At 10, all students and mentors met in front of the wharekai to walk over to the Marae together. The Marae was a 10 minute walk from EcoQuest. When getting to the grounds, there was a large picket fence and a main entrance. The only thing I could see over the fence was the main building of the Marae, te wharenui (te fukkanewi). Te wharenui, or carved meeting house of the ancestors, is the most important building within the Marae. The wharenui represents a female's body in structure, with ribbed beams on the inside representing a human rib cage. The tekoteko, or carved figure, on the roof top in front of the house represents the head, and the maihi, or front barge boards, are the arms held out in welcome to visitors. This particular wharenui contained intricate carvings and panels that refer to the whakapapa, or genealogy, of the whakatiwai (fukka-tea-why) iwi (tribe), and to the Māori stories and legends.
Creeping closer and closer to the main entrance gate, the wharenui's size grew drastically. When inside the entrance, we were told to organize and wait until the Māori toa (warrior) arrived. To get organized, all women moved to the front and all men moved to the back (expect Jono and another EcoQuest student who acted as our toa). Then, we arranged ourselves from oldest to youngest and stood four in a row. 20 minutes later, I could hear quick and angered sounds coming from around the corner, almost like a warning. Then I could see the Māori toa. He was an older gentleman with white, long hair pulled back into a ponytail wearing nothing but a green-stoned necklace and a short kilt made of a black and white furry animal. He was holding a wooden stick that seemed to be acting as his weapon. Jumping from side to side, still making angered noises, he was testing our "tribe" to see if we were there to fight or make peace. Placing a woven basket in front of us as a peace offering, he gestured for Sam, our toa, to pick it up. Sam stepped forward, leaned down, picked up the basket, and stepped backwards without turning around all while keeping consistent eye contact with the Māori toa.
The Māori toa then gestured to the group to move forward into the Marae. While walking in, there was a opera-like chant coming from one of the Māori women. She was wearing all black and was chanting a tribal-like sound. In reaction, Ria, our Māori woman, chanted back with a similar tribal-like sound. Supposedly, Ria was greeting the gods on behalf of the land, people, earth and EcoQuest students and mentors. We then walked over to the right-hand side of the courtyard and stood across from the Māori, who sat on the left-hand side. After the chanting was over, we were gestured to sit down. The Māori toa stepped forward and told the story of the three baskets of knowledge and how they were acquired (all in Māori - we learned the stories' significance later on). Next, it was Jono's turn to talk. Jono stood up, stepped forward and began to speak in Māori. Picking up a few words here and there, I understood most of what Jono was saying: something along the lines of asking for the people, the land, the students and the mentors to be welcomed today. After Jono was finished, it was time for the students to present the waiata (ritual song). We stood up and sang Kahikatea. Then, the ritual Māori leader spoke in Māori of how the land and the earth was formed. It was quite moving as he flowed left and right of the courtyard.
The ritual leader then began to speak in English. He explained how happy he was for American students to be at the Marea. He continued to say how proud he was to be able to call us part of his family. At this point, everyone stood up and we walked over to the Māori side and greeted each of the members. For the men, they would give the women a hand shake and a kiss on the cheek. For the women, they would shake your hand and either kiss your cheek or put their forehead to yours and close their eyes. Either was acceptable. At the same time, you would greet the Māori by saying "tenā koe" or "ki ora."
To complete the maioha, both parties were joined to feast. We entered their wharekai, where the women prepared a large variety of delicious food. We ate first and the Māori ate after. Once the Māori were done eating, the 26 students stood up and performed Lean On Me as a gift. To my surprise they sang along.
Afterwards, each Māori person introduced themselves formally, in English, to the group. Once they finished, we students went around the room and each of us introduced ourselves and gave a bit of background of why we are interested in studying the environment and how we ended up at EcoQuest and on their land.
As we were leaving the Marae, the Māori toa came out of a building wearing black leather pants and a green leather vest….a much different choice in apparel than his previous necklace and animal skin get-up. He came over to the group and introduced himself as Shane. He is actually a pretty cool person. He talked with us for over a half hour about being connected to our surroundings. About being a world within a world within a world. About being at a different frequency as everything around us and that if we don't understand something, we just haven't understood that frequency yet. About how people are the most important thing in this entire world. About how without women, men wouldn't be anything for all men come from women. He was truly inspiring. Just the way he looked at life made me change my outlook on the past week here in New Zealand.
When we got back to EcoQuest campus, we took some time with Jono to reflect on what just happened.
At 4pm, all mentors and students gathered at the vans to head into Thames to see the showing of 2 degrees at a local movie theater.
The movie was incredible. It was actually the first public viewing, so that was pretty special. 2 degrees was made by a New Zealander (she was there to answer questions at the end) who is an activist for going green. She was a very inspirational person to talk too.
On the drive home from Thames, I, myself, reflected on my day at the Marae. Something that has stuck pretty firmly with me is the idea that when we are born, we are not alone. Between the ants that live underneath your house, the birds that live in your backyard trees and the squirrels that live in your attic, another creature not too far from you was born at the exact same time that you were. As you grow up, so does that other animal. Actually, the animal will most likely grow up faster than you do. So one day you are walking home from the bus that just dropped you off from elementary school and you hear a bird chirping. Your initial reaction is, "birdy" or maybe even "oh can that bird just be quiet." But in fact, that bird is welcoming you home from school just as it has every other day since you started preschool because that bird knows you. The ants under your house know your foots steps. The squirrels in your attic know when your sad or happy or excited. They may even know you better than you know yourself. This is all part of the idea of a world of different frequencies. Every single piece of our natural world lives within its own frequency. All humans are born with a code to understand the frequency at which humans live. But if you simply pass a bird one afternoon hoping for it to be quiet, than you haven't understood that frequency of life quite yet. If you walk down the street consciously stepping on ant hills, then you haven't understood that frequency yet either. So what's my point? All things are connected. Our feet are connected to the ground, which is connected to the river, mountain, earth and all that's on it. We are all connected. Today was just a perfect representation of how connected we can be. Americans and Māori were speaking and reacting to each other as if they have known one another for their entire lives.
I feel like I'm finally starting to get the EcoQuest glow. The glow that you see in every person that has ever had the pleasure of adventuring to New Zealand and experiencing the Māori culture and Marae. The glow that makes up for loss words when trying to explain the impossible. The glow that others will soon see in me as I arrive back into the States. The glow that is New Zealand.
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