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| Te Whare Ra Uta |
Lucas and I arrived early and waited just outside the gates with the other new doctor and her husband, Diane and Mark, and our representative. When the ceremony began, a woman came out of the house and greeted us with a song and our representative replied back in song. As we walked into the building, the other members of the community continued the song and made these arm motions and loud grunts (almost like they were pulling a heavy rope or rowing, maybe to symbolize that they were pulling us into the group?). This was all very overwhelming and I have never experienced anything like it before and might not again. It felt altogether welcoming, foreign, and confusing.
Next we all took our seats, the head men from the community sat in chairs across from the new people (us) and our representatives, who spoke for us in Maori. Both sides took turns saying speeches in Maori, and a song in Moari was sung after each speech. It was impressive how much Maori even the non Maori staff have picked up either during their time at the clinic or just from living near Maori communities. During this period I had no idea what was being said.
After the speeches, we went around and greeted each person. For the most part, women traditionally kiss on the cheek but men take part in a hongi - where you shake hands and press your noses and foreheads together.
| Hongi |
Once everyone had been officially greeted, everyone formally introduced themselves to the group. Many people spoke mostly in Maori and made a few statements in English. In your introduction you paid respects to the leaders of the group, (present and past), told your mountain, your river, your waka (canoe or how you traveled to the house), and iwi (the village where your ancestors come from).
Me:
Mountain: Mount Wilson
River: Los Angeles River
Waka: Air New Zealand (this got a nice laugh from the crowd)
Iwi: Los Angeles, California
The ceremony closed with a prayer and song and finally, the sharing of food - aka lunch!Here is a link to a youtube video that gives an idea of the songs sung and how the beginning of the ceremony progressed. Everyone present was in modern work attire (so no costumes or weapons were displayed) and no dancing.
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| self photo before heading to the ceremony |
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| I poached an egg for breakfast and besides over cooking it, I did a pretty good job and was very proud |
1 comment:
What a great way to start your adventure!!
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