New Zealand was awesome. Completely different than i expected… One thing that’s really interesting is the Maori culture. Similar to Hawaiian culture but at the same time, totally different…

We went to a Maori dinner and tradition
Show one night. 100% made for tourists… Naturally, I was quite turned off by that…

Our night started with us watching them pull the hangi or ground cooked meal from the ground as some tribe guy tried to make funny jokes that weren’t funny and welcome everyone. Then, we traveled into the forest to the natural spring considered sacred by the tribal peoples.

Then the ‘warriors’ rowed down the stream in a traditional boat chanting old war chants… We followed them to a tent where they did their aggressive were gonna kill u cuz you’re on our land dance, so we had to chose a foreign ‘chieg’ and ask permission
To be here tonight…. Then they did more tribal dancing and weapons showing…

Like I said, at first, I was totally
Turned off by the lack of authenticity… I mean, it was mostly
Young people wearing fake tribal tattoos anyway… They clearly weren’t serious about their threatening war calls. Obviously.

I was also a little irked, because I had hoped to actually learn something about the Mitai tribe of Maori people… And I didn’t feel like I did…

Until I got to talk to our van driver…

They provided free transportation for the night, so I started asking the guy questions when
He brought us home…

I had heard them during the performances refer to the people as ‘the family’ so I wondered if they were all actually part of that tribe or
If it was just random ppl looking for work in
The yourist business.

So I asked him, “so are you part of the Mitai tribe family?”

“yes,” he said, “im a cousin to most of them there tonight.”

Ok so that’s cool. Through conversing with him, I understood that although everyone is all modernized now, they’re doing their best to keep their culture alive in whatever ways possible… That’s cool.

Then I wondered about the language. Do those guys really KNOW the Maori language, or do thru just learn enough to fo the chants and stuff for tourists?

So I asked him,”so do most ppl still speak the Maori language? Or is it dying out?”

He explained that it’s actually even an
Official language if new Zealand. Sweet. The government has even allowed for traditional Maori schools to still exist so many students attend those until 15 or 16, then switch to an
English school to master English and to be culturally with the times. Really cool.

I lived that the government has put so much into protecting and preserving the. Indigenous culture and language… So much of a culture is held in
It’s language… If you don’t believe me, take a linguistics course. Anyway, I think that’s really cool… Especially
Since we showed practically no respect for own own
Native populations in the past… And now, very little, if any, of their cultures remain… And even less of their languages,

Sorry I’m a language nerd. But anyway, highlight of my
Night was conversing with that guy, Ben. And trying to come up with more good questions to ask him….,

Tell u more about new Zealand later…