"An Around-the-World-Ticket for Two, Please."

A Maori Night!

Posted by Sarah O'Neill , Tuesday, 10 May 2011 01:51

On Sunday we had a very very lazy morning doing not a lot which was nice! We decided we ought to do something with the day and so after lunch we went for a nice long walk around the Blue Lake near Rotorua. It was nowhere near as blue as the Blue Lake in Mount Gambier, but nothing will ever compare to that! It was a good 2 hour walk all the way around it which stretched our legs and burnt a few calories! Once we had done some shopping on the way back, we had a bit of time for a nice cup of tea before being picked up for our Maori culture night. There were lots of companies to choose from for a Maori night all offering a show and a traditional meal (Hangi), so we had asked at the information centre about the main differences as they give imparial advice. We ruled out the ones running in hotels, as we wanted a more authentic experience, with a mock up Maori village etc, so there were two main ones to choose from. In the end we went for the one she said was more educational and she learnt more from as that was what I was interested in, and they also won the major competition for Maori dance and performance in the whole of New Zealand this year, so we felt they were the best choice. The bus picked us up at about 6pm and took us along to the site about 15 minutes away. When we got there there were lots of tables of about 10 set up in a marquee, which was a little worrying as we hadn't wanted to sit at a big table eating and watching like in the hotels, but it was fine, as there was no stage! We sat down and were introduced to our host, Jerry, who told us what would be happening etc. He told us we had to elect a chief, which he tactfully did, and then we had to learn a song to sing when we met the tribe! We then went to watch our meal being dug up! the traditional Maori meal of Hangi was cooked underground for hours. Ben was chosen to lift the sackcloth off the feast, which looked and smelt delicious! Then we were all led down to the sacred stream to see the warriors arrive in the canoe. It was very atmospheric, as it was dark with only fire stakes in the ground casting shadows. Then we heard them before we could see them. They came down the stream shouting and chanting, it was spine chilling! Then we were led to the 'village' area, which is actually on the site of a real Maori village. It was a kind of stage area and a seating area, but all out doors and it felt like being a fly on the wall in an ancient village! The tribe sang to us, which was just magical, and then the chief welcomed us in Maori. It was then our chief's turn to speak and thank him and then we had to sing, which was a little less tuneful! Then the chief told us about some customs and songs, and the tribe sang to us, showed us some dances that taught different things, and showed us some weapons. We learnt about the tatoos on their faces, four birds with meanings, and the use of the Poi. The hour went far too quickly, it was brilliant! The grand finale was of course the Haka, which really did give me goose pimples! It was fantastic! I can totally see why they did it to psych themselves up for battle and to scare their oposition! After that we were taken back to the marquee for our Hangi feast. This is where the evening began to go a bit funny! The food was amazing, and there was loads of it! The meat, chicken and lamb, was so tender and jucy, and had a really smokey flavour, as did the potatoes and sweet potatoes! However, the music playing did not really fit! They played a CD that was more fitting to a lift in Marks and Sparks or something, it had 'When the Saints come marching in' among other Maori classics! It kind of spoilt it a bit. I could have lived with this, had the rest of the evening not unfolded so! When most people had finished eating and were drinking teas and coffees, our host Jerry told us each table had to sing a song to entertain the group. I thought he was joking, but he was not! It was awful and cringe worthy, and made everyone feel really uncomfortable and silly. We had all paid quite a bit for the night, and were not expecting to have to get up in front of people and sing! He picked a table at a time, and said in the nine years he's been doing it, no table had let him down, as you can imagine lots of people felt really uncomfortable, and tried to refuse politely, but he wouldn't let them, it was really cringey! Eventually one brave sould from the first table managed to sing the Aussie national anthem which was ok. Then after trying to refuse, someone off the next table sang somehing. Then our table was picked, it was awful! Two of the girls had very conveniently gone for a fag, then there was me and Ben, another couple, one other girl and a German couple! Thankfully GGerry picked on the bloke from the other couple and got him up to the mic, but he really wasn't game and avoided doing anything, so his girlfriend started 'Twinkle twinkle' which was all joined in and that got us off the hook. It was a really odd part of the evening, and frankly I thought it was terrible. We had all paid quite a lot for a Maori evening, and that was nothing to do with Maori, and not a lot of people's idea of fun! Oh well, it was another experience! After all the embarrassment was over we went on a bush walk with torches down to the water again to see the glow-worms and the spring. It was so weird to see the gravel at the bottom swirling around where water was springing out of the ground!!! After that we were bused back to the campsite and had a great skype chat with Carol and Mike! Then it was bed time ready for rafting in the morning!