The Hakka

Long day's journey from Paihia to Rotarua with a stop over in Auckland, bus drivers a little more cheerful. Very touristy but we are staying out of town at the Blue Lake about 11km out. We have been taking it easy the first day with most of the daytime spent reading. In the evening we arranged to visit a Maori village called Tamaki with hands on experience of the Maori culture. Their traditional culture is based very much on violent confrontation and that's why you get all the face pulling, shouting and weapon twirling. But it runs much deeper than that with thier methods of working with the land and living in a tight community. We leaned lots about where they came from and how they have dealt with the European influx since the 1800's. They seem to have managed the cultural change better than the aborigines in Australia but we did catch some evidence or racial tension on the TV shortly after arrival. Some guy was shouting his mouth off about anyone that wasn't white. 

On the bus to the maori village we all had to choose a chief for our "tribe" as you can expect no one put there hand up, oh, that is except Dave. He didnt have to but as noone wanted to do it he felt obliged! On arrival we the Chiefs (4 buses so 4 Chiefs) had to be challenged by three warriors before peace could be agreed. Then lots of demonstrations of how they teach their young the traditional skills and again Dave joined in and beat three women at pole holding (bad sportsman he should have let one of them win), Hakka practice for later but done in front of everyone. We then had a cooking demonstration and anticipation for food later followed by a theatrical performance from the village. 

Chiefs agreeing a peaceful meeting of tribes, lots of nose touching and Kia-ora (you remember the Orange drink when we were young I don't think they make it now)

Hakka practice (not the most coordinated or frightening of people)

Dave beating three women at a pole swapping game used to improve hand/eye coordination! 

Maori cultural performance with lots of teeth gnashing and sticking out of tongues, and that was only the ladies! This is the ladies performing with the poi( ball on a string)

All this calling him chief has gone to his head, even on the bus home people were thanking him for being a great chief. He's not the scariest of Maoris but got into the spirit of the night. A 2 man tent is just not big enough for me, Dave and his head! The lack of hair is from a recent hair cut not his ever increasing head size. A very interesting night out.