Whale Rider, based on the novel by Maori author witi Ihimaera, postulates what might happen if a girl appears to have been endowed with the mystical abilities of chieftain. Like many tribal societies, the Maoris are patriarchal, and the concept of a female ruler, if not unthinkable, goes against tradition.
Whale Rider, based on the novel by Maori author witi Ihimaera, postulates what might happen if a girl appears to have been endowed with the mystical abilities of chieftain. Like many tribal societies, the Maoris are patriarchal, and the concept of a female ruler, if not unthinkable, goes against tradition.
Whale Rider, based on the novel by Maori author witi Ihimaera, postulates what might happen if a girl appears to have been endowed with the mystical abilities of chieftain. Like many tribal societies, the Maoris are patriarchal, and the concept of a female ruler, if not unthinkable, goes against tradition.
New Zealand/Germany, 2003 U.S. Release Date: 6/6/03 (limited) Running Length:1:45 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Mature themes, profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis, Grant Roa, Mana Taumaunu, Rachel House Director: Niki Caro Producers: John Barnett, Frank Hbner, Tim Sanders Screenplay:Niki Caro, based on the novel by Witi Ihimaera Cinematography: Leon Narbey Music: Lisa Gerrard U.S. Distributor: Newmarket Film Group The theme of Whale Rider that of female empowerment is not unique, but the context in which it is presented is. Like many tribal societies, the Maoris are patriarchal, and the concept of a female ruler, if not unthinkable, goes against tradition. Whale Rider, based on the novel by Maori author Witi Ihimaera, postulates what might happen if, in seeming contravention of religious custom, a girl appears to have been endowed with the mystical abilities of chieftain. The Whangara people live in a village on the eastern coast of New Zealand a place they have inhabited for more than a millennium. Legend says that their demi-god ancestor, Paikea, arrived in New Zealand on the back of a whale. Since then, the first-born son has always been the Whangara chieftain until now. Pai is the lone survivor of a difficult birth that claims the lives of her mother and her twin brother. Her grief-stricken father, Porourangi (Cliff Curtis), flees the island for Europe, leaving his little daughter in the care of his father and mother, Koro (Rawiri Paratene) and Nanny Flowers (Vicky Haughton). Koro is bitterly disappointed, since it appears that the bloodline of centuries has ended with his immediate family. He cannot bring himself to consider that Pai, the firstborn in Paikea's bloodline, might be the rightful chieftain because she is not a male. The majority of the story takes place when Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is about 11 years old. She spends most of the film trying to prove herself to her grandfather, who stubbornly refuses to consider her as anything more than a disappointment. He begins to teach all the first-born males in the village in the "old ways," hoping that one of them will show the courage, strength, and fortitude to take over the Whangara's leadership. Ultimately, however, it is the whales those animals that bore Paikea to New Zealand who indirectly reveal the truth. Whale Rider is the second movie in a decade to address the subject of Maori survival in modern culture. The other film, Once Were Warriors, was directed by Lee Tamahori (a Maori) and presented a bleak perspective of how progress and assimilation have emasculated the Maori spirit. Whale Rider has a more optimistic point-of-view, indicating that, while change is necessary, it need not destroy culture and tradition. Pai's role is to not to tear down a custom that has held true for more than 1000 years, but to re- shape and continue it. Screenwriter/director Niki Caro is not a Maori, but she went to great pains to ensure the authenticity of the movie, including hiring Maori advisors, populating the film with indigenous extras, and filming in the actual place where the book is set. All of this probably makes Whale Rider sound like a study in sociology, but that's only the background. The story itself is richly rewarding and uplifting the coming-of-age tale of a girl who must defy the odds to achieve her goals. There's plenty of humor to keep the overall tone light, although