D&K's Blog
  • Honeymoon 2013
  • Europe 2014
  • East/South Africa 2016
  • Prev
  • Next

Kia Ora (the Maori version of Live long, and prosper)

January 17, 2013May 28, 2016 By Denise

Special treat this evening, a Maori feast and cultural show. We were transported by waka (the Maori word for canoe, but now used for any means of transport—in this case, a bus). Our waka driver, Dennis, is a Maori elder, jokester, and party animal. He taught us the traditional call-and-response chant for paddling a waka in unison, and filled us in on protocol for the “Peace Challenge,” the ritual by which we gained admittance to the village by demonstrating that we came in peace, not war.

We spent the next hour learning about traditional crafts and games (Karel learned the haka; Denise learned poi twirling), while the mouthwatering smells of our dinner wafted through the village.

Then we entered the meeting hall for stories, music, and dance. We also watched a short film about recent Maori history. This was followed by dinner, slow-cooked for hours in the traditional manner, in underground pits.

For the ride home we were entertained by Dennis, our waka driver, and the large group of Austrian tourists, who sang us a song, complete with yodeling.

Dennis sang a song for every nationality present. The last one was She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain, which required that the bus go four spins of the roundabout until he could finish the song and drop us off at the hotel.

This entry was posted in Honeymoon 2013
Share

Related Posts

  • By The Numbers

    May 25, 2013May 28, 2016
  • Where The Vikings Went

    May 16, 2013May 28, 2016
  • Family time

    May 13, 2013May 28, 2016

Post navigation

  Language issues
Rafting on the Tongariro river  

One thought on “Kia Ora (the Maori version of Live long, and prosper)”

  • Vicki January 21, 2013 at 2:09 pm Reply

    I really like the Maori Peace Challenge ;-> Looks like a great trip so far!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

19 − eighteen =

Archives

  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2015
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • October 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • September 2012

Meta

  • Log in

Previous posts


© Karel Zuiderveld and Denise Cote. All Rights Reserved.
en English
nl Nederlandsen Englishfr Françaisde Deutschit Italianopt Portuguêses Españolsw Kiswahilisv Svenskath ไทย