In traditional Maori culture if another tribe approached the village there would be a formal exchange so that the intentions of the visiting tribe would be made clear. This exchange/greeting is called a powhiri. In olden times it would begin with three strong warriors greeting the visitors with a dance called the wero. Basically the warriors approach the guests with weapons while gesturing and yelling out war cries. This is to convey to the visitors what will happen if they are here to make war with the tribe. If the visitors come in peace then they will lay down a peace offering called a rautapu that is usually a leaf or a carving. If they mean war then they do not lay down anything. But we'll focus on the peace one :). After this step comes the powhiri. Just a note- we didn't perform this part of the ceremony we just skipped straight to the karanga or call.
The powhiri begins with the village (or the important people of the village) being gathered in a sacred place called a marae (ma-ri). The visiting tribe stays outside the marae/marae square until welcomed in. The welcoming begins with an adult female who has born children offering a call to the visitors. It is hauntingly beautiful when you hear it done properly. This is called a karanga. She calls and the visiting tribe answers with a call from a woman who has also born children. This call begins the welcome. When the second woman answers then the first responds back and the visitors begin crossing the courtyard of the marae and once they reach the doorway they must remove their shoes before they can enter (showing respect for the holy place). Now Ranui school is a Maori integration school so this powhiri was mostly conducted by the children (they even did the call with an adult woman standing next to them). We also didn't have to take off our shoes. They had a formal marae doorway for us to walk through into their assembly hall.
As we walked up the steps we could hear the children loudly chanting/performing the haka. Remember that the haka was meant to show the tribe's strength and also meant to intimidate other tribes. Powhiris can vary, meaning they don't always perform the haka but they did for us and it was incredible. Once we walked into the assembly hall they directed us to our seats at the front of the audience. We sat on the left side and our welcomers (some of the school faculty, headmistress, etc) sat on the right side. As is traditional the men sat in the front row and the women sit in the second row behind them.
Next the welcoming group has one representative that stands up and speaks for the group. Before this happened and before we took our seats the school stood and sang the national anthem in both Maori and English- God Defend New Zealand. I knew parts of it and it gave me chills listening to the kids sing in Maori. Anyway, after that then the speaker from our welcomers stood. He was a teacher and spoke on behalf of the group. He gave what is called a mihimihi (ma-he-ma-he) which is an introduction that tells the visitors about you and your tribe. You say where your mountain is (your land), what is your river (your water source), and who your ancestors are. Ancestry is very important in their culture (the facial tattoos are made to display ancestry lines through symbols). Traditionally this is said in Maori so that is what they did for us (meaning we didn't really know what they were saying... but it was cool!). After the speech than came the song or waiata. All of the children stood up and sang us a song in Maori that again sounded so beautiful.
Next came our turn. One of the members in Erika's ward had graciously volunteered to speak on our behalf (it had to be a man and he should have Maori heritage). He also spoke in Maori also giving a mihimihi on behalf of our group. Then we also stood and sang a waiata. We sang a beautiful song called te aroha about peace, love, and unity. Next another man named Phil (he is a CES coordinator here and has worked with many of the BYU groups in the past) stood and officially introduced us in English to the school. Then we stood again and sang all three versus of I Am a Child of God. I have to admit that our harmony was pretty awesome :) even if I do say so myself.
After the speeches and waiatas then came the hongi. A hongi is a traditional greeting where you touch foreheads and breath in. This is meant to represent breathing in each others spirit which symbolizes becoming family. So our line formally went over to greet our welcomers and we were able to experience a real hongi. I know it sounds weird but it is actually a very neat experience. Afterwards we gave their school a gift or a koha to show our appreciation for their hospitality. Then the assembly was over and the children sang another Maori song to us on the way out. Usually at this point their is a hakari or a feast in honor of the visitors but because of time and budget restraints we just enjoyed morning tea with the staff (of course we had milo instead of tea).
It is hard to explain the feelings that I experienced while participating in this incredible cultural experience. It hit me as we were sitting at the front of the assembly hall being honored by these students in the traditional Maori way that this really is a once in a lifetime experience. I would not have traded that experience for anything.
Afterwards we went to our assigned schools and began our first day. I promise to write more on that tomorrow. It's just getting late and I have school tomorrow :).
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