there are moments of deeper, heartfelt pathos. The characters and relationships are three dimensional. The most rewarding of these is that of Pai and her grandfather. There is affection there, but, on Koro's side, a self-imposed distance. Especially early in the film, we see that he genuinely cares for his granddaughter, but his disappointment about her gender colors his actions and perspective. For her part, all she wants to do is earn his respect a point that is heartbreakingly illustrated when she gives a speech dedicated to him. Keisha Castle-Hughes is wonderful as Pai, showing the character's unflagging spirit and boundless determination. The aforementioned speech is the actress' best scene. The way in which she delivers it and the tears she sheds are entirely believable. Meanwhile, Rawiri Paratene portrays Koro as a stern and humorless man, but not a villain. He is an individual of strong values and beliefs who cannot escape the rigidity of his upbringing. In a way, Whale Rider is as much the story of Koro's growth as it is Pai's. Whale Rider has been successful at every film festival where it has played, but it faces an uphill battle during its North American release. Nearly every viewer who sees Whale Rider will leave the theater uplifted and full of praise, but the subject matter sounds so dry and off-putting that the difficulty facing the distributor is to get people to buy tickets. Whale Rider has the potential to generate strong word-of- mouth if Newmarket can get enough butts in theater seats to start the flood of praise. 2003 James Berardinelli
http://www.piccom.org/home/whalerider/thebook.html MAORI GLOSSARY Aotearoa: New Zealand Aroha: Love Atua: god Haka: War dance Haka Peruperu: A Haka dance performed with weapons Haka Taparahi: A Haka dance performed without weapons Hakari: Feast Hapu: Subtribe Hariru: Shake hands Hongi: Rubbing or touching noses, a Maori greeting Iwi: Tribe Kaikrero Paki: Storyteller Kapa Haka: Maori cultural song and dance Karakia: Incantation Karanga: Call Kirituhi: Maori skin art Korero: Stories Koru: Artistic spiral design element Kowhaiwhai: Ornate designs painted onto the rafters in a meeting house Lapita: Ancestral Polynesian culture Mana Whenua: Control of land Mana: Reputation, authority, power, prestige Manuhiri: Guest Marae: Community meeting space Moko or Ta Moko: Sacred Maori practice of tattooing Noa: Normal state Pakeha: New Zealanders of European descent Paua: A shell fish related to the abalone; inside the shell is a myriad of ever changing colors Pounamu: New Zealand jade of hard density Poutama: A woven pattern of steps on the walls of meeting houses Powhiri: Welcome ceremony Rahui: Making a certain area tapu, or off-limits Rangatira: Chief Rangatiratanga: Leadership Reo: Speech Taiaha: A two handed spear-like fighting weapon Tane: God of the Forests Tangaroa: God of the Sea Taniwha: Mythical beast Tapu: Sacred or restricted Te Reo: Maori language Tekoteko: A carved figure found on the gable apex structure of a Maori meeting house to ward away evil spirits Tikanga: Customs Tohunga: Ritual expert Waiata: Song Waka Confederation: An amalgamation of iwi connected by whakapapa Waka: Canoe Whaikorero: Speech Whakairo: Maori carvings Whakapapa: Genealogy Whanau: Family Wharenui: Meeting House Whironui: An ancestor
Synopsis of Whale Rider The critically acclaimed feature film Whale Rider , a powerful cinematic re-telling of an ancient Maori legend, airs on PBS Sunday, July 24, 2005, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET. The broadcast premiere on PBS stars Keisha Castle-Hughes in her enchanting Oscar-nominated performance as Pai, with three of New Zealands most distinguished actors: Rawiri Paratene as stern grandfather Koro, Vicky Haughton as Nanny Flowers and Cliff Curtis as Porourangi, Pais father.
A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young girl fights to fulfill her destiny, Whale Rider is directed by Niki Caro and based on the best-selling 1986 novel by award-winning New Zealand writer Witi Ihimaera (the first Maori novelist to be published in that country). Author Ihimaera was inspired to write Whale Rider after he had taken his daughters to a number of action movies and they asked why the boy was always the hero and the girl the one who was helpless. "So I decided to write a novel in which the girl is the hero."
