What is Maori Culture Today?

Tu Tangata, Issue 8, 1 October 1982, Page 26

What is Maori Culture Today?

Maoritanga is a God-given culture, a God-given heritage for which my heart and the heart of every Maori throbs with pride and warmth.

It is Maori culture that runs deep within our bodies. Tap it and up it wells strong and vital. It is with this Maoriness that our inner-most beings are stimulated, producing fierce pride of race, confidence and assurance. I am assured of my identity, I am a Maori, of that fact I am proud.

Maori culture is our Maori language a language with so much to offer. In it are proverbs that embody the wisdom of our forbears, so small but so meaningful. We must grasp this language before it slips from our hands because although we, the youth of today, appear Maori and our spirits are Maori, our language is English.

A visible sign of Maori culture is the harmony and the rhythm of waiata, haka and poi. I feel excitement and pride when I perform such items. They give me a chance to express only a part of our culture. Mythology, literature and chants too are all part of this atmosphere that so often stir our bood. These qualities are likewise found prserved by the carver in wood.

Central to the concept of Maori culture is the marae. We are born into the marae. Here we find our Maoriness. Here we feel the warmth of being together as a family group. Our children can always return here and their chuildren after them. Here I will die, in the arms of my ancestors. Maori ceremonies are likewise our Maori culture. Funerals bind people together with the ties of love and sorrow. The wero the challenge to friendship, hongi, mana, tapu and wehi are all part of our Maori world. But the very wellspring, the heart of Maori culture is aroha deep sealed, love and concern. It is aroha that emerges when we

perform haka and waiata. It is the spirit of sharing and caring.

To be fully alive as Maori, we must learn all that Maori culture means to us. Many people need to have a greater awareness of Maoritanga. Many see it as merely a means of entertainment. If we do not prove the full worth of Maori culture, then as the proverb goes “Ka pera ite moa, ka ngaro like the moa, our culture will be lost.” So we may cling to this priceless heritage, cling to it and cherish it so we may walk hand in hand in a harmonious society.

Brenda Soutar

Queen Elizabeth College

Form 5