I got that heart and tear bursting moment reading about the haka breaking out between the older siblings and students in the audience for the young performers on stage - must have been amazing.
Yes, Gerry it is to your shame that you suppress an outpouring of love and respect, because that is what the haka is.
Thanks Dan for your easy examples of how much Aotearoa NZ actually value haka! Thank you for sharing your proud moment with your daughter with us.
Kia ora Janine! So glad you enjoyed it! Love and respect, indeed. I can understand some cool-headed conversations around the haka and politics and parliamentary procedure and such, fine. What I simply cannot understand is the fear of something so plainly adored & celebrated in so many other parts of national life. This kapa haka event was also my first to watch in person, and I was blown away!
Well put thanks Janine. I concur with the tears welling over the audience haka. I'm so glad we have that as a public call and response; so emotional and primal (?) at the same time.
Hi Marty! Glad you enjoyed it. I'd seen performances before but until this student show I had no idea about the call-and-response version. Interesting to note here that 'call-and-response' in American culture has a deep association with various traditional forms Black music--work songs, gospel, etc. I have nowhere near the scholarship necessary to make a coherent point about this connection/overlap, beyond the obvious that it's a more community vibe than a simple solo performance. That alone is enough to give me all kinds of feels!
That is the thing though Dan - maori culture is embedded in Aotearoa and it is beautiful. Great leaders in the past such as Sir Jim Bolger, did their best to ensure that maori were treated as partners as per te tiriti, and he was determined in the righting of breaches to te tiriti that harmed maori, because he understood and he cared.
However, the latest government, especially David Seymour, have made it their mission to erase all things maori from the system.
Why? Why?
The ACT narrative is because we are supposed to be as Hobson allegedly uttered - “one people”. The problem is Maori are not brown skinned english people of european descent and we dont want to be - we have our own worldview, language and culture.
When Seymour says one people and Gerry says no not this, they are part of the racist process to erase. Colonisation at the very core is about erasure of indigenous peoples. We must ensure this government is voted out next year.
Amen. It's always strange to me how the 'one people' erasure has to be so purist, so ahistorical, and so damn boring?? One nation, sure. One community, with all kinds of beauties, histories, cultures, etc. What I love about NZ is that most Kiwis have this mix sussed out in one way or another. Yes, it gets messy when those differences enter questions of political power. So we talk. We live together! That's the point!
Kia ora Dan, now that’s a fine piece of writing! The haka part brought a tear or two to this aging pakeha wahine. I grew up with Māori as my dad taught at a country school for several years and my siblings and I were the only white kids. Not that we noticed, he encouraged te Reo and we all learned it to a reasonable level. We really only noticed the difference when we moved to a nearby town where the locals were much less inclined to share our views. In the South Island which will surprise no one. Sixty years later I have loved and encouraged the revival of te Reo being much more widely used. My grandson in Y12 achieved Excellence. This was a joy to read. Nga Mihi ehoa
Hi Miramartian! Glad you felt it too. Means a lot, coming from someone who's lived this far deeper than I. Truly, I left the auditorium utterly overwhelmed with beauty & feelings I will be processing for a very long time. I feel so lucky to be here with y'all. That's so cool about your grandson, congratulations to him! Ngā mihi, e hoa!
Thank you Dan, you write exactly what I feel and thank you. I have a photo of my American born, half Burmese, half white little man with his moko after the Polyfest and it just brings tears to my eyes. For all he represents, for all that I am grateful for, being here, not there. I will treasure this photo and it's meaning for a long while.
Hi Ani! Aw, I bet he looks beautiful! Amen. When you get through all the moving & changes & goodbyes and you come up on a moment or an image like that and there's this huge sense of POSSIBILITY for the kids, to live by different stars...I mean that's why we're here, right? But to see it so embodied knocked me over. Aroha to you and yours!
Dear Universe - Please deliver even just a fraction of that Haka energy to our opposition leaders here in the States. We could use all of the help we can get.
(Sidenote: You now have me scouring the Internet to find out if there's a Māori equivalent to the colloquial Spanish "cojones". The closest I could come up with is, "He toa tō raho!")