Shot entirely in Whangara, a coastal village on the east coast of New Zealands North Island, Whale Rider re-interprets a 1,000-year-old legend about Paikea, the founder of the native New Zealand tribe Ngati Konohi, whose members believe their leader arrived in their village on the back of a whale after his canoe capsized.
Set in the present, Whale Rider focuses on Pai, a 12-year-old girl who dares to challenge the ancient traditions of her people, despite opposition from her grandfather Koro, the village chief. Who will become the tribes new leader after Koro? By tradition, it should be the eldest son. But Pais twin brother and mother died at birth, and her grief-stricken father has wandered off, causing a crisis in the transfer of power. Koro refuses to recognize that a girl could be the leader of the tribe.
Why cant a girl enter the pantheon of leaders, Pai wonders? Koro finds the notion inconceivable. When he despairs of his sons return, he begins teaching ancestral traditions to the boys of the village, hoping one will prove worthy to succeed him. Pai is forbidden to participate, but she watches, secretly, from the sidelines. When her moment comes, she is ready. It is through Pais singular quest for her grandfathers love and acceptance that she discovers her destiny.
"Whale Rider is essentially about leadership and the fact that leadership presents itself in the form of a young girl," explains director Niki Caro. "Its Pais destiny to lead, but that is in direct opposition to her grandfathers beliefs, and hes the person she loves more than anything in the world. So the film deals with his struggle to accept her destiny and the extraordinary lengths to which shell go to make him understand her and prove her love to him."
Winner of audience awards at the Sundance, Toronto and Rotterdam Film Festivals, Whale Rider is a radiant story about an exceptional girls coming of age and of a proud Maori communitys struggle to embrace new ways of thinking.
Underwriters: Public Television Viewers and PBS. Producers: South Pacific Pictures, ApolloMedia and Pandor Film. Presenter: Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC). Executive producers: Bill Gavin and Linda Goldstein Knowlton. Producers: Tim Sanders, John Barnett and Frank Hubner. Associate producer: Witi Ihimaera. Director/screenwriter: Niki Caro.
The Legend of Paikea Whale Rider is an up-to-the-minute re-telling of an ancient genealogical legend belonging specifically to the Ngati Konohi, a subtribe of the Ngati Porou who live along the East Coast of New Zealand. Their founding father, Paikea, arrived by whale in Aotearoa "land of the long white cloud," eventually to be called New Zealand in the eighth century. Moreover, he first hit land in Whangara, their very own village.
"There's nothing startling about this particular incident," explains Hone Taumaunu, an educator and Ngati Konohi elder, who served as the film's Maori advisor. "Other Maori ancestors reputedly came by bird, by rainbow and even on other varieties of fish. But Paikea was a demi-god, able to change his form and appearance. When he arrived in Aotearoa, he became the eponymous male, able to generate future generations of Maori." The elder further notes that paikea is another term for whale.
According to ancient Maori belief, the entire planet once was water through which their ancestors moved. "We are mindful that Paikea was an offspring of the great god of the ocean, Tangaroa." says Taunaunu. "We ofNgati Konohi are deeply involved and respectful of our 'sea mythology.' In a chant dedicated to Paikea's journey, we are reminded that his caregiver sea mother was a whale who helped him in his epic journey. Two other ancestors who gave support and encouragement were Te Petipeti, the jelly fish, and Te Rangahua, the small porpoises. Making of the Film Novelist Witi Ihimaera (pictured at right), with tribal links to the Whangara community, has heard the whale legend all of his life. "I got the idea for the book in 1985 when I was living in New York as New Zealand's Consul General," he remembers. "A whale came up the Hudson River just when my daughters Jessica and Olivia were visiting. They'd been complaining to me about the movies I was taking them to, in which the boy is always the hero and the girl screams 'Save me, save me, I'm helpless.' The Paikea legend sprang to mind. Having a girl ride the whale, which is also a symbol of patriarchy, was my sneaky literary way of socking it to the guy thing."
"All my books are dedicated to my daughters. I was the eldest son of an eldest son of an eldest son. My daughters came along to change all of that and also my life. Anybody who says there are things a girl can't do will have to answer to me!"
