Sunday Evening, March 27
When we travel, we have had an unwritten rule, that we try to have our own experiences not those provided by tours. In Rotorua, there are Maori family reserves doing big business and almost all tourists there spend an evening eating from earth ovens and seeing traditional performances. It is said to be a good way to learn about that indigenous culture. On our second and last night in Rotorua, on the spur of the moment, we relented and spent the evening in the company of a couple hundred others with the Maori Matai family.
The hangi dinner was tasty--kumara (sweet potato), roast lamb, and other treats. The table company was multinational. They were all interested in American politics, so Henry obliged.
At dusk groups were led down the path to clear beautiful Rainbow Springs, water bubbling up at the bottom of the stream. Further on a fantail bird is close by in the brush. Then, young men power up the stream in a traditional waka (wooden canoe) in torchlight as night falls. Walking back up the path in the dark we see points of light, glowworms! From there to the traditional performance of the welcoming ceremony, a protocol not understood by early European explorers. Maori warriors challenge visitors to test their intent with threatening swinging clubs, staring eyes, and protruding tongues. Women then make the welcoming call and sing. Peace is made and eventually our visitor representative experiences the ritual touching of foreheads and noses (hongi), binding friendship. In addition, traditional dances were performed. The men participate in a very physically demanding war dance. The women dance and rhythmically swing white poi balls (made of NZ flax leaves). The leader explains more about the earlier Maori stone-age way of life. We all leave a little wiser.
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