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Holidays in NZ
Topic Started: May 29 2011, 03:22 PM (811 Views)
Kahu
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Catraoine
May 31 2011, 01:48 PM
When we visited the Albatross Sanctuary the guide that we had was a lady in her fifties, she was Maori. She told us that for the first forty years of her life she was forbidden by her father to embrace her Maori heritage, but after his death she reclaimed this. If I remember this correctly her great grandfather was the elder of the land and he is buried there in the Sanctuary. There are some paintings of him in one of the tunnels that you walk through to get to the look out where you could view the Albatross. She spent so much time with us and to see the pride she held for her heritage and that securing a job on the very land that her Ancestors lived was to her like ‘coming home’.
We had been asked to purchase one of the Maori symbols for an Indigenous Australian that my husband works with, so she blessed it for us in her Native tongue. I can still see the tears running down her face as she stood in front of her Ancestors likeness and asked him for the blessing.
A very moving and special experience.
The lady guide was most likely from Ngai Tahu, which is the the main tribe of the South Island .... they were largely dispossessed during the settlement of the south which was influenced by the gold rushes (1860-1880) on the Clutha and Dunedin became the commercial centre of the colony. However through Treaty settlements Ngai Tahu are quite wealthy having deep sea fisheries control, and working with Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese and Chinese vessels. They also own all pounamu, (greenstone - nephrite jade), the Whale watching off Kaikoura has also been developed and managed by Ngai Tahu and they have interests in many other areas too.

Was it a greenstone pendant you bought? Hei matau, marakehau, hei tiki or koru design? There are many, and all have their different meanings.

Edited by Kahu, Jun 1 2011, 12:29 AM.
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Catraoine
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Yes it was a Greenstone pendant, the ' Hook Koru Pendant.' ... which as you know signifies abundance, strength, and determination. ...so it was very relevent to this young Indigenous women..she never takes it off.


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Kahu
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That would be very nice, and and she would appreciate it.

Literal meanings; hei - hanging, matau - the fish hook, hei matau - the fish hook pendant. The symbolism is apt too .... pendants represent prosperity,abundance, fertility and strength. They are also seen as good luck charms, particularly for those traveling over water. Hei-Matau are symbols of power and authority which are held in great reverence by the Maori people.

The koru, which is often used in Mâori art as a symbol of creation, is based on the shape of an unfurling fern frond. Its circular shape conveys the idea of perpetual movement, and its inward coil suggests a return to the point of origin. The koru therefore symbolises the way in which life both changes and stays the same.


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I have visited both New Zealand and Australia many many times, each time 2 - 3 months split between the two countries. We have toured by car, both Islands in New Zealand; took a sailing boat through the Fiords. Took a mail boat via the Marlborough sound [day trip] and saw mussel farms where owners' only access to the main land is by boat. We attended the Maori cultural centre and throughly enjoyed the dancing and the Hakka performed to a packed audience as well as a meal Maori's prepared. We saw the glow worm caves on North Island; Bay of Plenty is awesome. Actually to me, N.Z. is British Columbia in miniature. Naturally we saw the Lord of the Rings museum - that is where we met Kahu and his lovely wife for lunch and spent the rest of the day and afternoon sightseeing and at his home. Both are very gracious and hospitable.

One of my kids embarked on a around the world backpacking trip in 1994; met a New Zealander in Australia and she brought him to NZ in 1995. He has dual citizenship, many friends, a good job, a home, went to University there, so has remained having made a life there. He just got engaged to a very lovely Kiwi. People are very friendly, helpful and hospitable and there is only one main road so one cannot get lost but we did in Hamilton. oooh 02 People there are more relaxed than here in North America and they are family first which is fading in North America.

I highly recommend a trip to N.Z. and do not try to see it in less than a month or on a bus tour which is more expensive and rushed. Hire a car, pack a lunch to eat alongside of the ocean, and explore every nook & crannie & take time to interact with the locals.

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