Producer John Barnett optioned the novel in the early 1990s but 10 years and countless screenplay drafts would pass before Niki Caro emerged as a contender, having just won New Zealand's Best Film Award for her first feature, Memory and Desire.
"I read all the previous drafts but they didn't speak to me," recalls Caro, "so I asked permission to write one of my own. I wanted to make a film with a powerful, magical quality that moves effortlessly between the real and the spiritual, a film that honors the original material but brings it into a real, contemporary setting. What the little girl goes through is so profound and compelling. It's a spiritual awakening, which movies rarely explore."
What Caro wrote was radically different from previous screen adaptations and even from the book itself, in that she extrapolated the Pai-Koro generational stand-off from a more discursive narrative. But her concept proved exhilarating.
"Niki nailed it," says producer John Barnett. "I always believed that Whale Rider's themes are relevant to societies and cultures throughout the world. What she did was so fantastic, we offered her the opportunity to direct the film."
The novelist was equally enthusiastic. "By focusing on Pai, a girl fighting against patriarchy, she made a movie which transcends nationality or ethnicity and speaks universally to the heart."
But the praise-worthy screenplay was merely the production's first step. The Maori are understandably cautious about allowing pakeha New Zealanders of European descent to interpret their history and culture. The best known film to date about Maori life is the esteemed Once Were Warriors (1977), directed by one of their own, Lee Tomahori.
Enter hands-on producers Tim Sanders, just completing a triumphal five-year assignment with Peter Jackson and Lord of the Rings. "I thought Niki's screenplay was terrific, and simply had to be shot in Whangara, where Witi set his story. I drove to the tribal marae in Whangara to meet with Hone and the elders and got lost! But though I was quite late, they invited me in for 'tea' which turned into a veritabIe feast. We sat together for several hours and talked everything through. Witi is one of theirs and they want to see his work promoted. I departed with their 100% commitment." Yes, Whale Rider could be made on the tribal marae in Whangara.
The marae a large piece of land with associated buildings is of central importance to all Maori. Hone Taumaunu: "It's a place where Maori can behave according to those traditional procedures they hold dear. It is used as a convention center, for social activities and conferences, and for funeral observances. It is also the repository of our genealogy as exemplified in the various tribal carvings which adorn the walls of the wharenui or meeting house."
It now fell to Niki Caro, a pakeha, to make her own case to the elders. "I showed every single draft of the screenplay to Witi," she says, "before finally submitting it to the elders. When their blessings were secured, I began to travel between my home in Auckland and Whangara, not only to know more about the Ngati Konohi, but to allow them to know me. I learned to speak their language.
"My acquaintance with Hone Taumaunu eventually developed into a warm friendship. Without the collaboration of the entire Whangara community,Whale Rider would not be what it is."
Although Caro understands the story's feminist implications, Whale Rider for her is essentially about leadership or rangatiratanga. A leader can emerge in an unexpected form for example, that of a young girl. By placing the ancient myth in modern times, Caro explores universal themes. Can traditions from the past inform the present? Are leaders born, or made? Is compassion a more potent catalyst for change than force of personality?
Whereas Koro represents an older command-and-control style of leadership, Pai is more flexible, able to bend without breaking. In the end, she shows herself capable of putting the needs of community ahead of herself. Despite being excluded, Pai is not bitter. She continues to respect her grandfather while preparing herself, against his wishes, for her own future role as rangatira. MAORI CULTURE Essayist: Peter Adds, PhD School of Maori, Pacific and Samoan Studies Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand
The First Settlers of Aotearoa The question of the origin of the Maori people of Aotearoa New Zealand, and indeed Polynesians generally, has produced many theories since Europeans first appeared in the Pacific. The modern scientific "orthodox" theory, however, comes mostly from the work of archaeologists, linguists and increasingly, from the scientists who study human DNA. The story that has emerged from these studies is very compelling, although parts of it are still somewhat incomplete. The research shows that the direct ancestors of the Maori arrived from somewhere in east Polynesia between 700-1000 years ago. Their arrival in Aotearoa, or New Zealand was the last step in a much bigger and more ancient movement of people across the Pacific from Southeast Asia from about 5-7000 years ago that saw every island in Oceania that is capable of sustaining human life colonized. New Zealand is sometimes described, in fact, as being the last major piece of real estate in the entire world (with the exception of Antarctica) to be settled by humans.
