“[Waitangi Day] is our history and it’s our future.”
Te Puia had a range of traditional Māori activities for the public to try including taonga stores, carving, poi and haka lessons, and a culture show inside the wharenui.
Rotorua woman Michelle Pairama said she was celebrating Waitangi Day as a “whānau day” with her sister and children.
Te Puia New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute general manager Eraia Kiel. Photo / Michaela Pointon
A culture which ‘transcends boundaries’
Te Puia New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute general manager Eraia Kiel said today was about Māori culture.
“Our culture, it transcends boundaries and brings people together.”
Kiel said today was about “the bringing together of cultures and celebrating who we are as a country...as one people.”
He believed political tensions due to the Treaty Principles Bill across the nation was a “good thing” as he believed it had “woken the nation up” on “what’s important to celebrate.
“I think people are a lot more aware of the significance of Waitangi now with the recent political views and everything...shared all over the country.”
A traditional Māori culture show at Te Puia's whare nui on its marae on Waitangi Day. Photo / Michaela Pointon
He said both Te Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (the Declaration of Independence, signed in 1835) were today recognised as an important part of New Zealand’s history.
“Not many people know that the declaration was signed in 1835. It’s actually brought it to the forefront which I think is positive. The more we learn about our history, the better.
“We’re a very unique country and we have an extremely unique culture to share with the world.”
Te Puia kōtihi rēnia cultural manager Grace Hiini (left) and her daughter Arana Hiini (right). Photo / Michaela Pointon
Korero about traditional poi dance
Te Puia kōtihi rēnia cultural manager Grace Hiini said today’s event “enables us to keep our culture alive.
“We’re just a very small part of a very long, precious living legacy here at Te Puia.
“By sharing our culture with our own people, educating our own people and sharing our culture with people from all parts of the world. This enables us to keep our culture alive.”
Hiini said her hope was “our children and our grandchildren will be here singing songs and doing the same dances to our visitors”.
Hiini, alongside other dancers, was teaching visitors the traditional actions of the haka, poi and tītī tōrea, a traditional short stick game.
“In the Maori culture, we’re heavily influenced by our environment. Our poi is used to depict light patterns of some of our smaller birds and insects, also our larger birds such as the kōtuku, or white heron.
“We also use our poi to depict the waves, the currents, the oceans, the wind and in this area in our beautiful geothermal valley of Te Whakarewarewa, in particular, our geysers and our mud.
“So just like our action song, the poi tells a very beautiful story.”
Arana Hiini, 15, (right) and fellow performers give a demonstration of traditional poi dance at Te Puia in Rotorua. Photo / Michaela Pointon
Hiini said this year’s Waitangi Day was “very important.
“I think it’s very important for all New Zealanders, not just Māori, all New Zealanders to understand the importance of the Treaty and of Waitangi Day so that we can all become educated and knowledgeable.
“It’s very important to understand how we came to be as a people today so that we know exactly where we’re heading to in the future.”
Event performer Arana Hiini, 15, said “it’s special to keep our culture alive and it’s an honour for me to be able to be a part of this so young”.
Her vision for the future of Aotearoa was “that more Māori are embracing their culture”.
