Tauranga, NZ January 31, 2018

Sorry this post is so out of order, but I still have not figured out how to get these posts to appear in the sequence I want.

Countryside near Tauranga, NZ.     Below is the interior of the Maori Meeting House with weavings and carvings.   A wharenui (literally "big house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a marae. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called whare (a more generic term simply referring to a house or building). 

This is the view of the nearby area from above Tauranga, NZ.  Seventy-Five percent of NZ's is used for agriculture or forestry.   

Center section is a woven design and edges are carvings in the Maori Meeting House (wharenui).  

You must take your shoes off before entering the Maori Meeting House. (Wharenui)  It is used for peaceful meetings and celebrations.  Any controversial conversations take place outside the house.  

We went to a Maori Marae.  The marae is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies.  We were greeted by this young man during the welcoming ceremony.  He laid down the branch to see if we had come in peace.  Our leader picked up the branch to indicate we had come in peace.  This young man attended  a Maori school for his education.  About a dozen students performed the Haka and several other songs/dances.  

After the welcoming ceremony, we went down a line of community members and had to  bump foreheads and touch noses.  I don't really recommend this greeting...

Inside their house of peace, there were decorative weavings, painted timbers and other carvings.  This building is for important events such as celebrating the birth of a child, a marriage, or a funeral.  Funerals last for three days.  All people that come to the funeral must be greeted with the same ceremony.  If a Maori were to leave and return, the person must experience the greeting ceremony upon return.   

A new baby is covered with this mat and then blessings are bestowed upon the child.

This is a wedding wrap.  The bride and the groom are wrapped in shawls like this.  Another interesting part of the wedding is that the bride's family and the groom's family and the bride and groom all spend the wedding night in the Meeting House.  

Woven tapestry and wood carvings in wharenui.  

Wharenui

FACEBOOK  Tauranga, New Zealand is a large harbor located along western Bay of Plenty.  The Maori arrived here in the 13th century and today comprise 17% of the population.  Today, the majority of the people are of European descent at 83%.  Tauranga is known for its bubbling mud pools, the thermal fields of Rotorua.  Seventy-five percent of New Zealand land is used for agriculture and forestry.  In this area, there are many kiwifruit and avocado orchards.

I enjoyed the views as we traveled to a Maori Marae, the meeting grounds.  Used for religious and social purposes, it is a communal or sacred place.   When we arrived, we experienced a Welcoming Ceremony in a cleared area in front of the Maori Meeting House.  Teenagers that attend a Maori School performed for us.  One young man was our greeter. He performed several rituals and laid a branch on the ground.  In picking up the branch, our leader indicated that we came in peace.  Anyone that comes to the Marae must be welcomed.  If there were a funeral, every guest must be welcomed with this ceremony.

After our welcome, we went to a hall on the side where the students performed the Haka and Maori songs and dances.  There are lots of Haka videos on YouTube, some are tied to rugby events.  After the students' performances, we were given snacks and an opportunity to shop.

We then transferred to the Wharenui or big house.  We passed along a receiving line where we had to touch foreheads with each of the Maori as a greeting.  Shoes must be removed before entering the wharenui.  The wharenui is a communal house of the Maori and the focal point of the marae.  The wharenui is used for peaceful meetings and celebrations.  Inside are decorative weavings, painted timbers and carvings.  On the day a couple marries, the bride, groom and both of the families spend the night together in the wharenui.  A funeral will last for three days and the family and anyone they invite will spend the nights in the wharenui.  To celebrate the birth of a child, the child is wrapped in a shawl with feathers woven into it and blessed.

This day was an interesting cultural experience.  In traveling back to the ship, I noticed a lot of new development.  The area is growing.