An important point to note about the arrival of the first humans in New Zealand is that they were not Maori people per se. They were East Polynesians who came from some island or group of islands in the tropical east such as Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands or perhaps the southern Cook Islands. So far, it has not been possible to pinpoint the precise island or islands that the first colonizers came from. The best that can be said for now is that the early artifacts of New Zealand are so similar to artifacts from a number of different parts of east View of Jerusalem (Hiruharama) village from higher ground with two palms in the foreground, Whanganui River, North Island
Polynesia that any, or perhaps all, of these places are possible points of origin. What is very clear however is that the settlers did not come from the geographically much closer west Polynesia where quite different styles of artifacts were made. Soon, however, with the rapid development of technologies associated with DNA "fingerprinting" it should be possible to say with a high degree of confidence who the Maori people of New Zealand are most closely related to from a genetic perspective. Having arrived in New Zealand, these east Polynesians attempted to replicate the tropical life style they had been used to living. The problem with this is that New Zealand is anything but tropical and has a much bigger more diverse landscape than these people would have experienced before. For example, the climate at the top of the North Island of New Zealand is sometimes described as "winterless" whereas the climate at the bottom of the South Island is sometimes described as sub-Antarctic. As well, there are many variations in landform, geography, geology and flora and fauna amongst other things in the different regions of New Zealand. All of this meant that the first settlers who arrived in the different parts of New Zealand were confronted with quite different sets of conditions to contend with. For some, adapting from the tropical mode would have been relatively easy, but for others major changes to lifestyle were required to ensure their survival. This process of changing and adapting to the different conditions of New Zealand eventually led to changes in the "shape" of the culture of the people. Over a relatively short period of time, so much culture change had occurred amongst the settlers that the archaeologists say that these people changed from having a culture that we define as east Polynesian into the Maori culture of New Zealand. Strictly speaking therefore, as one prominent authority puts it, the Maori did not come from anywhere. The Maori became Maori and the location of their becoming was New Zealand itself.
Although New Zealand has a relatively short "prehistory" compared to most other parts of Polynesia, there was nonetheless a tremendous amount of change from early to late. Tracking this change has been a major challenge for archaeologists because of regional variation across the country but most authorities agree that generally there were three main phases of development that occurred early middle and late.
The early phase is associated with coming to grips with the new landscape and exploring and discovering what it had to offer. The adaptations and changes associated with these things led to the development of Maori culture by the start of the middle period. The middle period is associated with even more change, population growth, the intensification of horticulture, the development of a more complex political life, and eventually warfare. The late period is associated with highly developed art, weaponry, music and dance, and law and religion, among other things. Political and Family Structure Like all of the other Polynesian cultures, Maori culture has many unique features, but it is also typically Polynesian in numerous ways. This is hardly surprising when Maori culture is understood to have developed in isolation in New Zealand out of an ancestral east Polynesian cultural base.
Anthropologists describe the cultures of Polynesia as being very "hierarchical." Conceptually, this means that the cultures were shaped like a pyramid where the chief sits at the top of the pyramid, lesser chiefs in layers in the middle and people who were not chiefs at the bottom. The position of the chief and other people in the structure was determined primarily by whakapapa or genealogy. Genealogy and kinship underpinned all traditional Polynesian culture, society and politics including that of the Maori.