YES. I think the resistance needs an energy way beyond the limits of WASPy decorum. Seeing haka live was incredible, and with my own kid involved doubly so. Impossible to overstate the spiritual benefits of shouting in a room full of people you love.
I need to learn more words myself. From the Hikoi last year I learned the chant: ake ake ake! Which means 'forever and ever' (kind of) and at the march was used a defense of te ao Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi both.
your writing made me [an old Pakeha] cry! I have had the good fortune to be present at many haka because of my teaching career. THese paragraphs are gold:
'Now watch, Gerry, as the Featherston high schoolers out in the audience—these kids’ big brothers and big sisters, their neighbors, their babysitters, their friends—rose from their seats and began shouting a haka back to the stage.
Shouting’s the only word for it. These teenagers were all the way in, not a breath held back. The boys’ shouts cracking, wild and deep. The girls’ shouts the shouts of women. They knew all the words by heart, Gerry. The little kids up on stage stood transfixed in their love.'
Kia ora Radne! Glad this could connect to a feeling you know so well! As a former teacher myself (not in NZ) I simply cannot imagine what it would be like to see *your own students* up there performing kapa haka. My heart swells at the very thought. Thank you for your service. Aroha from the Wairarapa!
Of course thinking too of native people in the US, far too invisible to most Americans, viewed as sports mascots by many (in the company of pirates, hornets, panthers, broncos and "chiefs"). Well done protecting your child's likeness, we see too much neglect of children's privacy and safety on this platform.
Hi John! Yes, there are parallels to the US...but the visibility--no, the growing *centrality* of te ao Māori to bug chunks of everyday NZ life is strikingly different! This 80s-90s AZ boy learned just a hair more than nothing of the Navajo, Hopi, Tohono Oʼodham whose state we lived in. Here my immigrant kids in a very Pakeha (white) school learn tons of Māori culture and language. It's one of the best things about living here!
Gerry! Go back to your hobbiton second breakfast induced post prandial nap in the seat. That wa your harm and relevance in a future NZ will be minimised
Kia ora Dan, Beautiful korero.
I got that heart and tear bursting moment reading about the haka breaking out between the older siblings and students in the audience for the young performers on stage - must have been amazing.
Yes, Gerry it is to your shame that you suppress an outpouring of love and respect, because that is what the haka is.
Thanks Dan for your easy examples of how much Aotearoa NZ actually value haka! Thank you for sharing your proud moment with your daughter with us.
Kia ora.
Kia ora Janine! So glad you enjoyed it! Love and respect, indeed. I can understand some cool-headed conversations around the haka and politics and parliamentary procedure and such, fine. What I simply cannot understand is the fear of something so plainly adored & celebrated in so many other parts of national life. This kapa haka event was also my first to watch in person, and I was blown away!
Well put thanks Janine. I concur with the tears welling over the audience haka. I'm so glad we have that as a public call and response; so emotional and primal (?) at the same time.
Hi Marty! Glad you enjoyed it. I'd seen performances before but until this student show I had no idea about the call-and-response version. Interesting to note here that 'call-and-response' in American culture has a deep association with various traditional forms Black music--work songs, gospel, etc. I have nowhere near the scholarship necessary to make a coherent point about this connection/overlap, beyond the obvious that it's a more community vibe than a simple solo performance. That alone is enough to give me all kinds of feels!
That is the thing though Dan - maori culture is embedded in Aotearoa and it is beautiful. Great leaders in the past such as Sir Jim Bolger, did their best to ensure that maori were treated as partners as per te tiriti, and he was determined in the righting of breaches to te tiriti that harmed maori, because he understood and he cared.
However, the latest government, especially David Seymour, have made it their mission to erase all things maori from the system.
Why? Why?
The ACT narrative is because we are supposed to be as Hobson allegedly uttered - “one people”. The problem is Maori are not brown skinned english people of european descent and we dont want to be - we have our own worldview, language and culture.
When Seymour says one people and Gerry says no not this, they are part of the racist process to erase. Colonisation at the very core is about erasure of indigenous peoples. We must ensure this government is voted out next year.
