‘Kia Ora!’ from New Zealand

Culture Shock

Enduring incessant jetlag and a crippling 12 hour time difference, I made it to New Zealand, or Aotearoa in Maori, the ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’, in time for my short but sweet Christmas break. The country’s culture is vast and fascinating, influenced greatly by the Maori people, the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. Their ancient traditions and treatment of the land work to enrich the history of the country and play a prominent role in its citizens’ lifestyles to this day.

One of the highlights during my fortnight in New Zealand has to be my visit to the Maori Village in Rotorua, a city in the North Island. There, I got to see first-hand the customs and livelihoods of the indigenous Maori people, from their welcoming rituals and entertainment, to the way they hand-make their clothes and prepare their food.

Before granting entry to their village, the tribe leaders approached for an intimidating posturing ceremony, intended to ensure the visitors were not a threat; to crouch was to challenge the leader, to remain still and maintain eye-contact was submission. Covered top to toe in tattoos and wielding spears, these ferocious men suddenly turned into smiling hosts, as they greeted us with a gentle nose-to-nose tap, a symbol of friendship. For our dinner, the food was cooked in earth ovens, dug into the ground and heated by hot coals, with the food packed in leaves and placed on top, a method known as hangi. The rest of the night was filled with cheerful song and dance, as the tribe performed old Polynesian melodies, traditional chants and the rhythmic poi.

But one need not visit a tribal village to understand Maori culture. The weaving of their traditions into the fabric of contemporary Kiwi society is discernible, as locals frequently welcome travellers with a warm ‘Kia ora!’, replacing the conventional ‘Hello’ with the sincere Maori wish to ‘Be well.’ Perhaps the most wellknown adoption is the Haka, a Maori challenge which now plays its role on the international stage as a game commencement ritual of the All-Blacks, the national rugby team. Naturally, the arrival of Europeans in the 17 th century brought significant change to Maori lifestyle, and colonialism has its own dark narrative, but compared to countries like the United States, with its mass incarceration and limited representation of Native Americans, or even New Zealand’s immediate neighbour Australia, with its persistent stigma around Aboriginal culture, New Zealand has had the privilege of seeing a relatively successful integration of indigenous culture into the modern world.

The Maori are active in all circles of New Zealand’s society, with independent representation in media, politics, sport and everything in between. Although there is still progress to be made in closing the socioeconomic gap between the native Maori and other NewZealanders, it is an enduring example of how a country can rebound from its colonial past and reconcile with its ancient roots. So I suppose this is not so much a ‘Culture Shock’ as it is a ‘Culture-Pleasantly-Surprised-By’.

WRITTEN BY:

Aaryana Kunte

Aaryana recounts her trip to an indigenous Maori village in New Zeeland and explores the country’s amicable relationship with its past.