Among Maori, genealogies were compared and ranked against each other to determine a person's position in the hierarchy. The ranking was based on the ability of people to trace ancestry back to a particular ancestor that lived in the past. Often these were the original
Kura Takai Puni- Encircling Fern Frond. Maori art is characterized by a predominantly curvilinear design tradition. ancestors after whom tribes (iwi) and sub-tribes (hapu) were named. For the most part, the ability to trace ancestry back to the founding ancestor of the group through the oldest male line was considered to be more significant than tracing descent in either a female line or through younger brothers. In some tribes, however, female lines are also considered to be just as important as male lineages, but this tends to be the exception rather than the rule.
This means that the chief of the group has the "senior" genealogy. He is the chief because his father was chief before him, and his father before him and so on back in time. Ideally, chieftainship was passed down generations from father to oldest son, but if the oldest son was not an entirely suitable leader it could be passed to the second or third son instead. If there were no sons then the chief's next oldest brother or his nephew could become the chief.
The basis of Maori social and political life centered on the family or the whanau. Maoriwhanau were typically Polynesian in that they were much larger then standard nuclear families in New Zealand households today. Not only did they include parents and children, they also included the brothers and sisters of the original parents, and all their children as well. The parents of the original mother and father, (the grandparents of the children) were also included in thewhanau. The head of the whanau was typically the original father.
The whanau was the basic unit of Maori social and political life. Family members typically worked together in the daily activities associated with gardening, fishing, and seasonal hunting and gathering. They tended to live in permanent base camps for most of the year but in summer, moved to other parts of their territories to exploit specific resources where they stayed in temporary camps.
Over time, as the population expanded and spread out, the social and political life became more complex. As a part of this, whanau started to band together into bigger units called hapu. It is likely that for most of the pre-European period the hapu was the major social and political unit. Eachhapu had a rangatira who was the person with the most senior whakapapa, drawn from the leaders of each whanau. In addition, each hapu staked out a territory on the landscape that it claimed as theirs, and over this they asserted mana whenua, or control. This territory was defended from the advances of other whanau and hapu when required.
Iwi were bigger aggregations, comprised of hapu that were related to each other by whakapapa. Each iwi also had a rangatira, who usually had the most senior whakapapa of the hapu chiefs. Today there is some speculation that the development of iwi as social and political units may have occurred after the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand. At this stage however there is not enough evidence to say this conclusively.
Maori political and social life, like that of other Polynesian cultures, became more complex over time. In New Zealand this involved the creation of larger and larger political groupings of people. The biggest political unit created was the so-called waka confederation that was an amalgamation of iwi connected by whakapapa. It is likely that these did not form in pre- European times and there was sometimes no clear leadership associated with these either. It is also likely that waka confederations did not operate at a daily level in New Zealand and only assembled occasionally for particular political purposes. Maori Spirituality and the Environment The regulation of daily activities in Maori communities was achieved through the rangatira (chiefs) usingtohunga (ritual experts) to apply and manipulate Maori customary concepts. The concepts were underpinned by traditional Maori religion to comprise what we now call customary Maori law. Maori customary law was complex and varied between hapu (subtribe) and iwi(tribe) but was mainly comprised of traditional concepts such as tapu, noa,mana, and rahui, to name only a few.
Both the rangatira and the tohungawere central to the well- being of their community. The primary job of the rangatira was to ensure the well-being of the whole community, and it was recognized by the community that he needed a particular set of skills to do this. While a senior whakapapa(ancestry) was usually a requirement, other skills were also needed to go with it. For example, it was expected that the rangatira be a good orator, so that he could represent his hapu or iwi on formal occasions, and persuade the members of his group into particular courses of action. He was also expected to be able to produce some kind of food on a regular basis so that he could feed not only himself and his community but also feed manuhiri (guests). There was also an expectation that he was an expert in some kind of specialized economic activity, for example the ability to make canoes or stone tools. Fighting or warrior skills were also highly valued, as was general intelligence. If the most senior candidate to be therangatira was found to be wanting in any of these skills it was not uncommon to replace him with a better candidate, even if the person'swhakapapa was not considered to be as good as some other potential candidates. In the end what really mattered was the ability to lead thehapu or the iwi effectively.
