Rotorua, a taste of Maori culture

    NEW ZEALAND (NORTH ISLAND)

 

 

 

 

Steam behind the helicopters that are used for the aerial tours in Te Whaka

 

 

At a first glance, our guide in Te Whaka definitely did not appear to be a Maori. Renata inherited his father’s English-Swedish genes, who gave him deep-blue eyes and a golden hair, and displayed a tremendous British sense of humor. Yet, his heart and own identity was all with the Maori people, speaking with passion about his mother’s ancestors culture and history.

 

 

Gate at the entrance of the Te Whaka park

 

 

Te Puia Pa (fortified village)

 

 

Te Whaka, in Rotorua, is actually a short name of a place called Te Whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao, meaning “the gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao”. 

 

This valley is now a natural park managed by the local Maori inhabitants, with water springs, steams, bubbling mud pools and hormonal geysers, hosting the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute. 

 

  

Haka Before going to the battlefields of war Wahiao warriors would perform a fierce haka more often than not scaring off the enemy before a blow was struck.	Some Haka-Paka dance accessories

 

 

 

 

Originally from Polynesia, Maoris arrived to New Zealand in waka(canoes) and settled there many centuries before Her Majesty’s subedits arrived. It is believed that the migration waves took place as early as the period between AD 800 and 1300.  

 

 

The hormonal Feathers of the Prince of Wales geyser (on the left) and Pohutu geyser (on the right)   Pohutu means “cconstant splashing” in the Maori language, as it erupts regularly two to three times per hour. Intense heat from molten rock below boils seeping rainwater turning it into the steam. Presure increases inside an underground crevice until it is strong enough to shoot the water and steam upwards through the vent and high up to 15 meters into the air.

 

 

Steams

 

 

 

 

Bubbling mud pools

  

 

 Nowadays, indigenous people consist of 15% of the population  and retain strong their cultural identity. Te Reo Maori (Maori language) is an official language in New Zealand and is taught in schools. There are even two Maori television channels!

 

Haka, a war dance that was developed from the Maori’s Polynesian roots where men shout fiercely and ferociously, is on occasions performed by the All Blacks national rugby team and can be regarded as a symbol of New Zealand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maori carvings

 

 

  

 

 

 

Lake Taupo at sunset