Amen. It's always strange to me how the 'one people' erasure has to be so purist, so ahistorical, and so damn boring?? One nation, sure. One community, with all kinds of beauties, histories, cultures, etc. What I love about NZ is that most Kiwis have this mix sussed out in one way or another. Yes, it gets messy when those differences enter questions of political power. So we talk. We live together! That's the point!
Janine, JB was an Irish republican who declined a knighthood-no gong for him!
Good on him! Apologies for that error.
Kia ora Dan, now that’s a fine piece of writing! The haka part brought a tear or two to this aging pakeha wahine. I grew up with Māori as my dad taught at a country school for several years and my siblings and I were the only white kids. Not that we noticed, he encouraged te Reo and we all learned it to a reasonable level. We really only noticed the difference when we moved to a nearby town where the locals were much less inclined to share our views. In the South Island which will surprise no one. Sixty years later I have loved and encouraged the revival of te Reo being much more widely used. My grandson in Y12 achieved Excellence. This was a joy to read. Nga Mihi ehoa
Hi Miramartian! Glad you felt it too. Means a lot, coming from someone who's lived this far deeper than I. Truly, I left the auditorium utterly overwhelmed with beauty & feelings I will be processing for a very long time. I feel so lucky to be here with y'all. That's so cool about your grandson, congratulations to him! Ngā mihi, e hoa!
Nice one. Love the photo.
Thanks man!
Thank you Dan, you write exactly what I feel and thank you. I have a photo of my American born, half Burmese, half white little man with his moko after the Polyfest and it just brings tears to my eyes. For all he represents, for all that I am grateful for, being here, not there. I will treasure this photo and it's meaning for a long while.
Hi Ani! Aw, I bet he looks beautiful! Amen. When you get through all the moving & changes & goodbyes and you come up on a moment or an image like that and there's this huge sense of POSSIBILITY for the kids, to live by different stars...I mean that's why we're here, right? But to see it so embodied knocked me over. Aroha to you and yours!
Dear Universe - Please deliver even just a fraction of that Haka energy to our opposition leaders here in the States. We could use all of the help we can get.
(Sidenote: You now have me scouring the Internet to find out if there's a Māori equivalent to the colloquial Spanish "cojones". The closest I could come up with is, "He toa tō raho!")
YES. I think the resistance needs an energy way beyond the limits of WASPy decorum. Seeing haka live was incredible, and with my own kid involved doubly so. Impossible to overstate the spiritual benefits of shouting in a room full of people you love.
I need to learn more words myself. From the Hikoi last year I learned the chant: ake ake ake! Which means 'forever and ever' (kind of) and at the march was used a defense of te ao Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi both.
your writing made me [an old Pakeha] cry! I have had the good fortune to be present at many haka because of my teaching career. THese paragraphs are gold:
'Now watch, Gerry, as the Featherston high schoolers out in the audience—these kids’ big brothers and big sisters, their neighbors, their babysitters, their friends—rose from their seats and began shouting a haka back to the stage.
Shouting’s the only word for it. These teenagers were all the way in, not a breath held back. The boys’ shouts cracking, wild and deep. The girls’ shouts the shouts of women. They knew all the words by heart, Gerry. The little kids up on stage stood transfixed in their love.'
Thank you
Kia ora Radne! Glad this could connect to a feeling you know so well! As a former teacher myself (not in NZ) I simply cannot imagine what it would be like to see *your own students* up there performing kapa haka. My heart swells at the very thought. Thank you for your service. Aroha from the Wairarapa!
Of course thinking too of native people in the US, far too invisible to most Americans, viewed as sports mascots by many (in the company of pirates, hornets, panthers, broncos and "chiefs"). Well done protecting your child's likeness, we see too much neglect of children's privacy and safety on this platform.
Hi John! Yes, there are parallels to the US...but the visibility--no, the growing *centrality* of te ao Māori to bug chunks of everyday NZ life is strikingly different! This 80s-90s AZ boy learned just a hair more than nothing of the Navajo, Hopi, Tohono Oʼodham whose state we lived in. Here my immigrant kids in a very Pakeha (white) school learn tons of Māori culture and language. It's one of the best things about living here!
Gerry! Go back to your hobbiton second breakfast induced post prandial nap in the seat. That wa your harm and relevance in a future NZ will be minimised
Top shelf LOTR mic drop right there