was horrifed: it was incredibly rude, but more that 90% of the guests ignored this part of the ceremony, which was explained to them at the outset as a symbol of kotahitanga or togetherness.
what's wrong with fashionistas and rugby players? this is new zealand in the 21st century - we should be able to partake fully in the rituals of others without embarrassment or indifference. in no way was this confrontational or difficult: for women, the ritual involves shaking the hand and kissing the cheek of each member of the tangata whenua's welcoming team. Men will be required to do the hongi or nose press, but Maori always guide you through it: just watch the guy in front of you and do as he does.
it reminded me of a story i once heard ( i'll give no more details then that for anonymity) about a kiwi couple, who are christians, who were invited, when living in japan, to attend a ceremony a local buddhist temple by a family with whom they had become close. during the ceremony, they sang christian worship songs and prayed aloud - "to keep the devil away"
how rude: do we not think that God is all- powerful? then why would we presume that observing a ceremony from outside our world view and experience will damage our faith? surely God knows our hearts even when we are in the temple? why could they not sit quietly and learn from the dedication to prayer that buddhist monks are renowned for?
why couldn't a group of pakeha new zealanders observe and participate in a ritual that had been explained to them? why were they afraid of joining in with something new? what does that say about biculturalism in New Zealand?
posted by kate at 3:03 PM
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