Friday was our trip to the Maori Cultural Center: Te Hana Te Ao Marama. We took a guided tour through a 17th century traditional Maori village. It consisted of the Marae Powhiri (welcome), in which one tribe welcomes the other via some scary posturing; brandishing spears, in-your-face screaming, widening the eyes, and thrusting out the tongue. Our "chief" (one of the male students selected out of our group) was required to stand perfectly still while the warriors from the tribe tried to intimidate him. Once he had proved unflappable, they welcomed us with a traditional Moari song, to which we responded by singing "you are my sunshine," which is apparently a traditional song from our culture (?).
We started our tour by entering the village through an underground cave.
Then continued past the village fortifications.
And around a series of thatched huts.
At the Chief's hut, a larger and more well built structure, we were treated to a cultural performance which included the Haka and other traditional Maori songs and dances.
And finally, we were led to a large grassy field where the tour guide told us the story of the Moari princess Te Hana who fell in love with a warrior from another tribe and launched a war. This is her statue.
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