Banished from the Maori Tribe……
What?!
Well……
I wasn’t really banished. But, I did get a very strong reprimand…..a few days ago while touring a Maori village in Rotorua.
You might be wondering what kind of horrible thing someone would need to do in order to be scolded….and potentially cast out from a tour group.
It was a very high crime, indeed.
I was smiling….and getting ready to break out into one of my famous laughing jags… Our guide for the Maori village tour saw this, approached me and told me that there was no smiling or laughing allowed here. And, if I didn’t stop, she would escort me out of the gathering.
Wow! These Maori’s take their rituals very seriously.
Now…..
…..you might question what could possibly be so funny during this very somber event. I was laughing about one of my traveling buddies, Gene. He, and several other men were elected to be High Chiefs of the small tribes of tourists that were formed for our tour experience and dinner.
One of Gene’s duties as chief was to greet a Maori warrior in the traditional fashion. After the tribes of tourists had all assembled, several warriors arrived by kayak in our gathering area at the entrance to the village. They disembarked and did some kind of a war dance in front of the grouping of chiefs that involved protrusion of tongues, bulging of eyes and the emission of some very stern vocalizations. When the dance was over, each warrior stood before a chief. Gene, and the other chiefs, were instructed to approach the warrior that stood in front of them, pick up a long leaf, and then retreat by backing up. Gene tucked the leaf into the front of his jeans. After the chiefs had moved back into position, one warrior approached each chief and they rubbed noses and touched foreheads.
To top it off, somewhere in the middle of this experience, Gene and the other chiefs were also required to do a war dance. This also sent me into ripples of giggles.
If you know my friend Gene, you will know why this is so funny. Gene is not a touchy feely kind of guy. He doesn’t even like giving hugs…..and, he doesn’t dance. So, the visual of him rubbing noses with a tattooed faced stranger that had just exhibited his warrior prowess by extending his tongue and bulging his eyes was just too much for me. The dance and the leaf tucked in the jeans added another element of whimsy. I just couldn’t contain myself.
After I was admonished for exhibiting my amusement, I did manage to get myself under control so that I could take the tour, hear the Maori stories, play some of the Maori games
….and have my dinner, of course.
The Maori Village visit was more than a bit touristy. I’m glad I did it, but I would not do it again.…unless, of course, Gene came along. But, we did get some good information about the culture, which was nice to have.
It seems that the Maoris came to New Zealand on vessels similar to catamarans to escape overcrowding the Tahitian islands. They set up small villages of thatched huts near waterways and traveled throughout the village in kayaks. Their children’s dexterity was developed through the games that we learned about and participated in.
We also learned that the facial tattoos that we saw on everyone were something of a family “crest”, indicating which family in the tribe they belonged to.
In ancient times, the tattoos were applied by digging out the skin in intricate patterns and then cauterizing the wounds with hot sticks that had been heated in the fire. They let the wounds heal and then repeated the process several times. The description reminded me of branding an animal. I’m not sure I could get through it.
YIKES!
Their food was cooked in a hole in the ground under a layer of hot coals, which is how our dinner for the evening was prepared.
We enjoyed our dinner and a show performed by the actual Maori tribe. Best of all, we got to see Gene perform the war dance one more time before it was all over and we left to go back to our Air B & B.
Gene is glad it’s over.
And, I’m glad I can smile and laugh again without reprimand as I re-invigorate my comical view of the world.
It is, after all, one of the best parts of travel……finding humor in the everyday…..
Keep smiling!
Travel With Betsy 
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