There were various sorts of tohunga within Maori communities. Tohungawas originally a general term that applied to experts in most things that were considered to be important to the communities. Today, most of the different types of tohunga are no longer seen, except for the very important experts in religion and ritual. There is little doubt however that traditionally the tohunga associated with religion and its rituals were the most powerful of all the different types of tohunga, because of the integration of religious dimensions into most aspects of life. The tohungawere often called on to regulate and appease gods over most daily activities.
The most important, and perhaps most difficult customary concept to understand fully is tapu. The usual translation for tapu is "sacred" or "restricted" but neither of these really captures its full meaning. At one level tapu was something that applied to everything in the Maori world, because everything had whakapapa back to a particular atua (god). The trees in the forest, for example, had whakapapa back to Tane, the fish hadwhakapapa back to Tangaroa and so on. Everything therefore was considered to be at least partially tapu because of this association with anatua. This was the normal or "noa" state. At certain times however, anything could become especially tapu, either because people wanted it to be especially considered tapu for some reason, or because certain events might have inadvertently caused it to be considered tapu. When things were in this state, with this extra dimension of tapu associated with them, they had to be treated very carefully. Failure to do this, either deliberately or accidentally, was considered to be very foolish or unfortunate because people believed that they would at the very least become ill or perhaps even die as a result of "transgressing" the tapu.
Maori man, moko, feathers in hair, with a feather cloak.
The ability to remove or applytapu in this context was the domain of thetohunga. Tohungaused ritual to do this. The usual ritual involvedkarakia(incantation) to communicate with and appease atua.Tohunga were specially trained in the art of karakia and were held in very high esteem in communities as a result of this. Tohunga therefore had the ability to remove tapu when it had affected things or people accidentally, and as well, they could apply it when the rangatira requested that they do so. The ability to do this allowed the rangatira and the tohunga to exert huge influence over the daily lives of people who were essentially afraid of the potential that tapuhad to affect them.
A practical example of the power of tapu to regulate group behavior was in relation to the management of food resources. When certain foods, such as shellfish were starting to run out, the rangatira would close off the resource to the community by asking the tohunga to place a tapu on the area of the beach where the shellfish were found. The name for this type of tapu is rahui. The tohunga would do this in a very public ceremony that was dominated by rituals and karakia in particular. He was in effect placing that part of the beach under the protection of the relevant atua. The whole community knew that the rahui was in place as a result of being present at the ceremony and often a marker post would also be placed in some prominent location as a sign that a rahui restriction had been imposed. The people of the community that were not present at the ceremony thus knew that a rahui restriction had been applied somewhere in the vicinity and they ought to make efforts to found out where it was. Failure to do so of course could mean an inadvertent brush with tapu and that was something that needed to be avoided.
Unidentified Rotorua meeting house (wharenui), North Island, Bay of Plenty For those few individuals that were not necessarily bothered by the "power of tapu," another factor to consider was the challenge to the mana of both therangatira and the tohunga in any potential breach oftapu. Any attempt to ignore a rahui was in effect a direct challenge to the authority of the rangatira and the tohunga who had applied it in the first place. It took a brave individual to make these challenges, because most rangatira and tohunga had the support of the wider community, which had an interest in maintaining the influence of these leaders.
Mana therefore was another critically important concept to Maori people. This word is used in every day English language in New Zealand today and it usually translates as reputation, power, authority or prestige. Traditionally, both the personal mana of people and of communities was also critical to their well-being. Mana was also particularly important to chiefs, who spent a great deal of energy and time to ensure that their mana was at least maintained, and if at all possible, enhanced. Mana was a quality that could also be diminished however, and people went out of their way to ensure that this did not happen or if it did to ensure that actions were carried out to restore it.
