This week’s podcast episode Lost cultures: living heritageWe find out the rich history of the Maori people of New Zealand. The hosts Alisha Prakash, the Associate Editorial Director of the Travel + Leiser, have joined by several community members who are helping to carry their story and culture in the future.
Most people of the world are familiar New Zealand For its amazing beauty: extensive landscapes that appear as an unimaginable green color, the oceans that shine as killer whales and dolphins, dissolve the surface, and break the sky of such blue that you think you are dreaming. But there is something else that makes the island nation pure magic: its living cultural heritage. The Maori people, indigenous Aoteroa, carry the history of the country, which spreads for thousands of years, through storytelling and a deeply held reverence for the natural world.
“My entire upbringing revolves around my ancestors’ stories that left for Aoteroa hundreds and hundreds of years ago and where they settled,” Hoturoa Barkle-Carr, a master navigator and expert in traditional experts Waka (Canoe) shared with voyaging Travel + holiday In the episode. “There is a very strong traditional and historical relationship between my name and past and now what we do in trying to re -connect with those traditions and (try them) alive.”
As Barkle-Carr explained, the early Polynesian trips to New Zealand were not spontaneous adventures; They were careful missions operated by their ancestors’ comments, planning and expertise. “You really need to think out all this. And preparation and community participation takes you a long time to help you install this way.”
This is the case for Rawari Edward Manwatu, a cultural guide and business leader in Kaikura, on a coastal community South IslandThose who can count eight generations, who have called this place home. And due to this strong dynasty, Manvatu can describe accurately how life was all those years ago.
Manwatu said, “A typical morning would look like men and women, who were getting up in the morning with the sun and were fishing, hunting and horticulture.” “Children will be taught how to do such things … and we had what we say Grocery Also – they were experts in all these different types of things and teach others how to do it. ,
But like many indigenous communities around the world, Maori faced cultural disruption after colonization. In the 1800s, their land was seized, stolen and sold. Even his spiritual practices and language were criminalized through the Tohana Daman Act. “If you talk to Maori at school, you were killed by the teacher,” Barkle-Carr shared. And, as Manwatu explained, “We started becoming second class citizens at that time.” He said that many Maori are still working to regain their language and cultural identity. “When you have not received your identity, and you don’t know who you are, you don’t know where you are, you don’t know where you are from – it disables you in the world today,” he said.
But thankfully, their legacy, stories and culture are not only finished, but also thanks to a new generation, who are paying attention to the call.
“Now we have all these youngsters, all of my grandchildren-all of them can speak our language, which is a very big change,” Barkle-Carr shared. “As an example, the long -term living legacy of our language is one, which becomes a gift for the whole country.”
As a passenger, it is a culture that you can learn and appreciate more. Those seeking deep relations can participate in humanities Maori Tour in Kaikura To visit the remains of ancestral land, war sites and traditional villages. “I am a descendant of myself, the ancestors, which we are talking about,” he shared on the tour. Just make sure to contact new customs that you learn with care.
“When the process or protocol replaces a traditional reception, it is really important that they stick to whatever they tell them,” Barkle-Carr said. “Ask permission. It makes a big difference.”
Hear more about the permanent heritage of Maori people, including the art of navigation and the strength of cultural revival in the latest episode Lost cultures: living heritageNow available Apple podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music, Player fmOr wherever you get your podcast.