Mana manifested in different ways in communities and in individuals. When Captain Cook traveled around New Zealand in 1769, he noticed that for the most part it was the men, and particularly chiefs, that wore most of the jewelry and fine clothes. Some anthropologists have interpreted this to mean that these things were so-called "insignias of rank." In other words the fine clothes were a reflection of the mana or importance of that person in the community. The community for its part valued a rangatira who had a lot of mana, because having a significant rangatira with a lot of mana as part of its community was also a reflection of the community's importance. There was also a very close link between mana andtapu. Generally, anything that was very tapu was also described as having mana because it had "power" to effect people. Conversely, people and things withmana were usually very tapu as well because they were important. Paradoxically, in this context, this type of tapu was dangerous but also highly valued. Communities went out of their way to make sure that this type of tapu was not damaged. Older rangatirawith prestigious whakapapa were quite often considered to be in this category and it meant that they had to be treated very carefully. For example, they could not be allowed to come into contact with anything that might damage their tapu, such as food. Cooked food was considered to be a very powerful agent used for the removal of tapu by tohunga. Even accidental contact with cooked food was considered harmful to very tapu people. Therefore, to enable a very tapu rangatira to eat safely, their food was specially prepared so that it could be fed to them through specially carved funnels. This ensured that they did not touch it with their hands.
If the mana of a person or individual was affected so that it was seen to be diminished, it was important that steps were taken to return the mana to its previous level. In this sense mana was a bit like the idea of a sliding scale, and a person's or community's actions could affect the position of mana on that scale. Failure to correct diminished mana was seen by Maori as a sign of weakness. Therefore people and communities sometimes went to extraordinary lengths to correct even the most insignificant changes to their mana or reputation. This was especially important for rangatira who needed to maintain their reputation in order to have influence over communities. Maori Language and Chanting
A Taiaha. The pointed end and the flat bladed end are both used by the fighter in combat with devastating effect.
At one end, the taiaha is decorated with a stuck- out tongue the traditional sign of Maori defiance used before one's enemies. The Maori language is one of the thirty-odd Polynesian languages. As such, it is very similar to Tahitian, Tuamotuan and Rarotongan, but it is not mutually intelligible with them. The linguistic similarities between these languages parallel similarities between artifacts from New Zealand and these islands from about 800 years ago. Together, these provide a very compelling argument to suggest that the original ancestors of the Maori more than likely came from one, or perhaps all, of these places.
Like other Polynesian cultures, Maori was an oral culture. There was no writing system of any kind and this meant that various verbal techniques were developed to record and transmit history, traditions and information that was important to maintaining hierarchies and relationships between communities, and also between people and their resources. The ability to accurately memorize and transmit this information therefore became a crucial and highly valued skill in all Maori communities. People who possessed these attributes were selected and trained from a young age to be the repositories of these records, and consequently they were considered to havemana and tapu within their respective communities.
The historical records of Maori groups were kept and transmitted in a number of different formats. These included whakapapa(genealogy), waiata (song), karakia(incantation) and korero stories. Typically, these were brought out and performed when different communities interacted with each other. Inter-group encounters tended, and still do tend, to be very formal affairs that are characterized by highly ritualized welcome ceremonies (powhiri) and feasting (hakari).
Powhiri are still a very important part of Maori cultural life today. For the most part these take place on the many marae (community meeting spaces) across the country. A typical powhiri consists initially of a karanga(call) performed by the senior women of the group to invite a visiting party to move onto the marae. The karanga consists of a high- pitched cry that is responded to with karanga from the visiting group as they move across themarae space to their seats. Once seated, this is followed by speeches (whaikorero) from the male orators of each group. The orators have turns at speaking about the purpose and nature of their visit and the relationship that the two groups have with each other.
Generally the orators attempt to establish connections and relationships with the other group through discussing whakapapa connections and shared history with them. Through the skillful manipulation of whakapapamost groups can establish that they are in fact kin relations, even if the relationships are distant. Each whaikorero speech is followed by a waiatathat either the orator or other members of his group will sing. Songs that are well known and identified with each group tend to be selected. Following these formalities, the people of each group will shake hands (hariru) and rub noses (hongi). The final part of the process consists of sharing food between the parties as a final act of removing any tapuassociated with the visiting group. This leaves the groups free to interact with each other.